The Big Book of Legs

The Big Books

by Dian Hanson (Editor)

The female leg is an erotic non-genital, and nearly identical in structure to the male limb, there is no obvious reason why it should be eroticized. Yet through much of history, across many cultures, the female leg was kept covered and treated as taboo, until it became an object of sexual obsession. In Victorian times, the word ’leg’ was forbidden in polite society, lest gentlemen be driven wild with lust. Even now, 80 years after women’s legs finally came out of hiding, their allure remains mysterious and powerful. The third in Dian Hanson’s wildly successful series on erotic body parts explores how the female leg became central to women’s emacipation, from the French Revolution to the sexual revolution. Over 400 photos document the first burlesque shows of the 1800s, the silk-stockinged flappers of the 20s, the nylon-mania of the 40s, the dawn of the stiletto in the 50s, and the golden age of leg magazines in the 60s. Who wore the first high heels, how did nylons become a weapon of war, why were Betty Grable’s the "million dollar legs," where did Elmer Batters get his start, and just what is the deal with feet? The answers are all here, along with vintage photos by Irving Klaw, Peter Gowland, Bunny Yeager, Batters, and other great masters of leg art.

Genres: Erotica, Photography, Art

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Dian Hanson (born November 2, 1951) began her publishing career as an American pornographic magazine editor, historian, and occasional model, helping found the 1970s hardcore journal Puritan, then moving on to Partner, OUI, Adult Cinema Review, Outlaw Biker and Big Butt, among others. She was most famously the editor of Juggs and Leg Show sexual fetish magazines from 1987–2001.

Reviews

[Shannon Moeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only appeared in one photo in this book — page 321 — hence the 4-star rating. Again I was never properly compensated for appearing in the book, and I even had to purchase it in order to view my picture.

I have more to say about how the models featured in this book were ripped off, but I’ll leave that for now.

[Evelyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything you ever wanted to know about the female leg 🦵 😊

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mit 'The Big Book of Legs' ist dem Taschen-Verlag nicht nur ein phänomenaler Bildband gelungen. Es ist weit mehr als das.

Dian Hanson, ihrerseits ehemalige Herausgeberin des 'Leg Show'-Magazins hat sich in diesem Band die Mühe gemacht eine ganze Reihe geschmackvoller (wenige Ausnahmen!) Photos zusammenzusuchen, die wunderbar dokumentieren wie die Gesellschaft auf das 'entblößte Frauenbein' reagierte.

Doch es sind nicht nur die ausgewählten Bilder, die den Leser in ihren Bann ziehen. In einfachen Worten (dafür aber dreisprachig!) wird die Kulturgeschichte des weiblichen Beins nachgezeichnet. Es wird gezeigt, dass es von der ersten öffentlichen 'Zur-Schau-Stellung' des Körperteils bis zur Klassifizierung 'ur-amerikanisch' nur wenige Jahre dauerte. Und was das Fahrrad damit zu tun hatte.

Ich kann es nur jedem wärmstens empfehlen. Auch, wenn der Band leider nur bis in die 1960er vorstößt. Die restlichen Teile (Männliche / Weibliche primäre und sekundäre Geschlechtsmerkmale) werde ich mir, bei Zeiten, auch zu Gemühte führen. Leider sind die Bücher ein wenig teuer - weil aufwendig produziert!. Ihr Geld wert sind sie aber alle Mal, wenn man sich gerne mit menschlicher Sexualität (und ihrer Geschichte) auseinandersetzt!