A fetish is a story masquerading as an object

[Magickman]

Fetish is a topic I think we might reasonably and entertainingly explore. Among the hhplace contributors and readers it seems to be of some interest and fascination.

This is not to berate or condemn snyone's fetish. To each his own. But I think it is worth examining.

There are many of us here with an unusual attachment to high heels, their purchase, possession, wearing, and viewing. For some, that is just the tip of the iceberg. I contend this is no worse than collecting coins, stamps, or antique toys. Just a hobby, an avocation.

Even my sweet Cindi has, it seems, a fetish of her own-- corsets. She has a fascination with corsets and tightlacing, and wishes to bring this practice to her wardrobe, and our relationship. She wants to dress for me in a corset and high heels, to explore this fetish as part of our romantic relationship. I think this could be a spicy addition to our lives.

To kick-off the discussion of fetish, I am reviewing an article reporting a Cornell University guest lecture on this topic.

Vanessa Hoffman reported this lecture for the Cornell Sun. The full text of her article is available at:

http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v?TARGET=printable&article_id=426498817000a

Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, presented a lecture at Cornell University, in April, 2005, entitled "Fetish, Fashion, Sex and Power."

Not surprisingly, Ms. Steele's talk gave substantial consideration to the fetish appeal of high heeled shoes. Steele defined fetishism as "lust directed towards items of women's clothing or parts of women's bodies, which was later expanded to men."

She quoted psychiatrist Robert Stoller, saying, "A fetish is a story masquerading as an object." Steele retold an experience of slipping off old shoes at a shoe store and when she tried on a pair of high heels, a man lurking nearby said, "Now you're sexy."

"The heel is very dangerous, aggressive and fierce," Steele said, as she explored the symbolism and fetishism of high heels.

According to Steele, submission to the powerful "phallic woman" is a very popular fantasy. She described how women in high heels are seen as powerful Amazonian women, fierce, and armored when wearing a corset. In contrast, she said that men in high heels are hobbled, can barely walk around. Little does she know.

Steele focused on women in heels, and casually dismissed male wearers. I think she is wrong. Women and men both can enjoy wearing high heels, and become accomplished and expert in heely perambulation. Heels are fun and sexy, and their enjoyment may be across gender lines.

"The naked foot itself is not as erotically appealing, the shoe raises up the foot and gives it mystery and allure so it's not just a piece of meat," Steele said. "We try to humanize the foot; dress it up like a particular kind of person." She described shoes with just a strap in the back, colloquially known as (come) "fuck me" (cfm) shoes and those with the front cut out as showing "toe cleavage."

Like clothing, I suppose shoes may be seen as a means of expression of the wearer's personality. Whether they are sexy cfm shoes or drab and worn work boots, footwear does say a lot about the person in the shoes. I think my heel boots communicate that I am something of a nonconformist, and a wild and crazy guy. My woman thinks they are sexy. Each heel wearer would have their own story, and some could be very interesting, indeed.

[dr1819]

Quote: "According to Steele, since the 1880s, high heeled shoes have been almost entirely associated with femininity with the exception of cowboy boots." Steele's knowledge of the history of high heels is extremely lacking. Men invented heels around 1500, and have worn them for nearly 400 of the last 500 years, with heel heights upwards of 5 inches. Duh! Furthermore, her additional comments are ridiculously lacking in truth, substance, etc.: "Fetishism is at the absolute core of fashion," said Steele." Sorry, but no. Personal preference, style, and comfort are at the absolute core of fashion. "The rise of punk fashion in the 1970s and 80s took the clothes out of the closet and porn films as they were worn on the street by punk girls and boys," Steele said. The popularity of black and red can be linked to imagery and symbolism, according to Steele. Some examples she gave were those of black with sin, the devil, asceticism in terms of priests and nuns, and the contrast with light skin and red with passion, flames, vampires and blood." The last time I cruised the streets (today, as I do every day), I saw absolutely no one in red. While I did see a few people wearing black, it was generally associated with similar non-descript, non-fetish, non-hellacious, sinful, or vampiric fashion. "There is a little bit of fetishist in everyone," Steele said. Sorry, but no. Perhaps it Steel would feel more personally comforted or at one with the world if this were true, but... No. Not true. "I wished that it had been broader in scope and covered lots of different fetishes, instead, I felt that there was a lot of attention paid to just shoes and corsets," said Isabel Bazaldua '06. Since when did wearing high heels become a "fetish?" Sorry, but it's a fashion, not a fetish. It doesn't even come close to the definition of a fetish! This entire article gets many things wrong. Read it and understand how distored the media can be with respect to the truth simply because their source carries the label of "Dr.

