Fashion & Fetishism Corsets, Tight-Lacing and Other Forms of Body-Sculpture

by Kunzle, David

• ISBN13: 9780750938099
• ISBN10: 0750938099
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-01
• Publisher: Sutton

Summary

From corsets to codpieces, stockings to stilettos and piercing to push-up bras, fashion and sex have always enjoyed a very close relationship. This new edition of David Kunzle's rich and revealing history of corsetry and body sculpture shows how this neglected phenomenon is closely bound up with sexual self-expression. Drawing on sources as diverse as medical literature and popular magazine articles, this fascinating history shows how in many ways the use of the corset rejected the role of the passive, maternal woman - so that in Victorian times it was actually seen by many as a scandalous threat to the social order. Even today fashion designers recognize its subversive powers, as a symbol of eroticism, decadence and control. Taking in other curiosities such as ancient body decoration, male corsetry, masochism and foot fetishism, this is an often racy journey into the enigma of all those who sculpt the shape of their desires onto their bodies.

Author Biography

David Kunzle is Professor of Art History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of The Early Comic Strip, Posters of Protest, and Che Guevara: Icon, Myth and Message. He is British-born and returns regularly to this country.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vi
Preface	xi
Postscript	xv
Introduction The Special Historic and Psychological Role of Tight-lacing	1	(41)
From Ancient Crete to Neoclassicism	42	(38)
Revival of Tight-lacing	80	(18)
The Campaign of the Humorists 1846--1900	98	(21)
The Final Phase 1860--1900	119	(22)
The Corset as Erotic Alchemy	141	(18)
The Victorian Fetishist Experience	159	(17)
Fetishism Deepening	176	(32)
Unfashionable Fetishism: London Life 1923--40	208	(11)
Postwar Fashion and Media Exploitation of Fetishism	219	(15)
Expanding Universe	234	(8)
The Corset Revival of the 1980s--90s	242	(11)
The Tyranny of Slenderness	253	(12)
Dreaming in Film	265	(73)
Conclusion Civilised and Primitive Body-sculpture	287	(5)
Appendices
Rituals	292	(4)
Statistics	296	(9)
Mythology	305	(4)
Case Histories	309	(14)
People	323	(8)
Manufacturers	331	(4)
From Susanna Kubelka	335	(2)
Envoi	337	(1)
Notes	338	(27)
Bibliography	365	(12)
Index	377