My Glove Manifesto.

The world of fetish is a very intense and personal one. Because everyone is unique, not only in their genetic makeup, but also in their lifetime experiences, I feel it is not appropriate to judge someone by his or her hobbies, pastimes or recreations. I am what I am what I am and I can be no other.

First, my apologies to anyone who is offended by the following, but these are my personal views and not those of anyone else. Pandora's Mirror has been given a lot of use to write these words and to try to make it as cohesive and rational as I can. It is possible that others understand and perhaps share these views - that is their decision to do so, and I applaud their openness of mind.

These words, because I cannot chose the most appropriate ones, may colour me with the brush of chauvinism. I reject that entirely as I am a firm believer in equality between the sexes, where it is appropriate to speak of equality. I consider "political correctness" and "gender equality" as aberrations to clear and rational thought, introduced by those who lack the wisdom to see, accept and marvel at the subtlety and necessity of those differences! One particular difference between the sexes is summed up quite well by the words "vive la difference!" In particular, consider how ridiculous it would appear if a Lady were to behave as a Gentleman. And there lies one of the grounds for my particular fetish.

I ramble. I will try to be more concise from now on.

My Glove fetish is, I suppose, unusual for those who don't understand, but for those of you who have found The Outpost, those many pages that exist between the lines I write will be all too clear.

My particular Glove fetish is for Gloves that are Opera length or longer - the only proper length for a Lady to wear. In a pinch I will accept Gloves that are only elbow length. The Glove, no matter how long or from what material it is crafted, must fit the hand of the wearer perfectly - "like a Glove" - the fingers must all be the correct length, certainly not shorter than the fingers inside them (this also assumes the lady wearing them is aware of the fact that if she has long fingernails the fingers of the Glove must correspondingly be longer to keep the image of the Glove correct) and the placement of the thumb is also correct. I have seen some latex gloves that could almost be worn on either hand! The arm part of the Glove should of course always be comfortable to the wearer, so too loose a fit is not appropriate. Of course, latex Gloves should fit all portions of the arm like a "second skin" - as if it was sprayed on or the arm dipped in a vat of liquid latex.

Part of my fetish is also the Ladies who wear them (for me there is a BIG distinction between the Female subspecies of "woman" and "lady", but more of this later) and how they are worn. A Glove by itself is "just" an item of clothing, but wrapped around the arms of a Lady they become and also show that the Lady is aware of their elegance and sensuality, and that the Lady is also expressing these things about herself - something which is by definition impossible for those of the subspecies "woman" (see below for my definitions before you think that I have lost the whole plot), although they may make the attempt, such attempt doomed to failure because a Lady is always obviously a Lady and it is exceedingly difficult to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Now to my review of Darwin's Origin of Species.

Homo Sapien, I believe, is divided into two main subspecies, namely "male" and "female", each of which is divided into three (!) subgroups as listed below:- Male 1) man - the vast majority 2) gentleman - the few who realise that the Code of Chivalry and all its corollaries did not end with the reign of Arthur 3) other - yes, well......

Female 1) woman - the vast majority 2) lady - the rare and precious jewel, combining elegance, grace, style, strength, warmth, femininity, delicacy and so much more 3) other - yes, well......

I am well aware that each of the three groups overlap greatly and that an individual can belong to all of the subgroups at one time or another, and that the above list is an oversimplification. I am also not going to enter the realms of the many groups I have lumped into the "other" groups, as they - although no doubt wear and enjoy Gloves - are outside the scope of this article. I am restricting this article to the relationship of Gloveism to the heterosexual part of mankind, and in particular as an indicator to those who appreciate the many and sometimes subtle differences between Ladies and mere women, as this is the area in which I feel most comfortable.

Previously, I touched on the subject of "woman" versus "lady". Each is a female by definition and each is capable of carrying and giving birth to a child. What differs between the groups comes from within. No doubt all of you have seen a female who, on your personal scoring, would rate somewhere around 11 out of 10 and then thought after observing for only a few minutes "why does she try to be something she can never be?" The opposite is also true, where someone who is merely a "6" on the scale has the inner strength, grace and style to effortlessly say to all who care to observe "I am a Lady".

Similarly, the distinction between "man" and "gentleman" is equally clear to those of you with a discerning eye.

Thus, although the Glove is a utilitarian item of clothing, capable of being worn by anyone at all for any reason at all, my personal preference is Gloves of Opera length or longer being worn by Ladies - and only Ladies - as they are the only ones who can give a Glove its "soul" by lending their grace, elegance, style etc, to the Glove and almost making it come alive. But this transfer is by no means a one way street, as the Glove adds elegance, grace, style, femininity, and plain simple taste to the wearer and shows that the wearer possesses these qualities.

A Lady is still a Lady, whether she is dressed for the Embassy Grand Ball or for digging in the garden. A Glove, by any other name, is still a Glove, but place it upon the hand and arm of a Lady and an almost magical transformation causes the end result to be far greater than the sum of its components.

I am always in awe of how some females can wear Gloves and it looks just like a female wearing Gloves, while others can wear Gloves and the image is totally different (wonderful!), even if the experiment is conducted with the same pair of Gloves!

THAT is why the Lady wearing the Glove is so much a part of my fetish - she gives life to the Glove. No longer is it just an intricate piece of cloth or leather held to a certain shape by some stitching, it becomes an expression of individuality, of femininity, of sensuality!

Such is MY Glove fetish.

My apologies for the unorganised and pitifully inadequate descriptions - it is so hard to put into words what there are very few words for (what colour is YOUR soul?). If I could describe my thoughts, feelings and emotions as clearly as I would like then I would either be a very shallow person indeed or the greatest writer since Plato. I prefer to aspire to the latter since I cannot conceive of some simpleton having the breadth of mind to encompass the concept of fetishism.