Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual
fixation on a nonliving object or nongenital body part.
The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has ''a fetish'' for that object is a fetishist.
A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement, or as a
mental disorder
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life.
Sexual arousal
Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...
from a particular body part can be further classified as
partialism
Partialism is sexual fetish with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than genitals. Partialism is categorized as a fetishistic disorder in the DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association only if it causes significant psyc ...
.
While medical definitions restrict the term ''sexual fetishism'' to objects or body parts,
''fetish'' can, in common discourse, also refer to sexual interest in specific activities.
Definitions
In common parlance, the word ''fetish'' is used to refer to any sexually arousing stimuli, not all of which meet the medical criteria for fetishism.
This broader usage of ''fetish'' covers parts or features of the body (including obesity and body modifications), objects, situations and activities (such as
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
or
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
).
Paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
s such as
urophilia
Urolagnia (also urophilia, and, more colloquially, a golden shower or watersports) associates sexual excitement with the sight or thought of urine or urination, and may also refer to such behaviours or acts. It is a paraphilia.
The term has o ...
,
necrophilia
Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving Cadaver, corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...
and
coprophilia
Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος, ''kópros'' 'excrement' and φιλία, ''philía'' 'liking, fondness'), also called scatophilia or scat (Greek: σκατά, ''skatá'' 'feces'), is the paraphilia involving sexual arousal and pleasure from ...
have been described as fetishes.
Originally, most medical sources defined fetishism as a sexual interest in non-living objects, body parts or secretions. The publication of the
DSM-III
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
in 1980 changed that by excluding arousal from body parts in its diagnostic criteria for fetishism. In 1987, a revised edition of the DSM-III (
DSM-III-R
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
) introduced a new diagnosis for body part arousal, called ''
partialism
Partialism is sexual fetish with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than genitals. Partialism is categorized as a fetishistic disorder in the DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association only if it causes significant psyc ...
''. The
DSM-IV
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
retained this distinction.
Martin Kafka
Martin Paul Kafka (born 1947) is an American psychiatrist best known for his work on sex offenders, paraphilias and what he calls "paraphilia-related disorders" such as sex addiction and hypersexuality.
Career
Kafka earned his undergraduate deg ...
argued that partialism should be merged into fetishism because of overlap between the two conditions,
and the
DSM-5
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric ...
subsequently did so in 2013.
The
ICD-10
ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), a medical classification list by the World Health Organization (WHO). It contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, ...
definition (World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases) is still limited to non-living objects.
Types
In a review of 48 cases of clinical fetishism in 1983, fetishes included
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
(58.3%),
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
and rubber items (22.9%),
footwear
Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves th ...
(14.6%),
body parts (14.6%),
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
(10.4%), and soft materials or fabrics (6.3%).
A 2007 study counted members of Internet discussion groups with the word ''fetish'' in their name. Of the groups about body parts or features, 47% belonged to groups about feet (
podophilia), 9% about
body fluid
Body fluids, bodily fluids, or biofluids, sometimes body liquids, are liquids within the human body. In lean healthy adult men, the total body water is about 60% (60–67%) of the total Human body weight, body weight; it is usually slightly lower ...
s (including
urophilia
Urolagnia (also urophilia, and, more colloquially, a golden shower or watersports) associates sexual excitement with the sight or thought of urine or urination, and may also refer to such behaviours or acts. It is a paraphilia.
The term has o ...
,
scatophilia
Coprophilia (from Greek κόπρος, ''kópros'' 'excrement' and φιλία, ''philía'' 'liking, fondness'), also called scatophilia or scat (Greek: σκατά, ''skatá'' 'feces'), is the paraphilia involving sexual arousal and pleasure from ...
,
lactaphilia
Erotic lactation is sexual arousal by breastfeeding on a woman's breast. Depending on the context, the practice can also be referred to as adult suckling, adult nursing, and adult breastfeeding. Practitioners sometimes refer to themselves as being ...
,
menophilia
Paraphilias are sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical. The American Psychiatric Association, in its ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition'' (DSM), draws a distinction between paraphilias (which i ...
,
mucophilia Other specified paraphilic disorder is the term used by the fifth edition of the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM-5) to refer to any of the many other paraphilic disorders that are not explicitly named in the manual. Al ...