[BBLoverEric]

THe bluntness may be wrong as well as the generality but I believe that the "fetish is at the heart of fashion" has a part of it. Speaking from my own experiences, I have always enjoyed certain types of clothing, not necessarily fashion. I didn't know that this was a fetish for some years but I always kinda lurked in the shadows for a chance to see some things. After a few years I started to notice more people wearing these items I had lusted over. Take high heels for example. I've been mezmerized by females in heels for many years but I didn't know until recently that it's really a fetish. Now when I say fetish I mean the original meaning, an item of worship. It may be extreme to say I was worshipping the shoes but really, I was doing everything in my power to see them and take with girls who wore them. That's where I think she gets the "fashion comes from fetish" reasoning.

[crotchboots-m]

being a college graduate,ive read most of the explanation and platitudes about the whys,wherefors,etc of fetishes. in the long run,who cares? we all got where we are without them,didnt we? so if it floats your boat,go with your own current i say. it really amazes me that the so called experts on the subject are probably "normal"...so what do they know about what makes me or anyone us tick?

[larry]

l'll be the first to admit that I have a true fetish for stiletto heels in every sense of the term and or the word, Fetish! I love em. Do I worship them? No not like GOD. I love Kissing the high heels on my wifes clean nyloned feet. Could that be called worship? Wearing hose and stilettos is sexually stimulating at least for me. Owning about 20 pairs of high heels is almost like having a harem. Each pair is different and yet so much alike. I love them all. I dont care about the experts oponions. (Freud, Jung and now Steele)..Who Cares about the thoughts of some grand standing- soap boxing prude anyway! Heels are sexy to me.....larry

[BobHH]

Coincidentally, the girl I wore my heels with on Halloween, and who jumped into them as soon as she saw them, called them my fetish. She said that was fine, as her fetish was corsets. Small world?

[JeffB]

A couple of years ago, one of my co-workers called my high heel wearing a fetish. Admittedly, I found that term rather uncomfortable, so I corrected her by saying it was "my passion". As Shakespeare once wrote, "A rose by any other name...."

[Trolldeg]

Sorry, but it's a fashion, not a fetish. It doesn't even come close to the definition of a fetish!

Steele makes a difference between "Freudian fetish" and "Marxist fetish", the latter being a material passion for something and not of a sexual nature. But still a fetish.

[kneehighs]

Steele makes a difference between "Freudian fetish" and "Marxist fetish", the latter being a material passion for something and not of a sexual nature. But still a fetish.

I didn't actually read that distinction in the link provided above, so does she state that distinction elsewhere? I think the use of the word "fetish" and its consequent plethora of negative connotations poses serious problems for us. The word has both Latin and Portugese roots. From the Latin factitius, “artificial” or “manufactured" or facere, "to make", to the Portuguese feitiço "a reference to West African amulets and power objects" we already start on negative ground.

Further, there are actually three distinctions: anthropological (adopted by Portuguese and Dutch traders in relation to the cult objects of West Africans. ), Marxist (commodity), and Freudian (psychoanalytic).

According to the most exhaustive scholar of the anthropological version of the word fetish, William Pietz, the history of the fetish is in large measure the history of the first encounters between the new world and the old, which is to say between Europe and Africa/the Americas. Pietz noted that as early as 1764, Kant “… tried to formulate and aesthetic explanation for African fetish worship… (and) decided that such practices were founded on the principle of the ‘trifling’ (lappisch), the ultimate degeneration of the beautiful because it lacked all sense of sublime."

This identity of the fetish with things lacking beauty and sublimity is of considerable interest to us since we are trying to present the concept of men wearing heels as an acceptable, or at least tolerable, aesthetic option for men.

[dr1819]

Steele makes a difference between "Freudian fetish" and "Marxist fetish", the latter being a material passion for something and not of a sexual nature. But still a fetish.

While you make a good point, Trolldeg, both Frued and Marx lived a long time ago, and the meaning of words change over time.

I'm using the modern sense of the word, as given in Merriam-Webster's dictionary:

1 a : an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence b : an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion : PREPOSSESSION c : an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression

2 : a rite or cult of fetish worshipers

3 : FIXATION

Given this definition, a man wearing heels for non-sexual purposes is not a fetish, unless he's fixated on it (fixation - "an obsessive or unhealthy preoccupation or attachment").

People spending eight hours a day on High Heel Meeting Place might be considered a fixation! However, it may also be simply because we enjoy one another's company here, and enjoy discussing the issues. Everyone has hobbies, whether it's watching the TV, reading books, biking - are those fixations simply because they spend a lot of time on it? No.