We’ve updated this article, based on reader interest. Part 2 of our discussion of forniphilia can be found on here: Is Forniphilia Essentially Women’s Sex-Slave Work?

Anne here. I learned a new word today: forniphilia (or phorniphilia), which is a subset of bondage and sexual objectification or BDSM, in which a person’s body is incorporated into a chair, table, cabinet or other piece of furniture.

The fetish, an extreme form of bondage because the subject usually is ‘tightly bound and expected to stay immobile for an indefinite period of time. Women are often gagged and/or placed in position where there is a danger of being smothered’, says Wiki.

The writer behind forniphillia.com is an honest man, articulating ideas that ring very true to me, in terms of the war between the sexes. As a well-read feminist, I respect his intelligence and laser-sharp analysis of why he’s inspired by forniphilia.

Allen Jones sculpture in Hong KongWe jumped on this erotic, magic carpet ride, due to a fashion editorial in Pop magazine that pays homage to British artist, Allen Jones (Wiki) . Via Fashion Gone Ro gue, we read that Devon Aoki wears skin-tight body suits from Jones’ artwork portfolio in the layout styled by Tamara Rothstein.

I’ve written extensively that as Asia rises in power, via China but also in Asia and India as a whole, we can expect more misogynistic images of women in media and branding. The topic is complex, but binding and bondage is deep in the Japanese soul, in particular. China had footbinding.

Granted, America burned women at the stake. Our own record is hardly clean on gender relations. Nevertheless misogyny seems to run deeper in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures.

Because of our extensive involvement in international women’s rights at Anne of Carversville, I’m probing back into the past, trying to understand the male mind and patriarchal cultural principles. This was the focus of my educational work many years ago.

Today I believe that as brands diversify their messages to appeal to many non-Western women, we will see more imagery that Western women find misogynistic. This is the essence of the Ralph Lauren Photoshop madness, in my opinion and the desire of fashion designers to make women so thin, they lose their potency, both physically and sexually.

We’re entering very interesting times in fashion editorial, with the publication of totally naked LOVE Magazine models and editorial like this Pop one. 2010 is hardly the first time that fashion has done fetish.

Today may be the first time in my career that I’ve seen women as furniture — for real, which doesn’t mean that I didn’t miss it two decades ago. To be continued … Anne