Catsuits and bodysuits in popular media

Catsuits are a recurring costume for fictional characters in various media, as well as for entertainers, especially for use in musical performances. They are sometimes referred to as "bodysuits", especially in reference to a full-body suit worn by a man (although "bodysuit" usually refers to a legless garment); "catsuit" is typically used only in reference to women.
The catsuit has been identified as a film-maker's costume of choice for stealth. In films like "Irma Vep", "Les Vampires" and "Heroic Trio", crime and catsuits are featured together, as well as its major original use in Alfred Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief".
A trend of bodysuits was observed by film reviewer Alan Farrell in his book "High Cheekbones, Pouty Lips, Tight Jeans", and a number of occurrences of the garb in films were mentioned - Charlize Theron in "Aeon Flux", Milla Jovovich in the and film of the "Resident Evil" franchise, Carrie-Anne Moss in "The Matrix", Angelina Jolie in ', Kate Beckinsale in "Underworld", and Raquel Welch in "Fantastic Voyage". The trend of leather and vinyl catsuits were identified as an attempt to redefine the gender role of women through films. Theresa L. Geller described the catsuit as a part of the Hollywood "tough chic" paradigm in an article published in the journal '. That view was shared by Sherrie A. Inness in her book "Action Chicks", which also included computer games and professional wrestling in that paradigm. "The Action Heroine's Handbook" describes the catsuit as one of the three options of the first rule of thumb described in the book: "Dress to accentuate your best physical assets". "Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture" by Sherrie A. Inness describes catsuits as an iconic garb of female TV and film characters.
Movies and television series.
Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:
Music videos.
Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:
Video and computer games.
Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:
Post-modern thesis.
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). The cat suits that adorn the feline hybrid characters in this genre are firstly illustrating their connection to felines. On the ideological level, the costumes signify the attributes that our society has projected onto cats and that the characters embody." In another post-modern thesis on sadomasochism in cinema Andrea Beckmann wrote, "Cinematic SM is twisted into the non-consenting, violent realm of the unhinged that we know it is not. 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")."