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Overview"Kinky boots, corsets, underwear as outerwear, second-skin garments of rubber and leather, uniforms, body piercing.... Today everything from a fetishist's dream appears on the fashion runways. Although some people regard fetish fashion as exploitative and misogynistic, others interpret it as a positive Amazonian statement--couture Catwoman. But the connection between fashion and fetishism goes far beyond a few couture collections. For the past thirty years, the iconography of sexual fetishism has been increasingly assimilated into popular culture. Before Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, there was Mrs. Peel, heroine of the 1960s television show ""The Avengers,"" who wore a black leather catsuit modeled on a real fetish costume. Street styles like punk and the gay ""leatherman"" look also testify to the influence of fetishism. The concept of fetishism has recently assumed a growing importance in critical thinking about the cultural construction of sexuality. Yet until now no scholar with an in-depth knowledge of fashion history has studied the actual clothing fetishes themselves. Nor has there been a serious exploration of the historical relationship between fashion and fetishism, although erotic styles have changed significantly and ""sexual chic"" has become increasingly conspicuous. Cultural historian Valerie Steele has devoted much of her career to the study of the relationship between clothing and sexuality, and is uniquely qualified to write this book. Marshalling a dazzling array of evidence from pornography, psychology, and history, as well as interviews with individuals involved in sexual fetishism, sadomasochism, and cross-dressing, Steele illuminates the complex relationship between appearance and identity. Based on years of research, her book Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power explains how a paradigm shift in attitudes toward sex and gender has given rise to the phenomenon of fetish fashion. ""Steele is to fetish dressing what Anne Rice is to vampires,"" writes Christa Worthington of Elle magazine, ""the intellectual interpreter of...wishes beyond our ken."" According to Steele, fetishism shows how human sexuality is never just a matter of doing what comes naturally; fantasy always plays an important role. Steele provides provocative answers to such questions as: Why is black regarded as the sexiest color? Is fetishizing the norm for males? Does fetish fashion reflect a fear of AIDS? And why do so many people love shoes?" Full Product DetailsAuthor: Valerie Steele (Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York)Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc Dimensions: Width: 18.30cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 25.40cm Weight: 0.794kg ISBN: 9780195090444ISBN 10: 0195090446 Pages: 280 Publication Date: 07 December 1995 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock  We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsReviews"""Steele's greatest strengths here are her flexible perspective and her deft negotiation of various theoretical perspectives.... A thought-provoking overview of the relationship between sex and clothing.""--Publishers Weekly ""Valerie Steele is to kinky dressing what Anne Rice is to vampires: an interpreter of desires beyond our ken. She deals in riveting stuff: the way the culture talks dirty--most of the time without even noticing--through clothes.""--Christa Worthington, Elle ""In elegant prose Valerie Steele explores the ambiguous region of fetish dressing, where perverse sex meets high fashion. Her analysis of the gendered meanings of fetish garments is both witty and profound, as she explores the sexual fantasies played out in dress, and the ambivalence with which we regard them today as the boundary between the 'normal' and the 'perverse' seems, she suggests, to be disappearing.""--Elizabeth Wilson, Professor of Social Sciences, Polytechnic of North London and author of Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity ""Fashion historian Valerie Steele charts an enlightened, occasionally startling, course through the significant subjects of fetishism, sexuality, and apparel....Her approach is never judgmental or aloof: she realizes that clothing is an intimate identity and self-expression.... Steele has, once again, written a--no pun intended--masterful study, affiliating fashion with the supreme power of the body.""--Richard Martin, Curator, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art" the book delves deep into the history of fetishism and explains how it is now an increasingly ordinary part of people's lives * Catherine Norton, Cardiff Western Mail * a very sensible book on what tends to be a very silly subject ... In an area where feminists, gay activists, pseudo-intellectuals and outrageous egos strut and pout, she proves a stern mistress ... no-nonsense approach to fetishism. * The Times Higher Education Supplement * Steele is a fun and erudite companion as she traces the drift of subcultural sexual codes into mainstream film, TV and magazines. * Susan Jeffreys, New Statesman & Society * Author InformationValerie Steele is a cultural historian specializing in the history of fashion. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University and teaches at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Dr. Steele has appeared frequently on television and radio. Her other books include Fashion and Eroticism, Paris Fashion, Men and Women: Dressing the Part, and Women of Fashion. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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