), 9% about body size, 7% about hair (
hair fetish
Hair fetishism, also known as hair partialism and trichophilia, is a partialism in which a person sees hair most commonly, head hair as particularly erotic and sexually arousing. Arousal may occur from seeing or touching hair, whether head hai ...
), and 5% about muscles (
muscle worship
Muscle worship (also called sthenolagnia) is a form of body worship in which one participant, the worshiper, touches the muscles of another participant, the dominant, in a sexually arousing manner. The practice of muscle worship can involve var ...
). Less popular groups focused on navels (
navel fetishism
Navel fetishism, belly button fetishism, or alvinophilia is a partialism in which an individual is attracted to the human navel.
In 2012, it was the second most popular fetish search on Google as per their global monthly averages.
Stimuli
A n ...
), legs, body hair, mouth, and nails, among other things. Of the groups about clothing, 33% belonged to groups about clothes worn on the legs or buttocks (such as stockings or skirts), 32% about footwear (
shoe fetishism
Shoe fetishism is the attribution of attractive sexual qualities to shoes or other footwear as a matter of sexual preference, or an alternative or complement to a relationship with a partner. It has also been known as retifism, after the French no ...
), 12% about underwear (
underwear fetishism), and 9% about whole-body wear such as jackets. Less popular object groups focused on headwear, stethoscopes, wristwear, pacifiers, and diapers (
diaper fetishism
Diaper fetishism, nappy fetishism or diaperism, is a type of garment fetish or paraphilic infantilism. A person with a diaper fetish derives pleasure from the diaper and/or use of it. Being forced to wear diapers as a form of humiliation was s ...
).
Erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...
is the use of choking to increase the pleasure in sex. The fetish also includes an individualized part that involves choking oneself during the act of masturbation, which is known as auto-erotic asphyxiation. This usually involves a person being connected and strangled by a homemade device that is tight enough to give them pleasure but not tight enough to suffocate them to death. This is dangerous due to the issue of hyperactive pleasure seeking which can result in strangulation when there is no one to help if the device gets too tight and strangles the user.
Devotism involves being attracted to body modifications on another person that are the result of amputation. Devotism is only a sexual fetish when the person who has the fetish considers the amputated body part on another person the object of sexual interest.
Cause
![1421 Sensory Homunculus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/1421_Sensory_Homunculus.jpg)
Fetishism usually becomes evident during puberty, and may develop prior to that.
No single cause for fetishism has been conclusively established.
Some explanations invoke
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learni ...
. In several experiments, men have been conditioned to show arousal to stimuli like boots, geometric shapes or penny jars by pairing these cues with conventional erotica. According to
John Bancroft, conditioning alone cannot explain fetishism, because it does not result in fetishism for most people. He suggests that conditioning combines with some other factor, such as an abnormality in the sexual learning process.
Theories of
sexual imprinting
In psychology and ethology, imprinting is any kind of phase-sensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behaviour. It was first used to des ...
propose that humans learn to recognize sexually desirable features and activities during childhood. Fetishism could result when a child is imprinted with an overly narrow or incorrect concept of a sex object. Imprinting seems to occur during the child's earliest experiences with arousal and desire, and is based on "an egocentric evaluation of salient reward- or pleasure-related characteristics that differ from one individual to another."
Neurological differences may play a role in some cases.
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran
Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran (born 10 August 1951) is an Indian-American neuroscientist. He is known for his wide-ranging experiments and theories in behavioral neurology, including the invention of the mirror box. Ramachandran is a disti ...
observed that the region processing sensory input from the feet lies immediately next to the region processing genital stimulation, and suggested an accidental link between these regions could explain the prevalence of
foot fetishism
Foot fetishism, also known as foot partialism or podophilia, is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.
Characteristics and related fetishes
Foot fe ...
. In one unusual case, an
anterior temporal lobectomy
Anterior temporal lobectomy is the complete or partial removal of the anterior portion of the temporal lobe of the brain. The exact boundaries for removal can vary slightly in practice and between neurosurgeons. It is a treatment option for tempor ...
relieved an epileptic man's fetish for safety pins.
Various explanations have been put forth for the rarity of female fetishists. Most fetishes are visual in nature, and males are thought to be more sexually sensitive to visual stimuli.
