Overview

The smell of leather. The flash of a harness. The snap of a latex glove. Welcome to the radical, vibrant world of sexual fetishists. In 21st century commodity culture, we are all intimately involved with objects: we covet a Birkin bag; we keep trainers box-fresh. We are, in a sense, all fetishists. But occasionally this desire spills into something more subversive. SECOND SKIN offers a tour through the materials, objects and power dynamics commonly fetishised, unpacking their histories, their expressive potential, and the communities they give rise to. Drawing from her encounters with fellow fetishists and kinksters, it is also the story of Anastasiia Fedorova's own journey: of what it means to come to terms with one's sexuality. Brave and searching, Second Skin reveals how what we deem 'taboo' is never static, while asking: do we have the courage to look at these desires directly, and express them unapologetically?

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9781803511900

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Reviews

A rigorous study that throbs and pummels hard to beneath the surface of fetish. It's written with an electric charge. I submitted to every page -- Jodie Harsh, author of You Had To Be There A perfect balance of fascinating history, reflective memoir and up-to-date reporting. I slipped into Second Skin as if it were a glove. Fetish may not be for everyone-but this book is! -- Adam Zmith At last, a book on kink that isn't squeamish and that doesn't act like its subjects are bewildering freaks! Part tender investigation, part ecstatic hymn, Second Skin will give you goose bumps in all kinds of places -- Charlie Fox

A rigorous study that throbs and pummels hard to beneath the surface of fetish. It's written with an electric charge. I submitted to every page -- Jodie Harsh An elegant, intelligent, intimate exploration of the way a sexual charge can alchemize objects and vibes into worlds unto themselves -- Michelle Tea A personal and informative exploration of the many worlds of fetishism. I really enjoyed it -- Cosey Fanni Tutti A perfect balance of fascinating history, reflective memoir and up-to-date reporting. I slipped into Second Skin as if it were a glove. Fetish may not be for everyone-but this book is! -- Adam Zmith A fascinating book about fetish and community. It works on both the mind and the senses; an erudite, intimate and beautifully written account of the textures and symbols that animate our erotic lives -- Jack Parlett Expansive and intimate, probing and emboldening... A book for anybody who has ever wondered what it might mean to put more of ourselves - dare we say, all of ourselves? - into sex -- Polly Barton Insightful, clear-eyed, generous and surprisingly tender... You will feel it wrap itself around you like a gimp mask or a hard-earned embrace from your perfect Domina -- Brittany Newell At last, a book on kink that isn't squeamish and that doesn't act like its subjects are bewildering freaks! Part tender investigation, part ecstatic hymn, Second Skin will give you goose bumps in all kinds of places -- Charlie Fox An archive, a celebration. At times, it's reminiscent of conversations had with like-minded friends and fellow queers. A complex, nuanced, and deeply rewarding foray into a world paradoxically visible and in the shadows -- Joshua Jones A tender, romantic paean to a subculture that has radically elevated the life of its author... Candid, meticulous... Second Skin is not about groundless provocation or simple rubbernecking; it's about popping the hood and revealing the relationships and care that make up these communities... A memoir-cum-cultural history that feels bracingly intimate * Dazed * Enlightening and at times amusing... The book gathers a cumulative force in shedding light on sexuality more broadly... A thoughtful and thought-provoking treatise that articulates the uncharted experience of female fetishism and destigmatises fetish by bringing it out of the dungeon and into the light * Financial Times *

Author Information

ANASTASIIA FEDOROVA is a writer, curator and fetishist. She has written for DAZED, i-D, Freize, Vogue and the Guardian, among other publications, and has collaborated with kink and fetish institutions, including the UK Leather and Fetish Archive and Klub Verboten. Her work is dedicated to exploring the ways queer communities are archived and documented, and to the poetic and radical potential of queer love and sex. Second Skin is her first book.

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