Devyn LaBella and Sierra McCormick have joined the on-screen latex family. This select community represents those who have decided to don the most fetish of fetish materials for a role on the big or small screen. Their contribution is as Rubber (Wo)man, the protagonist in another instalment of American Horror Story.
Within hours of trailers hitting the media, screenshots and clips were being shared. Discussions about authenticity, representation of BDSM and whether the stars were fetishists filled forums and feeds. Erotic fan fiction has followed and both are firmly enshrined in the kinkydom.
Of course this all begs the question whether the pair are "rubberists".
The abundance of shares and commentary has led some to decry their objectification. Women, they claim, should be free to act in roles free of being turned into "sex objects" by others. Men, they say after selective reading, should not reduce these fine actresses to fetishes.
I'd like to offer an alternative view.
Actors and actresses should stop accepting parts that appropriate a subculture unless they are part of that subculture.
The gimp is a long established part of the latex fetishism subculture. The character Rubber (Wo)man displays many of the traits of the latex gimp (bloodlust excepted). Not only is it unsurprising the character has triggered a response in the fetish community, it's to be expected. The producers, screenwriters and cast must have known this when they accepted their various roles in this production. Perhaps they banked on the kinksters sharing and hyping it widely.
Regardless of motives, the actors must have accepted they would become the focus for the fetish community. Or were they blind to the profound impact their appearance would have on people who
Earlier I posed the question asked by many whether LaBella and McCormick are rubberists. I don't have an answer, but if they are I'll welcome them into the family.
