SECOND SKIN

An interior exploration of kinky desire and its impact on and integration into modern society.

In this dynamic debut, writer, queer archive curator, and fetishist Fedorova, believes that kink communities don’t deserve the judgmental disapproval they receive, and she encourages a deeper understanding, appreciation, and social valuing of the “compact space of ecstasy hidden away from our hyperconnected world.” Her book brilliantly dispels the many myths behind what many consider the “disposable thrill” of kink and fetish cultures to openly explore what “sexual difference means in society today” and to celebrate its countercultural, unconventional, often-tabooed complexities found outside of more normative frameworks. Creatively fusing the worlds of art, alternative sex, and fashion into her study, the author diligently explores a provocative collective of kink and fetish categories—such as leather, widely embedded into queer memory, theory, and sexual history; BDSM dynamics; and the simmering tensions between sex work and AI and robotic companions. She also explores the erotic fetishization of feet, race, medical accessories, cars, objects, and role play, such as personal in-house subservience and the complex, interdisciplinary role of the gimp, which provides an eye-opening glimpse into the world of voluntary subservience “without any judgment in an age of looks.” On a personal level, she acknowledges the erotic allure and sensual intersection of “sexuality, consumption, pop culture and senseless lust” each time she dons a black latex catsuit to enact a dual-role play fantasy with her submissive play partner. Despite her crestfallen consideration of kink and fetish activities remaining a “thorn in the side of respectability politics to this day,” and the dwindling amount of erotic, brick-and-mortar spaces to gather and enjoy them as a community, Fedorova writes with passion, knowledge, and authority to dispel these perceptions, noting the “many ways” fetishists can always “find home.”

An intimately written, sex-positive look at the history and ongoing preservation of kink culture.