Roy Baumeister
Roy F. Baumeister (; born May 16, 1953) is an American social psychologist who is known for his work on the self, social rejection, belongingness, sexuality and sex differences, self-control, self-esteem, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, a ...
suggests that male sexuality is unchangeable, except for a brief period in childhood during which fetishism could become established, while
female sexuality is fluid throughout life.
Diagnosis
The
ICD-10
ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), a medical classification list by the World Health Organization (WHO). It contains codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, ...
defines fetishism as a reliance on non-living objects for sexual arousal and satisfaction. It is only considered a disorder when fetishistic activities are the foremost source of sexual satisfaction, and become so compelling or unacceptable as to cause distress or interfere with normal sexual intercourse.
The ICD's research guidelines require that the preference persists for at least six months, and is markedly distressing or acted on.
Under the
DSM-5
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric ...
, fetishism is sexual arousal from nonliving objects or specific nongenital body parts, excluding clothes used for
cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
(as that falls under
transvestic disorder) and
sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...
s that are designed for genital stimulation. In order to be diagnosed as ''fetishistic disorder'', the arousal must persist for at least six months and cause significant psychosocial distress or impairment in important areas of their life. In the
DSM-IV
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM; latest edition: DSM-5-TR, published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a common langua ...
, sexual interest in body parts was distinguished from fetishism under the name
partialism
Partialism is sexual fetish with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than genitals. Partialism is categorized as a fetishistic disorder in the DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association only if it causes significant psyc ...
(diagnosed as
Paraphilia NOS Other specified paraphilic disorder is the term used by the fifth edition of the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (DSM-5) to refer to any of the many other paraphilic disorders that are not explicitly named in the manual. Al ...
), but it was merged with fetishistic disorder for the DSM-5.
The ReviseF65 project has campaigned for the ICD diagnosis to be abolished completely to avoid
stigmatizing fetishists.
Sexologist Odd Reiersøl argues that distress associated with fetishism is often caused by shame, and that being subject to diagnosis only exacerbates that. He suggests that, in cases where the individual fails to control harmful behavior, they instead be diagnosed with a
personality
Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, mos ...
or
impulse control disorder
Impulse-control disorder (ICD) is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, an urge, or an impulse; or having the inability to not speak on a thought. Many psychiatric disorders feature imp ...
.
Treatment
According to the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, fetishistic fantasies are common and should only be treated as a disorder when they impair normal functioning or cause distress.
Goals of treatment can include elimination of criminal activity, reduction in reliance on the fetish for sexual satisfaction, improving relationship skills, reducing or removing arousal to the fetish altogether, or increasing arousal towards more acceptable stimuli. The evidence for treatment efficacy is limited and largely based on
case studies
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular fi ...
, and no research on treatment for female fetishists exists.
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (suc ...
is one popular approach. Cognitive behavioral therapists teach clients to identify and avoid antecedents to fetishistic behavior, and substitute non-fetishistic fantasies for ones involving the fetish.
Aversion therapy
Aversion therapy is a form of psychological treatment in which the patient is exposed to a stimulus while simultaneously being subjected to some form of discomfort. This conditioning is intended to cause the patient to associate the stimulus wit ...
and
covert conditioning
Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that uses the principles of applied behavior analysis, or cognitive-behavior therapies (CBTs) to assist people in making improvements in their behavior or inner experience. The method r ...
can reduce fetishistic arousal in the short term, but requires repetition to sustain the effect. Multiple case studies have also reported treating fetishistic behavior with
psychodynamic
Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...
approaches.
Antiandrogen
Antiandrogens, also known as androgen antagonists or testosterone blockers, are a class of drugs that prevent androgens like testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from mediating their biological effects in the body. They act by blocking the ...
s may be prescribed to lower sex drive.
Cyproterone acetate
Cyproterone acetate (CPA), sold alone under the brand name Androcur or Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate, with ethinylestradiol under the brand names Diane or Diane-35 among others, is an antiandrogen and progestin medication used in the treat ...
is the most commonly used antiandrogen, except in the United States, where it may not be available. A large body of literature has shown that it reduces general sexual fantasies. Side effects may include
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...
,
liver dysfunction
Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common.
Signs and symptoms
Some of the sig ...
