Encyclopedia
The basic idea of
sexual fetishism is sexual arousal and satisfaction through an inanimate object, the
fetish. In fact, there are differing definitions of fetishism.
In psychology, fetishism is a
paraphilia, a sexual psychic disorder. The diagnosis of fetishism is justified only if the additional criteria of parahilia are fulfilled, above all only if the affected person suffers or harms other people. According to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems , fetishism is the fixation on an inanimate object, while according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , fetishism is the fixation on an inanimate object or a body part.
In common speech, any fixation on a singular inanimate object, body part, body feature or sexual practice is called fetishism. Here, fetishism is not an illness but an uncommon but mostly harmless sexual orientation.
Word origin, history and modern use
The word
fetishism was created in the 19th century by sailors as derivation from latin
facere, " make", or
factitius, "artificial", and portugese
feitiço, "magic", "obsession" to name fetishism, the religious admiration of an object as a substitute for a god.
Fetishism was introduced as a scientific term in 1887 by
Alfred Binet and meant sexual admiration of an inanimate object. By then, fetishism was considered pathological. In time, the term's meaning was extended, e. g. in 1912
Richard von Krafft-Ebing refered to fetishism as the admiration of body parts. In 1927
Sigmund Freud published his psychoanalytic view of fetishism which reached non-scientific readers also and made the term popular.
With the Kinsey report and sexual revolution, scientists parted more and more with the idea of fetishism being an illness. As a consequence, the diagnostic criteria for paraphilia - and with that at the same time for fetishism - were made more precise and strict. During that process, the two major diagnostic manuals ICD and DSM diverged in their interpretation: While today ICD has returned to the original idea of inanimate objects only, DSM still includes body parts. Today, the scientific term fetishism still is subject to discussions about scientific relevance and political correctness.
In some cases, "fetishism" has been used to name aspects of a nation's predominant ideal of beauty, e. g. the preference for small feet in old China or the modern western preference for big breasts. Yet, a formal social scientific concept of fetishism has never been introduced. Nor has been shown that a change in the ideal of beauty goes together with a change in number or type of fetishists. However, it must be noted that all features which do not form a part of an ethic group's predominant ideal may preferredly be called fetishes.
In modern popular culture, "fetishism" is widely spread and has gained a much broader meaning. Usually it is used to name any sexual preference which is perceived as unusual: overweight, race and hair color are examples for physical features that popularly are considered fetishes . Often, "fetish" is used in combination with
BDSM or even to name sadomasochistic practices although basically these two orientations have nothing in common. The tendeny to call more and more sexal preferences fetishism has long been target of parody.
"Fetishism" in its sexual meaning must not be confused with the original anthropological concept of fetishism or socio-philosophical concepts derived from this one, e. g.
Karl Marx's "product fetishism". Here, fetishism names the god-like admiration of objects which has nothing to do with any sexual interests what so ever.
The coexistence of all these contradictory interpretations often causes misunderstandings and can even lead to wrong diagnosis and treatment.
Psychological origins and development
There are many theories about the psychological how, when and why of fetishism, but only few facts. Many fetishists state that they have had fetishistic desires as long as they can remember. Some fetishists can trace back their desire to a specific event. Modern psychology assumes that fetishism either is being conditioned or imprinted or the result of a traumatic experience. But also physical factors like brain construction and heredity are considered possible explanations. In the following, the most important theories are presented in chronological order:
In 1887, psychologist
Alfred Binet introduced the term fetishism, suspecting that it was the pathological result of
associations. Accidentally simultaneous presentation of a sexual stimulus and an inanimate object, thus his argument, led to the object being permanently connected to sexual arousal. About 1900, sexual psychologist Havelock Ellis brought up the revolutionary idea that already in early childhood erotic feelings emerged and that it was the first experience with its own body that determined a child's sexual orientation. Psychiatrist
Richard von Krafft-Ebing consented to Binet's theory in 1912, recognizing that it predicted the observed wide variety of fetishes but unsure why these particular associations persisted over the whole of a lifetime while other associations changed or faded. In his eyes, the only possible explanation was that fetishists suffered from pathological sexual degeneration and hypersensitivity.
Because classical conditioning seemed to be unable to explain how the conditioned behavior is kept alive over many years, obviously without any repetition, some behaviorists came up with the theory that fetishishm was the result of a very special form of conditioning, namely imprinting. Similarly to the preparedness theory it states that here learning is supported by additional factors. In this case, it is assumed that there is a fixed time window in early childhood in that the sexual orientation is
imprinted into the child's mind and lasts for the rest of its life.
Various neurologists pointed out that fetishism could be the result of neuronal crosslinks between neighboring regions in the human brain. For example, in 2002 Vilaynur S. Ramachandran stated that the region processing sensory input from the feet lies immediately next to the region processing sexual stimulation.
Today, psychodynamics has parted with the idea of proposing one explanation for all fetishes at the same time. Instead, it focuses on one form of fetishism at a time and the patients' individual problems. Over the past decades, various case studies have been published in which fetishism could successfully be linked to emotional problems. Some argue that a lack of parental love leads to a child projecting its affection to inanimate objects, others state in consent with Freud's model of psychosexual development that premature suppression of sexuality could lead to a child getting stuck in a transitory phase.
