From corsets to codpieces, stockings to stilettos and piercing to push-up bras, fashion and sex have always enjoyed a very close relationship. This new edition of David Kunzle's rich and revealing history of corsetry and body sculpture shows how this neglected phenomenon is closely bound up with sexual self-expression. Drawing on sources as diverse as medical literature and popular magazine articles, this fascinating history shows how in many ways the use of the corset rejected the role of the passive, maternal woman - so that in Victorian times it was actually seen by many as a scandalous threat to the social order. Even today fashion designers recognize its subversive powers, as a symbol of eroticism, decadence and control. Taking in other curiosities such as ancient body decoration, male corsetry, masochism and foot fetishism, this is an often racy journey into the enigma of all those who sculpt the shape of their desires onto their bodies.

戴維·孔茲（David Kunzle），生於英國，美國加利福尼亞大學洛杉磯分校藝術史教授。除本書外，還著有《連環畫的曆史》（The History of the Comic Strip ）、《抗議海報》（Posters of Protest ）和《切·格瓦拉：偶像、神話和啓示》（Che Guevara: Icon, Myth, and Message）等。