From Excitation to Multiplication: Sadomasochist and Fetishistic Images in Bizarre

Abstract:

This article analyzes the North-American sadomasochist and fetishist magazine Bizarre, edited from 1946 to 1959 by John Willie. We propose a reflection about the interaction between the content of the magazine and its readers, as observed primarily in the the correspondence sections. After a brief introduction about the practices and the network grouped under the acronym BDSM, we will search the pages of Bizarre for different modes of agency of images, object and texts, and their effect on bodies, actions and sexual desires usually regarded as 'deviant'. These modes of agency will be divided into excitation, imagination, identification and multiplication, allowing for a discussion with theories about fetishism, the agency of images, and the shaping of sexualized identities.

Keywords:
fetishism; sadomasochism; Bizarre; agency; image