Types of fetishes
Commonly fetishized items are shoes, lingerie, and specific materials such as satin, leather or fur. Although these forms of fetishism are the most common, fetishism, like other forms of human sexuality, can be extremely varied and can encompass almost any aspect of human behavior.
A number of sub-genres of
pornography exist to serve fetishistic interests, with corresponding
erotica in the form of fetish art.
Shoes
Women's shoes are a commonly fetishized item. Some prefer pumps while others prefer high-heeled boots. Often unusually high heels are preferred, while on the other hand some fetishists prefer ordinary objects such as sneakers. Sometimes there is a preference for "dangerous-looking" heels where there is some overlap with sadomasochistic desires.
Hosiery and bodywear
Women's hosiery is another commonly fetishized item. Some prefer stockings while others prefer pantyhose . Fetishists often have favorite colors or deniers, or specific features such as seams, reinforced toes/heels, or "fishnet" material.
Spandex leggings and leotards are similarly fetishized, as are tight, shiny garments made of leather, rubber, or PVC. The Japanese term "zentai" refers to a spandex suit convering the entire body. For other fetishists, tight jeans are the object of interest.
One basis of this fetish is that the material forms a "second skin" that acts as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer's own skin. Another basis is that the woman wearing them receives autoerotic pleasure from the tightness or silkiness. Other fetishists associate the tightness with corsetry or
bondage.
Lingerie and evening wear
Satin and
lace items such as slips,
nightdresses, and
undergarments are often fetishized, as well as other silk items such as
evening gowns,
skirts, and scarves. Sometimes, as with hosiery fetishism, there is a transvestic component. Many men find the tactile sensations caused by the wearing of silk or satin lingerie arousing; some wear panties under their male clothes, whereas others may wear a full set of lingerie. Due to the taboo nature of this fetish, the possibility of getting caught often heightens the fetishists enjoyment.
In other cases, "fuzzy" materials such as fur or Angora sweaters are fetishized.
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Leather and latex
Leather is another commonly fetishized item by both heterosexual and homosexual fetishists. It is commonly associated with motorcycle gangs, kinky sex, and the
leather subculture.
Another "hard" material for fetish clothing is rubber. This can range from items such as cloaks to thin, tight and shiny clothing. While rubber, at least natural rubber, is made from latex, in this context "latex" usually refers to the thinner materials. PVC is also used to make similar garments.
The rubber fetish can focus on conventionally sexy items such as gowns and skintight garments as well as seemingly unlikely items such as gas masks.
Another item that fetishist do not wear, but infact they climb into is a
vacrack. Normally the person inside is completely naked in order to benefit from the total body enclosure experience.
Partialism
Other fetishistic attachments can be to specific parts of the body, such as head or body hair, legs, feet, neck, fingernails, moles or breasts, or specific shapes of the body, rather than to the person as an individual. This might explain
foot binding in
China in pre-modern times, extensive
corset use in the West in the 19th century, and
breast implants in the contemporary
United States and elsewhere .
- Breast fetishism
- Breast expansion fetish
- Ear fetishism
- Freckle fetishism
- Foot fetishism
- Hair fetishism
- Hand fetishism
- Navel fetishism
- Nose fetishism
Accessories
Sometimes the attraction, rather than being toward clothes that are in close contact with the body, is toward jewelry or similar accessories, such as braces, eyeglasses, gloves, cigarettes, etc.
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Medical and disability
There also exist fetishes related to medical procedures and devices, as well as to disabled persons and orthopedic equipment such as crutches and plaster casts.
- Abasiophilia
- Amputee fetishism
- Anesthesia fetishism
- Medical fetishism
Fluid and messy
Another cluster of fetishes is centered around dirt and fluids, bodily or otherwise.
- Emetophilia
- Fart fetishism
- Fecal fetishism
- Milk fetishism
- Saliromania
- Semen fetishism
- Sneezing fetishism
- Spitting fetishism
- Urolagnia
- Wet and messy fetishism
Cultural factors
Sometimes, whole cultures can develop the fetish to such an extent that it is no longer perceived as a fetish, but merely as a normal sexual desire; for example the commonplace "fetishes" for
lingerie and women lacking
body hair.
Sometimes what a culture covers up eroticises the boundaries of what remains exposed. For example, a woman's
ankle was considered erotic in late-
Victorian England.
In this regard, there can be said to be a degree of fetishistic arousal in the average person who responds to particular bodily features as sign of
attractiveness. However, fetishistic arousal is generally considered to be a problem only when it interferes with normal sexual or social functioning. Sometimes the term "fetishism" is used only for those cases where non-fetishist sexual arousal is impossible.
Women and fetishism
Most of the material on fetishism is in reference to heterosexual men, with most of the objects fetishized being high-femme items such as lingerie, hosiery, and heels. Until recently there was little mention of women ever having fetishes.
