Fetish: How Objects Take on Irrational Meaning Cameron Kippen, Curtin University of Technology, Perth WA http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/fetish.html#good

Origins of “Fetish” Originally the word was thought to come from Portuguese "feitico" and derived from the Latin, "factitius" or "facere,” to do or to make as in an artefact or talisman inanimate or animate [e.g., a cross], often religious By the 19th century, the term had been extended to refer to anything which was irrationally worshipped. In the 19th century the term “fetish” became associated with sex and the attraction of certain portions of the female body (ankles, breasts, buttocks, hair, etc.) or specific articles of female attire (corset, shoes, etc.) Generally, a fetish is an object whose meaning has become separate from its use-value (Marx). Originally the word was thought to come from Portuguese "feitico" and derived from the Latin, "factitius" or "facere", to do or to make. The implication being the artefact was created artistically or by the supernatural and was worshipped in obsessive fashion because of its magical powers i.e. a lucky talisman. The attraction could be sexual or non-sexual, and the object, inanimate or animate [e.g., a cross]. By the nineteenth century, the term had been extended to refer to anything, which was irrationally worshipped. It was first referred to in the psychological sense in 1887 by French psychologist, Alfred Binet. As the science of sexology developed from the nineteenth century the term fetish became firmly associated with sex and the attraction of certain portions of the female body, or specific articles of female attire. Can you think of parts of the female body or female clothing that have become a fetish (in other words, irrationally obsessed over)? Common fetishized body parts were: hair, breasts, buttocks, feet. Common objects include gloves, lingerie, hose, leather, brassieres, and garters. A SIDE NOTE: Fetishism as we would recognise it today appeared in Europe in the eighteen century and crystallised as a distinct sexual phenomenon in the second half of the nineteenth century. (Steele, 1996). Today's fetishism is associated with perversion involving a sexual association with an inanimate object (Wedeck, 1963) The term evokes images of "kinky" sex, involving abnormal attraction to items of clothing such as high heeled shoes and body parts, i.e. feet. In the past decade, fetishism has become increasingly applied to a wide variety of behaviour some with no overt sexual component. (Nersessian, 1998). Generally, a fetish is an object whose meaning has become separate from its use-value.

Advertising imbues objects with fetish properties I.e., the value is separate from use-value. Marx's central argument here is that the world of commodities, of objects which circulate in an economy, takes on a life of its own. When you go to the store and see a bird-house for sale on a shelf, you see only the object, not the labor that went into it. The commodity seems to you to have magically appeared on the shelf for you consumption. That sense that commodities have a life of their own, that they magically appear for people to purchase or exchange, is what Marx means by the fetishism of commodities. 2 The use-value is the purpose for which a commodity is used; this use-value is easily understood. However, there is a value super-added to this use-value (consider a Porsche, for instance: it has the same use-value as a less expensive car, but in exchange has ten times the value), that is hard to explain. 3 Labor, for Marx, is always a social relation. You do not labor solely for yourself, but for others as well. The central problem with commodities, as far as Marx is concerned, is that the labor expended on their production is hidden, so that the consumer sees an object that he or she wants, not a product of someone else's labor. –Richard Hooker

Barthes Mythologies What mythologies did Barthes believe advertisers have created about soap? Prior to Pears’ soap empire, there was just one “soap,” no brands, no variations. Choose a personal care product you use and describe how it has become fetishized. purifying fluids “Chlorinated fluids, for instance, have always been experienced as a sort of liquid fire,” burning out impurity. Violent, abrasive, chemical. It “kills” dirt. soap powders Powders are “selective.” They push and drive dirt through the texture of the object., keeping public order, not making war. “The deep” and “the foamy” To assume a detergent cleans “in depth” assumes fabric is “deep” Foam, in other hand, implies luxury—it’s airy and light.

Skin Color Fetish Advertisers exploited our skin color fetish to fetishize soap. The question was which soap makes things “whiter?”

Wealth itself becomes fetishized, like a product.

Cultures project their fetishes onto objects Cultures project their fetishes onto objects. Example: Some cultures have no fetish about feet, while others do barbaric things to them.

Chinese Foot Binding 1000 years (until 20th Century) Foot binding (Simplified Chinese: 缠足; Traditional Chinese: 纏足; pinyin: chánzú, literally "bound feet") was a custom practiced on females for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 900's and ending in the early 20th Century. In Chinese foot binding, young girls' feet, usually at age 6 but often earlier, were wrapped in tight bandages so that they could not grow and develop normally; they would, instead, break and become highly deformed, not growing past 4-6 inches. The smaller the feet, the greater a girl’s chance at marriage. The foot needed to be small enough to hypothetically fit into a man’s mouth. Some scholars have claimed that the erotic effect was a function of the tiny steps and swaying walk of a woman whose feet had been bound. The very fact that the bound foot was concealed from men's eyes was, in and of itself, sexually suggestive. That which is concealed or taboo automatically becomes a fetish (example: breasts and buttocks in cultures that cover them).

Causes of sexual fetish? Ernest Becker argues fetishism is the lucky charm that eases anxieties about sexual performance. Freud theorized that fetish was a male response to the fear of castration. That which is taboo becomes a fixation and a fetish (underaged drinking, body parts covered by clothing, etc.) Behaviourists suggest paraphilia begins through a process of conditioning. - Sexual phobia, impotence or some other sexual dysfunction, which enforces individuals to seek alternative gratification. Erotic childhood memory. Ernest Becker argues fetishism is the lucky charm that eases anxieties about sexual performance. Freud theorized that fetish was a male response to the fear of castration. Foot in shoe like sex act (foot phallic). Sexual fetish is primarily a male phenomenon. That which is taboo becomes a fixation and a fetish (underaged drinking, body parts covered by clothing, etc.) Behaviourists suggest paraphilia begins through a process of conditioning. e.g. non-sexual objects can be associated with intense sexual pleasure and if repeated often enough can result in the person preferring these circumstances to normal contact. Other theories include sexual phobia, impotence or some other sexual dysfunction, which enforces individuals to seek alternative gratification. Erotic childhood memorhy. According to Brame, Brame & Jacobs (1996) most of the fetishists they interviewed recalled an erotic encounter in childhood i.e. crawling near an adults foot and feeling pleasantly stimulated, using parent's shoes as playthings, being tickled or nudged or trod on by a parent or other child.

Marx: “The Fetishism of Commodities” http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MODERN/FETISH.HTM Marx: “A commodity 1 appears, at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is, in reality, a very queer thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties . . .” 1 A commodity, for Marx, is an object which is 1.) the product of human, creative labor, that is, human labor manifested in an object and 2.) an object of human labor which is put in relation to other objects of human labor, that is, it is an object which is circulated. If you sat down and build a bird-house for yourself, you have produced an object, but not a commodity. If you sit down and build a bird-house and sell it to someone else, you have produced both an object and a commodity. Does anyone here have an expensive watch? Gucci and Timex have the same internal mechanisms—worth about $9.00 in parts. The only difference is superficial.

Share Info About Objects You Most Fetishize

Example EXAMPLES: Diamonds Historically, how did the diamond engagement ring tradition begin (or the car market begin)? What drives our irrational obsession with these objects? What are the mythologies that make the fetishes appealing? (Think about advertising, films, media, etc.) What are your own attitudes about these commodities? Your Turn: Try Cars or another product of choice Possibly show Altar-ations, Fiona May’s interview.

QUESTIONS?