Comments on: Fetish Fuel In Life Magazine, 1939

By: Dr.Whiplash

Dr.Whiplash — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:53:49 +0000

Well, rubber condoms appeared in the mid 1800′s, so the fetish may have begun then. I’ve read that many Brits became aroused donning rubber gas masks and such in WWII bomb shelters, and gas masks have been around since WWI. Corset and bondage fetishes were already popular way before this magazine photo was created.

Bernard Montorgueil’s erotic drawings from the twenties and early thirties had plenty of tightly-clad women in some sort of shiny rubber-like material, though it may have been leather-inspired.

I personally have to believe someone knew EXACTLY what he was drawing on here. Pretty girl… skimpily clad… hands immobilized BEHIND her back… and is that a hint of a camel-toe I spy?

By: sera

sera — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:31:51 +0000

Oh, I think the shrink-wrap company (or at least its PR firm) would have known what they were doing. I agree with you–it’s not just “ooh, this is how you’ll be getting your beef”. Because, after all, if that’s what they wanted to show, they could accomplish that by showing, yes, the BEEF getting shrink-wrapped. Like any other ad that features a “pretty girl” (or pretty boy) half-dressed, the point of this is the sex appeal. The fact that it touches on a zillion fetishes is a happy bonus, but I think one that people were probably not totally insensitive to.

I’ve seen some work done about the evolution of fetishes–in general there’s Beauty in Darkness about the history of BDSM, and Gloria Brame has some stuff. But I would think that, given the way human minds work, the date of origin of a fetish for an item is the date that item actually exists–if not earlier. (I can think of a few things I’ve fetished but never seen . . . )

Cool pics.

By: yclept

yclept — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:26:57 +0000

Right on, tim.
I can remember as teens my best friend and I wrapping each other neck to foot in plastic wrap as a weight loss experiment…and all I felt was stupid. But, the first time I put on opera length gloves for a formal prom, it was so erotic I almost fainted.

By: Petronius

Petronius — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:15:25 +0000

What did rubber fetishists do before Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanization?

By: tim

tim — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:54:19 +0000

Today the discussion of such “taboos” is common, even if not everyone considers them acceptable. In 1939, I wonder if it was simply that it was all so under wraps (pun intended, thank you very much) that while those with that fetish would’ve recognized the impact, the wouldn’t have acknowledged this to anyone publicly.

I’d also argue that there wasn’t as much fetish camaraderie then and so while they knew of their own fetish, they were unlikely to know that there were OTHER fetishes, let alone be able to recognize them. Breath control, rubber, wrapped immobile… all fetishes one wouldn’t have reason to have heard of just because on enjoys, say, footplay.