I was going to put this in GQ because I would like a factual answer, but as I think most answers are going to be allegorical, I put it here.
So why does leopard skin connote one is being promiscuous? I know it doesn’t happen like that all the time, but pop culture and such like to display a strumpet wearing leopard skin leggings, or leopard skin shirts…What is it about leopard skins that make them so sexual?
I’m not saying that everyone who wears them wants to be sexy, but if one does want to portray a sence of sexy-ness wearing leopard skin anything could do the trick?!:dubious:
I don’t know about promiscuity, but it does indicate a Lack of Taste. I learn this from The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste, an indispensible book that will allow you to locate your own frontiers of Bad Taste (It did it for me, anyway). Leopard Skin lingerie appears in one entry, and IIRC there’s an entry for leopard skin itself.
So it seems to be that Bad Taste = Tawdry = associated with promiscuity angle. Nobody of good taste would be caught dead in leopard-skin lingerie, is the implication.
I’ve always considered the leopard = wild animal, ergo leopard-print wearing person = wild person to be a valid reason, even if it is a little irrational. Or maybe that’s just me.
Possibly to look exotic? Perhaps an advertising tool? Also, they may not have the $$$ for current trends, so are using clothing from the 80’s? I vote for the “exotic” reason.
I agree with XJETGIRLX’s assessment. And, humans have always used animal skins (and other parts) in the hope of acquiring some of the animals’ attributes. Face it, leopards are sexy and sultry. Even their walk is sensual. Plus, the spotted pattern is easily recognizable, yet not quite as “out there” as tiger print.
It may be bad taste, but I still find leopard print lingerie sexy, because it indicates a fun-loving woman who isn’t afraid to flaunt conventions. To me, that’s sexy.
I’m sure there is some golden age comic with some jungle girl character wearing a leopard skin bikini and that image was probably imbedded in a generations mind as sexy.
I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
I think the association with leopard print is that it appears almost always in lingerie, or tight-fitting/revealing clothing. This gives it a reputation as slutty. And perhaps there’s something class-ist to it as well, since animal print outerwear is typically, IME, not expensive and often associated with “trashiness.” There is a stereotype linking these types of women as easy.
