I've just looked at Dita Von Teese's 'Festish and the Art of Teese' and have to say I absolutely loved it. I know this probably makes me a massive hipocrit but I think the pictures really come across as a beautiful representation of sexual expression. The fact that they are in complete contrast to the mainstream bombardment of airbrushed, tanned, bleached blonde bionic-seeming bimbo's made them a pleasure to look at. They celebrate the female form, manipulate the male gaze and seem to control rather than be the subject of objectification. Its self-awareness and nostalgic harking back to 50's pin-ups acts as a reminder of how far we have come in terms of feminine expression, and seeing her incased in rubber and PVC promotes the future(istic) possibilities. It reminds me of that awful film Barbed Wire with Pamela Anderson where she attempted to look like a dominatrix but instead just looked like porno-goth barbie. In comparison Dita really does show power, grace and sophistication and transcends just a sexual interpretation of her body. It's got me thinking about how fetish and the dominatrix fit into third wave feminism....