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Wasp waist describes a character with an exceptionally small waist. The term "wasp waist" comes from the visual similarity to a wasp's segmented body.

A wasp waisted character's body will usually have an abrupt, or extremely curved transition from an average width upper body (or rib cage) to a dramatically narrow cinched waist, followed by curving out to "normal" hip width.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, using corsets to "shape" the waist was a beauty trend for women in the western world. In artwork, wasp waists are commonly used to give a character an exaggerated feminine form.

While wasp waists are often unnaturally narrow in art, extreme waist binding and use of corsets can create seemingly impossibly narrow waists in real life.

Related Tags

• hourglass figure - a character with a wasp waist will often have an exaggerated hourglass figure
• small waist - for less narrow, but still notably narrow waists
• wide hips - wasp waisted characters often have wide hips in contrast to their extremely narrow waist

See Also

• tag group:figures