Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Léon Gérôme (ca. 1890)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Weird Science (1984)
Dollhouse Joss Whedon (2009)
Pygmalionism is the love and sexual attraction to a creation of ones own making, usually a statue or a doll. The Greek mythological character Pygmalion was a king of Cyprus and a sculptor who created a beautiful statue representing his ideal of womanhood. He then fell in love with his work of art and in an answer to his prayer, the goddess Aphrodite brought the statue to life.
Kink is a creative process. There is something incredibly sexy about starting with a "lump of clay" and turning someone into exactly what you want them to be. It's more complex than just being a "sex toy" or simple objectification. It's about process, change, development and creation. It's an investment.
In Hitchcock's Vertigo, Detective John Ferguson haunted by the death of Madeleine, a woman he was hired to follow. After a stay in a mental hospital, he spots another woman who looks like Madeleine and begins a relationship with her. However, he is still consumed with guilt and begins to meticulously transform her into a replica of Madeleine. He buys her clothes that match Madeleine's to the smallest detail, he has her make-up done to look more like her and finally dyes her hair blonde, like Madeleine. Once the transformation is complete, he falls in love with her.
