![Partialism Montage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Partialism_Montage.jpg)
Partialism is
sexual fetish
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 regard ...
with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than
genitals
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
.
Partialism is categorized as a
fetishistic disorder in 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 ...
of the
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...
only if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on 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 ...
, it was considered a separate
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 ...
(
not otherwise specified
In medicine, Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) is a subcategory in systems of disease/disorder classification such as ICD-9
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a globally used diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management an ...
), but was merged into fetishistic disorder by the DSM-5.
Individuals who exhibit partialism sometimes describe the anatomy of interest to them as having equal or greater
erotic attraction for them as do the genitals.
Partialism occurs in
heterosexual
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
,
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
, and
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
individuals.
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 ...
is considered one of the most common partialisms.
Types
The following are some of the partialisms commonly found among people:
See also
*
Body worship
Body worship is the practice of physically revering a part of another person's body, and is usually done as a submissive act in the context of BDSM. Typical kinds of body worship include worship of the vulva, the penis, the breasts, the buttocks, ...
*
Erogenous zone
An erogenous zone (from Greek , ''érōs'' "love"; and English ''-genous'' "producing", from Greek , ''-genḗs'' "born") is an area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may generate a sexual response, su ...
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2018
Sexual fetishism
Paraphilias