What do all women have in common? Easy, they’re scary…
It doesn’t matter whether they were born with a vagina or not, have large or small breasts, naturally or virtually portray the behaviors related to womanhood. The female presence can inspire fear in certain humans. The explanation behind this occurrence can be attributed to their unbreakable spirit, mysterious behaviors, subtle movements full of sensuality, and the qualities to survive on their own, despite the alleged rule of man, which is a symbol of something more complex that cannot be easily contained.
Hence being a woman, due to political (social and personal) or biological reasons, is to declare that little by little, throughout the years, one has adapted to the constant battle within, as well as defying what constitutes perfection. Femininity, both as a cultural and as a natural property, is the face perfumed by the terror of being castrated, of possessing pleasure, and what cannot be spontaneously understood.
In the scenarios where a woman has gone against the conventional, almost canonical, standards of traditional behavior by abandoning the submissive stance, expressing her own ideas, and acting on her own sexual desires, she has done so at the expense of being called a witch or wicked. She is considered a vagina dentata that will not rest until she has destroyed every last penis on Earth. This, of course, only once she satisfied her insatiably lascivious hunger.
The symbolic power of teeth has been given to other objects, providing the woman wearing them with a greatness and power. For centuries these accessories have equated to the gravitational threat of an erect phallus or a husky voice. These material creations that have mythological origins, has made turned them from Freudian archetypes, to badges of honor. These crushing elements are worn to feel an increased authority.
One example of this detail of female fashion that speaks of an acquired aristocracy, while remaining a sign of dangerous coital pleasure, and stubborn sovereign rule, has through time been given the name of the choker.
From Marie Antoinette’s sophisticated use, this visual sign of sensuality and fragility has taken its place within what’s considered as daring.
The gold “B” pendant attached to a choker was Anne Boleyn’s trademark, which gave a message of pride, identity, and self-fulfillment.
Perhaps the surviving French aristocracy, to name a large group of those who chose to wear this item, saw in this piece a cathartic tribute to their ancestors who were victims of the guillotine during the revolution.
Women who enjoyed their sexuality and dedicated themselves to sharing sensual pleasure took the accessory as an identifying seal. Manet’s Olympia (1865) remains as a proof of disdain for authority.
Let’s think of the impact of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s punk boutique, Sex, when it promoted BDSM influence in European counterculture, collaterally making an impact in subconscious feminine emancipation.
Courtney Love and Melissa Auf der Maur worn these accessories as a clear aesthetic empowerment of being a woman and reveling in their abilities.
And what can be said of the young, yet highly suggestive Natalie Portman in the film Leon: The Professional (1994)? That particular element accompanied this girl in her transition from frenzied innocence to the rapacious discovery of the world.
Gigi Hadid or Lily-Rose Depp can be our current references of wearers of this accessory. What new meaning might this item now embody?
To dress is to construct our image by taking the representation of certain structures, taking advantage of the performative concrete elements, and using them on ourselves. The choker is the inherited charm necklace that signifies power and self-knowledge, and above all, an overwhelming femininity. It’s a historical relic that weaves the collective subconscious only to make obvious what is no longer a mystery: Women are to be feared.
Translated by Maria Suarez
