The Sexual Life of Our Time in Its Relations to Modern Civilization: Translated from the Sixth German EditionBloch, Iwan
Philosophy
The Sexual Life of Our Time in Its Relations to Modern Civilization: Translated from the Sixth German Edition
Bloch, Iwan
Sex; Sexual ethics
If men’s clothing, as we have already said, is, in the gross, far less
subject to the dominion of fashion than women’s clothing, still recently
efforts have been apparent to simplify women’s clothing also, to make it
independent of the caprices of fashion, and, above all, to subordinate
it to hygienic principles. It is noteworthy that these efforts proceed
more particularly from the leaders of the modern woman’s movement, an
interesting proof of the connexion already alluded to between
personality and clothing. The more differentiated and the more inwardly
rich the personality, the simpler and more monotonous is the clothing.
To this extent, therefore, the desire for simplification of feminine
clothing is an entirely logical postulate of the emancipation of women.
But this demand finds a justification also from the point of view of
hygiene. This fact has been discussed especially by Paul
Schultze-Naumburg in his book on “The Culture of the Feminine Body as
the Basis of Women’s Clothing” (Leipzig, 1901). He insists above all on
the =complete abandonment of the corset=, and of the “small waist,” and
on a return of women’s clothing to the free, simple outlines of the
antique. He makes, also, very noteworthy observations on the unhygienic
footgear of both sexes.
The idea that woman’s clothing should unconstrainedly represent the form
of her body has been admirably realized in the different varieties of
the so-called “=reformed dress=.” Not without influence on these
deserving attempts has been the recognition of the distinguished
simplicity and hygienic purposefulness of the Japanese women’s clothing.
For the present, however, fashion, as of old, remains dominant, and
celebrates annually its triumph in respect of new discoveries and
refinements of the dress of women of the world, employing for this
purpose the familiar means of accentuation and disclosure, and of
coloured and ornamental stimuli. The “woman’s movement” has as yet had
little ostensible and practical influence in liberating women’s dress
from the all-powerful control of fashion.
Now that we have considered clothing and fashion in their relations to
the sexual life, and have learned to understand how they combine in
action as means of sexual stimulation of a peculiar nature, we are in a
position to grasp the =relations between the sense of shame and nudity=,
as it presents itself to us as a =problem of modern civilization=.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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