, and feminization. Case studies have found that the antiandrogen
medroxyprogesterone acetate
Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), also known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in injectable form and sold under the brand name Depo-Provera among others, is a hormonal medication of the progestin type. It is used as a method of bi ...
is successful in reducing sexual interest, but can have side effects including osteoporosis,
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
,
deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
, feminization, and weight gain. Some hospitals use
leuprorelin
Leuprorelin, also known as leuprolide, is a manufactured version of a hormone used to treat prostate cancer, breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, as part of transgender hormone therapy, for early puberty, or to perform chemical castra ...
and
goserelin
Goserelin, sold under the brand name Zoladex among others, is a medication which is used to suppress production of the sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen), particularly in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer. It is an injectable gona ...
to reduce libido, and while there is presently little evidence for their efficacy, they have fewer side effects than other antiandrogens. A number of studies support the use of
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions.
SSRIs increase the extracell ...
s (SSRIs), which may be preferable over antiandrogens because of their relatively benign side effects. Pharmacological agents are an adjunctive treatment which are usually combined with other approaches for maximum effect.
Relationship counselors may attempt to reduce dependence on the fetish and improve partner communication using techniques like
sensate focusing
Sensate focus is a sex therapy technique introduced by the Masters and Johnson team. It works by refocusing the participants on their own sensory perceptions and sensuality, instead of goal-oriented behavior focused on the genitals and penetrative ...
. Partners may agree to incorporate the fetish into their activities in a controlled, time-limited manner, or set aside only certain days to practice the fetishism. If the fetishist cannot sustain an erection without the fetish object, the therapist might recommend orgasmic reconditioning or
covert sensitization
Covert conditioning is an approach to mental health treatment that uses the principles of applied behavior analysis, or cognitive-behavior therapies (CBTs) to assist people in making improvements in their behavior or inner experience. The method r ...
to increase arousal to normal stimuli (although the evidence base for these techniques is weak).
Epidemiology
The
prevalence
In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...
of fetishism is not known with certainty. Fetishism is more common in males.
In a 2011 study, 30% of men reported fetishistic fantasies, and 24.5% had engaged in fetishistic acts. Of those reporting fantasies, 45% said the fetish was intensely sexually arousing. In a 2014 study, 26.3% of women and 27.8% of men acknowledged any fantasies about "having sex with a fetish or non-sexual object". A content analysis of the sample's favorite fantasies found that 14% of the male fantasies involved fetishism (including
feet
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
, nonsexual objects, and specific clothing), and 4.7% focused on a specific body part other than feet. None of the women's favorite fantasies had fetishistic themes. Another study found that 28% of men and 11% of women reported fetishistic arousal (including feet, fabrics, and objects "like shoes, gloves, or plush toys"). 18% of men in a 1980 study reported fetishistic fantasies.
Fetishism to the extent that it becomes a disorder appears to be rare, with less than 1% of general psychiatric patients presenting fetishism as their primary problem. It is also uncommon in forensic populations.
History
The word ''fetish'' derives from the French ''fétiche'', which comes from the Portuguese ''feitiço'' ("spell"), which in turn derives from the Latin ''facticius'' ("artificial") and ''facere'' ("to make"). A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object. ''Fétichisme'' was first used in an erotic context by
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet (; 8 July 1857 – 18 October 1911), born Alfredo Binetti, was a French psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test, the Binet–Simon test. In 1904, the French Ministry of Education asked psychologist Alfred Binet to ...
in 1887.
A slightly earlier concept was Julien Chevalier's ''azoophilie''.
Early perspectives on cause
Alfred Binet suspected fetishism was the pathological result of ''associations''. He argued that, in certain vulnerable individuals, an emotionally rousing experience with the fetish object in childhood could lead to fetishism.
Richard von Krafft-Ebing
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work ''Psychopathi ...
and
Havelock Ellis
Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality in ...
also believed that fetishism arose from associative experiences, but disagreed on what type of predisposition was necessary.
The sexologist
Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician and sexologist.
