The Leather Menace

The Leather Menace looks at the spectre of the lesbian body in the 20th century, particularly focusing on the 70s-90s. I look at leatherdyke subculture and explore how the lesbian body was abstracted and reconfigured through SM practice and view this as a radical act of queer defiance against the staus quo. Fabric making and manipulation, such as knitwear, are central to this project, and these practices are used to spotlight gender-nonconforming, fat, queer bodies and highlight the beauty of the diversity of bodies.