As a part of my Honours coursework, my studies assess the effect of subcultures within society. This required a presentation on the particular subculture, and its interrelation with its immediate community.
It is a difficult subject, as there is often little available research on the particular subcultures, and time constraints prohibited the ethics clearance required for interviews which would have enhanced the anthropological aspects of the study.
I am sure many of you would not be surprised that my topic encompassed lingerie, femininity, and feminine agency. The study contrasted the effects of feminism, arguing that its embracing of masculine ideals as models for empowerment effectively devalued women's inherent value propositions, which centre predominantly around femininity and intrinsic female roles.
Before anyone starts tossing quotes from Greer or Friedan from left of stage, the paper did not refute the important benefits of feminism, nor did it espouse pre-feminism. Instead it valorised the feminine not in response to masculine hegemonic predilections, but as a complimentary proposition to wrest balance between the sexes, and to re-appropriate the feminine ideal.
A presentation on such a subject would require a woman to be appropriately attired. As you know from this weblog of mine, this particular woman dresses in two distinct stages: from her underwear to her outerwear. There were some lovely new items of apparel I was keen to appropriate for my presentation, and a very lovely surprise which I am sure many of you would appreciate, and which I would like to share with you here.
Before we dispense with the formalities, I am pleased to concede that the presentation went extremely well and garnered considerable attention, even without me revealing [exactly] what I was concealing. There were certainly some raised eyebrows at the hints to my undergarments.
First, my ensemble in its entirety:
There is my beautiful cardi, my full petticoat and gorgeous
What Katie Did stockings, suspenders, bullet bra and Morticia
corset. But you clever readers have spied something else, haven't you ...
What an eye for detail you have! But first you must admire the detail of the beauty here:
and here:
How can a girl resist such divine luxury from her heel to her garter strap?
You can't wait, can you? Yes, you are quite right, it is she ... and it is her original autograph.
You don't believe me do you?
It is true. I have it here.
Dita von Teese's autographed card. Just for me!
Let me know if you are more interested in my final paper*, than my outer- and under-garments, and I shall send you a copy ...
... but I know you: Wicked!
xx
* on lingerie, femininity, and feminine agency - in case you forgot! (pettichrome@gmail.com)
