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Martha Gomez
Sociology

Marion Goldman, Mentor

Latex Libertines, Brothers of Blood: A Comparison Study of American Sexual Fetish and Los Hermanos Penitentes

Academic literature currently lacks a focus on the increasingly public world of sexual fetish as a subculture with social meaning and value. One means by which to understand this world is through its imagery. The fetish subculture is saturated with Catholic iconography: crosses, whips, priestly robes, and myriad accessories that deform and punish the body. These icons, rich with significance, at once violate authorized codes and produce a disturbing, yet alluring, invitation for study. This research draws comparisons between the fetish subculture and los hermanos penitentes, a lay Catholic organization of 19th century New Mexico whose violent rituals and public reenactments of Christ’s suffering challenged the authority of the growing Catholic Church. Central to both of these groups is the body as a site of resistance and a channel for mystical experience. Findings from this research will help resolve a dialectic of the body and increase the potential for movement and mysticism in both worlds.