Catsuits and bodysuits in popular media

[5] The trend of leather and vinyl catsuits were identified as an attempt to redefine the gender role of women through films.

[10] Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include: Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include: Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include: In a post-modern thesis on the superhero genre Michael Lecker wrote, "In the superhero genre, clothes do the talking through semiotics, which [Roland] Barthes discusses in depth in his work: The 'first, literal message serves as a support for a second meaning, of a generally affective or ideological order' (Roland Barthes[45]).

On the ideological level, the costumes signify the attributes that our society has projected onto cats and that the characters embody.

Fetishism is used as an excuse for a bit of titillatory semi-nudity, or to identify the villain – the man in black leather.

Horror films, in particular, will happily throw in a leather catsuit or a gratuitous bondage scene to spice up a mediocre script (M Olley, Pam Hogg: Warrior Queen of the Catwalk[47]).