Hirschfeld was educated in philosophy, philology and medicine. An outspoken advocate for sexual minorities, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific-Humanitarian Com ...
followed another line of thought when he proposed his theory of ''partial attractiveness'' in 1920. According to his argument, sexual attractiveness never originates in a person as a whole but always is the product of the interaction of individual features. He stated that nearly everyone had special interests and thus suffered from a healthy kind of fetishism, while only detaching and overvaluing of a single feature resulted in pathological fetishism. Today, Hirschfeld's theory is often mentioned in the context of gender role specific behavior: females present sexual stimuli by highlighting body parts, clothes or accessories; males react to them.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
believed that sexual fetishism in men derived from the unconscious fear of the mother's genitals, from men's universal fear of castration, and from a man's fantasy that his mother had had a penis but that it had been cut off. He did not discuss sexual fetishism in women.
In 1951,
Donald Winnicott
Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 – 25 January 1971) was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was a leading member of the Br ...
presented his theory of ''transitional objects and phenomena'', according to which childish actions like thumb sucking and objects like cuddly toys are the source of manifold adult behavior, amongst many others fetishism. He speculated that the child's
transitional object
Transition or transitional may refer to:
Mathematics, science, and technology Biology
* Transition (genetics), a point mutation that changes a purine nucleotide to another purine (A ↔ G) or a pyrimidine nucleotide to another pyrimidine (C ↔ ...
became sexualized.
Other animals
Human fetishism has been compared to
Pavlovian conditioning
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is a behavioral procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (e.g. food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. a triangle). It also refers to the learni ...
of sexual response in other animals.
Sexual attraction to certain cues can be artificially induced in
rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s. Both male and female rats will develop a sexual preference for neutrally or even noxiously scented partners if those scents are paired with their early sexual experiences.
Injecting
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
or
oxytocin
Oxytocin (Oxt or OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin ...
into a male rat during its first exposure to scented females has the same effect.
Rats will also develop sexual preferences for the location of their early sexual experiences, and can be conditioned to show increased arousal in the presence of objects such as a plastic toy fish.
One experiment found that rats which are made to wear a Velcro tethering jacket during their formative sexual experiences exhibit severe deficits in sexual performance when not wearing the jacket.
Similar sexual conditioning has been demonstrated in
gourami
Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...
s,
marmoset
The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera ''Callithrix'', ''Cebuella'', ''Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" is ...
s and
Japanese quail
The Japanese quail (''Coturnix japonica''), also known as the coturnix quail, is a species of Old World quail found in East Asia. First considered a subspecies of the common quail, it is now considered as a separate species. The Japanese quail ...
s.
Possible
boot fetishism
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly ...
has been reported in two different primates from the same zoo. Whenever a boot was placed near the first, a
common chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
born in captivity, he would invariably stare at it, touch it, become erect, rub his penis against the boot, masturbate, and then consume his ejaculate. The second, a
guinea baboon
The Guinea baboon (''Papio papio'') is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. Some (older) classifications list only two species in the genus '' Papio'', this one and the hamadryas baboon. In those classifications, all other ''Papio'' species ...
, would become erect while rubbing and smelling the boot, but not masturbate or touch it with his penis.
See also
''Clothing fetishism and fetish-related''
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Clothing fetish
Clothing fetishism or garment fetishism is a sexual fetish that revolves around a fixation upon a particular article or type of clothing, a particular fashion or uniform, or a person dressed in such a style.
The clinical definition of a sexual ...
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Cosplay
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...
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PVC clothing
PVC clothing is shiny clothing made from the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC plastic is often called "vinyl" and this type of clothing is commonly known as "vinyl clothing". PVC is sometimes confused with the similarly shiny patent lea ...
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Sexual roleplay
Sexual roleplay is roleplay that has a strong erotic element. It may involve two or more people who act out roles in order to bring to life a sexual fantasy and may be a form of foreplay and be sexually arousing. Many people regard sexual rolepl ...
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Uniform fetishism
Uniform fetishism is a particular type of clothing fetishism in which an individual is sexually aroused by uniforms. It is a form of sexual fetishism. Uniform fetishism has been associated with a variety of different uniforms, including schoolgirl ...
References
Further reading
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* Bienvenu, Robert (2003). ''The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States.'' Online PDF unde
Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style.*
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* Коловрат Ю. А
Сексуальное волховство и фаллоктенические культы древних славян// История Змиевского края. – Змиев. – 19.10.2008.
External links
{{Authority control
Sexual fetishism
Sexual dysfunctions