Sadomasochist Dominatrix clad in
black leather, wearing thigh high boots and holding a whip, constitutes one of
the major BDSM & SM icons. This post discusses about its origins as well as
about the semiotics of this visual archetype.
When does “leather Venus”
icon emerge?
It is towards third and fourth
decades of twentieth century (1920-1930’s) as it has been undoubtedly and
widely witnessed by Yva Richard and Man Ray photographs, Studio Biederer
designs, Diana Slip and Charles Guyette catalogs, together with Carlo’s drawings.
So, sadomasochism and leather
culture met and generated close links before WWII although it is often said
that this happened for the first time in post WWII.
 |
| Yva Richard |
Where does “leather Venus” icon
emerge?
In Europe. Then, it reached the
USA immediately. At that moment, the most important suppliers of fetish
paraphernalia were located in Paris while London
Life magazine had a major role spreading fetish culture and aesthetics all
around the world.
 |
| Man Ray |
What are the immediate causes of its
origins?
The convergence of several causes
shall be considered:
-The Pro Domes demand for fetish paraphernalia,
in order to satisfy the desires and fantasies of their masculine customers.
-The existence of suppliers able
to fulfill these demands, such as Yva Richard, Diana Slip or Charles Guyette.
-Some technological advances in
leather industry allowing to spread patent leather as a fashion trend.
-The development of a specific SM
imaginary and its dissemination through photographs, drawings, illustrated
books or magazines like London Life.
 |
| Studio Biederer |
A fetishist sum
“Leather Venus” icon results from
the aggregation and assimilation of several fetishes. So, Dominatrix look appears to be like a fetishist sum able to satisfy
masculine demands at its most. It incorporates references such as:
-Leather and furs erotization
consecrated after Sacher-Masoch’s Venus
in Furs (1870).
-Footwear fetishism focused on
its most hypertrophied symbol: laced thigh high boots.
-The feeling of strictness and
authority that derives from corsets and tight clothes. Beyond 1900 corset was
no longer an article of common use among women, although it survived as a
fetish (a controversial fetish, indeed, that restricts and empowers feminine
body at the same time: maybe one of the best expressions of how contradictory masculine
desires can be)
 |
| Carlo: "Le cuir triomphant" cover |
“Leather Venus” icon also recalls:
-Military world and its authoritarianism
(so, this would mean the feminine appropriation of a traditional masculine
role)
-Circus world: dompteuses and écuyères as feminine whip holders and tamers.
-Femme fatale myth, on what
regards the breaking of established masculine roles as well as the fail of
romantic love ideal.
For further reading:
WhipMaster: “De la mujer fatal a la dómina. Antecedentes
y orígenes de un icono BDSM”. Cuadernos de BDSM number 19, september
2012, p. 72-98 (in spanish). Download link.
WhipMaster
Related posts:
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| Nanshakh |
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