Doublemint Twins Patricia and Cyb Barnstable
pose on the cover of Playboy (March 1981)
There is a persistent fascination with twins within the cultural imagination which is, appropriately enough, dual in character ...
On the one hand, twins signify all that is queer, uncanny, and sinister within the realm of horror; the terrifying suggestion often being made that we all possess an evil twin or doppelgänger, just like the character played by Roger Moore in The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970).
Whilst on the other hand, twin obsession has a pervy fetishistic component; particularly, of course, when the twins are young, female and sexually attractive. Advertisers and pornographers alike, have been quick to exploit the (mostly male) desire for a threesome involving twin sisters with the promise that this will instantly double their pleasure, double their fun.*
And if this also involves transgressing the taboo against incest - which it does - well that only serves to intensify the experience for the illicit lover. (What it does for the self-esteem of the women involved, however, one can only guess, but I suppose sleazy characters ranging from Austin Powers to Tony Stark don't really consider that an issue.)
On the one hand, twins signify all that is queer, uncanny, and sinister within the realm of horror; the terrifying suggestion often being made that we all possess an evil twin or doppelgänger, just like the character played by Roger Moore in The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970).
Whilst on the other hand, twin obsession has a pervy fetishistic component; particularly, of course, when the twins are young, female and sexually attractive. Advertisers and pornographers alike, have been quick to exploit the (mostly male) desire for a threesome involving twin sisters with the promise that this will instantly double their pleasure, double their fun.*
And if this also involves transgressing the taboo against incest - which it does - well that only serves to intensify the experience for the illicit lover. (What it does for the self-esteem of the women involved, however, one can only guess, but I suppose sleazy characters ranging from Austin Powers to Tony Stark don't really consider that an issue.)
* Note: I'm paraphrasing the famous slogan used to promote Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum, a brand which has long exploited the twin fetish, beginning in 1939 with illustrated print ads such as the one above and then via a long running series of TV commercials featuring actual twins. To enjoy a classic example of the latter, from 1987, click here.
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