MISS MEATFACE - A Conversation with a Ladydoll
Fetishism is a practice of devotion to material objects, whether it be a form of clothing or body part. The objects take on the life of quasi-gods, in total control of the whims and desires of their devoted followers. It is a subject, which most people have always taken as taboo, but almost 80% of the world's population have a fetish at some point in their lives.
The most interesting of all is the attempt to try to explain and know why this fascination, leads us, humans, to feel these desires. How is it all linked to our emotions? When does it become a sexual need, and when is it just simple fun?
GATA sits down with the queen of fetish, lady boss and performer Kat Toronto, a.k.a. MISS MEATFACE to talk about this fascinating world, her life and her love for BDSM. What is the truth behind this seductive and plastic world?
Hello Kat, can you please introduce yourself to the GATA Family, why did you feel attracted to the BDSM and fetish world?
Hello GATA family! My name is Kat Toronto, I have an alter ego named Miss Meatface who manifests herself through my self-portraiture photography and performance work. What originally drew me into the world of BDSM and fetish were the vintage photographs and illustrations that I saw in books like John Willie’s Bizarre magazine, John Sutcliffe’s Atom Age magazine, and from photographers like Pierre Molinier and Joel Peter-Witkin. I’ve always been obsessed with historical costume and undergarments and as I got older, I realised there was a connection between costume and the world of fetish and BDSM.
“It all depends on the particular shoot. If I am shooting Meatface on my own the feeling is usually not so much a sexually charged one but more based on emotions and nostalgia, sentimental memories”
How have you been during these pandemic times? Did the situation affect your art at all?
Lockdown has been a challenge for me, in that I’ve been forced to shoot most of my latest Meatface work in our house and garden instead of on location elsewhere. In the past, I’ve relied heavily on scouting fabulous locations to shoot in, but the pandemic has temporarily put a stop to this. I enjoy a challenge though so I tried to put a positive spin on things and go with the flow.
Is Miss Meatface your full-time job? What else do you like doing when you are not under the latex costume?
Yes, currently Miss Meatface is a full-time job for me. I have a daily routine of doing admin and social media work in the morning, exercise in the afternoon, and then shooting in the evenings or working in other areas of the Meatface empire like designing new merchandise, procuring wardrobe and props, and brainstorming new exhibitions and such. When I’m not in Meatface mode, I am focusing my time on gardening and various other projects I’ve got going on like latex and costume design.
You got into BDSM and fetish culture in your early 20s. Was it more out of curiosity or a result of a fetish that you were about to discover?
I would say it was a bit of both really. My first dip into fetish was an early fascination with corsetry. I made my first Victorian corset when I was 12 years old and my obsession progressed more and more from there. In college, I focused on textile and costume design and then created photographic self-portraits wearing the costumes I made. In my early 20’s I discovered the wonders of latex and that became another obsession.
“In my early 20’s I discovered the wonders of latex and that became another obsession”
Is Meatface a housewife? How would you describe her, her friends and her adventures?
Miss Meatface is anything and everything, she is a master of transformation. What she considers normal, everyday life, most people would look at and think of as eccentric or bizarre, but that is just her typical reality. Miss Meatface is an artistic persona that resides deep within me and manifests herself in physical form through my photography. I view her as a grandmother figure, someone that nurtures and cares for me. Her “MeatMaid” is her best friend, constant companion, and a human doll that she takes great joy in dressing up and playing house with.
Do the lines between Miss Meatface and Kat ever become blurred? Do you ever become confused juggling these two identities?
On the whole, I like to keep a definite line drawn between Kat Toronto and Miss Meatface but very occasionally the two may cross and become blurred. At the beginning of Meatface, I think that Kat Toronto and the Meatface persona would become a bit confused and meld into one, but now I feel like there is a sharp line drawn between the two.
If you weren’t creating images through photography, would you like to explore a different medium?
I always like to have projects on the go in a variety of mediums, otherwise I tend to get bored. Over lockdown, I taught myself how to make latex corsets and other accessories which I am selling in my online kitschy kink shop Impermeable Delectables. I am also currently experimenting with different film formats so I don’t have to be so dependent on Polaroid in the future, so I am playing around with vintage 110 cameras and cheap point-and-shoot 35mm cameras. In the future, I’d love to start making Super 8 movies of Miss Meatface.
Your images are a form of storytelling; representing your family and grandmother; how has this developed during the time? Do you still describe the same things, or did your form of expression change over the years?
Miss Meatface has evolved quite considerably throughout the years. In the very beginning she was a much more sexually raw organism, and when I look at her today I feel like she has now developed into a mature kinky grandmotherly figure. I was actually going to title my latest body of work something along the lines of “Becoming My Grandmother” because I feel so strongly about the grandmother connection to now.
“Miss Meatface has evolved quite considerably throughout the years. In the very beginning, she was a much more sexually raw organism, and when I look at her today I feel like she has now developed into a mature kinky grandmotherly figure”
What role does fetishism play in your images? What percentage is role play, and how much represents sexual desire?
It all depends on the particular shoot. If I am shooting Meatface on my own the feeling is usually not so much a sexually charged one but more based on emotions and nostalgia, sentimental memories. If a shoot involves her MeatMaid then sexual desire is usually going to be the overwhelming look/feel represented in the images.
I can imagine that you received many requests from people who actually want to become your clients. Is this the reality of the situation?
On occasion, I receive messages from people who think that I am a professional dominatrix or who ask if they can be in a Meatface shoot. If this is the case I usually reply to them with a polite note but if I receive a particularly rude message from someone I will just ignore it.
What are Miss Meatface’s future plans?
Next up is a long-awaited coffee table book of Miss Meatface Polaroids, taken between 2014 - 2018, being published by London’s Circa Press. We are in the very last stages of putting the final touches on the book with a tentative release date of October 2021 and book release exhibitions in the UK and US to follow (fingers crossed that the pandemic will allow this to happen!). It’s been in the works for a few years now and I am so excited to finally see it brought to life!
Who is your favourite BDSM artist?
Pierre Molinier.
Can you please tell us a few movies that have influenced your life/art?
A tough question, there are so many! Here are a few of my absolute favourites:
William Castle’s Homicidal
Harold & Maude
Funeral Parade Of Roses
Cabaret
Shadow Of A Doubt
Grey Gardens
Blood & Black Lace
Gold Diggers Of 1933
Killer Klowns From Outer Space