tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843157625045099797.post7335719019073853612..comments2024-03-27T23:56:25.286-07:00Comments on Cabinet of Wonders: Fetishes As Fetish DoesHeather McDougalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683209580852572301noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843157625045099797.post-2339246335656495702007-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:002007-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00You're right. I did not mean to denigrate sexual ...You're right. I did not mean to denigrate sexual practice; for the people who practice them, fetishization is as real and important as religious fetishization can be, or any other kind.<BR/><BR/>The objection I have, I suppose, is as I said, the co-opting of the word so that the main body of citizens recognize it *only* as a word associated with sex, and as such as a word that came from the world of sex. It has a much older history than that, and can mean so many things, that I wanted to make a distinction.<BR/><BR/>I should not, perhaps, use the phrase "real fetishes" (in the first paragraph) when speaking of non-sexual fetishes. Sexual fetishization can be as real and powerful as the next thing; by "real" I suppose what I really mean is "traditional", as in "the original sense of the word." When I drop the word "fetish" into a conversation, the conversation stops, and everyone looks at me as if I was crazy. And I have to explain myself. The traditional sense of the word has been largely lost; and I suppose I am being reactionary when I call those kind "real"!<BR/><BR/>So my apologies, and I'm glad you enjoyed the post despite it. I'm thinking about how to change the phrase so my stance is clearer. Thanks!Heather McDougalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09683209580852572301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843157625045099797.post-82312793376270898862007-06-30T13:19:00.000-07:002007-06-30T13:19:00.000-07:00By the way- I did really like your post and the li...By the way- I did really like your post and the lines you drew between tools and fetish statues. As an anthropologist it's always good to see someone discussing how all humans have a love of beautiful objects and an understanding of how power can lurk in the most simple of objects.Sapientia Magazinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05669712659288797620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843157625045099797.post-27367490264351911222007-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:002007-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:00A few observations.The word 'fetish' was first app...A few observations.<BR/><BR/>The word 'fetish' was first applied to sexual paraphilia by the medical community. It was not co-opted by sexual alternatives. Also, those items that are commodified in that community were not originally part of consumerism- the consumerism arose out of that community. <BR/><BR/>When a dominatrix is holding a whip in front of your face as she grabs you by the hair, there's no doubt in your mind that she's holding an object of power. When that whip signifies being beaten by your mother, who only paid attention to you when she was beating you, that makes the dominatrix's whip more powerful.<BR/><BR/>Any object can be imbued with power and meaning. Just as one person looks at a toolbox and sees nothing but expensive items they can buy, and another person looks at a set of tools and sees a way of showing how holy those objects can be in the right hands, the same goes for sexual fetishism. Anything can be made into something crass and cheap- but anything can be made into an object of power in the right hands.Sapientia Magazinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05669712659288797620noreply@blogger.com