However, the visual map of fetishes linked below flags several clusters as having a number of women admirers, such as corsetry and some of the medical-related fetishes. Given the male's more visual nature, the preferences of women fetishists are not necessarily a mirror image of those of male fetishists; just because many men are attracted to women in high heels does not necessarily mean there are many women attracted to men in construction boots.
The book
Female Perversions, which also discussed corsetry and self-cutting, in part discusses "female transvestism". It gave examples both of women who became excited by dressing in a "butch" way, i.e. the mirror image of male transvestic fetishism, and of women who became aroused by dressing in a very "femme" way, or parallel to male transvestic fetishism.
Some of the fetishes where a generally male attribute is being fetishized are:
- Foreskin fetish
- Muscle fetishism / Sthenolagnia
- Sock fetishism
- Suit and Tie fetishism
Medical aspects
Most of the sexual orientations popularly called fetishism are regarded
normal variations of human sexuality on behalf of psychologists and medics. Even those orientations that are potential forms of fetishism are usually considered unobjectionable as long as all involved persons feel comfortable. Only if the diagnostic criteria presented in detail below are met, the medical diagnosis of fetishism is justified. The leading thought is that a fetishist is not ill because of his addiction but because he suffers from it.
Diagnosis
According to the ICD-10-GM, version 2005, fetishism is the use of inanimate objects as a stimulus to achieve sexual arousal and satisfaction. The corresponding ICD-code for fetishism if F65.0. The diagnostic criteria for fetishism are as follows:
- Unusual sexual fantasies, drives or behavior occur over a time span of at least six months. Sometimes unusual sexual fantasies occur and vanish by themselves; in this case any medical treatment is not necessary.
- The affected person, her object or another person experience impairment or distress in multiple functional areas. Functional area refers to different aspects of life such as private social contacts, job, etc. It is sufficient for the diagnosis if one of the participants is being hurt or mistreated in any other way.
It must be noted that a correct diagnosis in terms of the ICD manual stipulates hierarchical proceeding. That is, first the criteria for F65 must be fulfilled, then those for F65.0. As criteria are not repeated in substages this can be mistakable to laymans or medics that have not been educated in the use of this manual. Furthermore, it must be noted that according to the ICD, an addiction to specific parts or features of the human body and even "inanimate" parts of corpses,
under no circumstances are fetishism, even though some of them may be forms of
paraphilia.
According to the DSM-IV, fetishism is the use of inanimate objects or parts of the human body as a stimulus to achieve sexual arousal and satisfaction. The corresponding DSM-code for fetishism is 302.81, the diagnostic criteria are the same as those of the ICD. That means that ICD and DSM diverge in their interpretation of fetishism with respect to body parts. This can lead to misunderstandings when evaluating publications that come from different countries and use different diagnostic manuals. In the DSM manual, all diagnostic criteria are given in the corresponding section of the text book, i. e. here no hierarchical processing is needed.
Both definitions are the result of longsome discussions and multiple revisions. Still today, arguments go on whether a specific diagnosis fetishism is needed at all or if paraphilia as such is sufficient. Some demand that the diagnosis be abolished completely to no longer stigmatize fetishists, e. g. project ReviseF65. Others demand that it be specified even more to prevent scientists from confusing it with the popular use of the term fetishism. And then again, ever and anon researchers argue that it should be expanded to cover other sexual orientations, such as an addiction to words or fire.
Treatment
There are two possible treatments for fetishism: cognitive therapy and psychoanalysis. Both may be supported by an additional medicamentous treatment.
Cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy seeks to change the patient's behavior without analyzing how and why it shows up. It is based on the idea that fetishism is the result of conditioning or imprinting. The therapy is
not able to change the patient's sexual preference itself but can only suppress the resulting unwanted behavior.
One possible therapy is aversive conditioning: the patient is being confronted with his fetish and as soon as he sexual arousal starts exposed to a displeasing stimulus. It is reported that in earlier times painful stimuli such as electric shocks have been used as aversive stimulus. Today a common aversive stimulus are photographs that show unpleasing scenes such as penned in genitals. In a variant called assisted aversive conditioning, an assistant realeases abominable odors as aversive stimulus.
Another possible therapy is a technique called thought stop: the therapist asks the patient to think of his fetish and suddenly cries out "stop!". The patient will be irritated, his line of thought broken. After analyzing the effects of the sudden break together, the therapist will teach the patient to use this technique by himself to interrupt thoughts about his fetish and thus prevent undesired behavior.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis tries to spot the traumatic unconscious experience that caused the fetishism in first instance. Bringing this unconscious knowledge to conscience and thus enabling the patient to work up his trauma rationally and emotionally shall relieve the him from his problems. That is, other than cognitive therapy psychoanalysis tackles the cause itself.
There are versatile attempts at this analyzing process, including talk therapy, dream analysis and play therapy. Which method will be chosen depends from the problem itself, the patient's attitude and reactions to certain methods and the therapist's education and preference.
Medication
Medicamenteous treatment comprises various forms of drugs that inhibit the production of sex steroids, above all male
testosterone and female
estrogen. By cutting the level of sex steroids, sexual desire is diminished. Thus, the patient gains the ability to concentrate on his fetish and reasonably process his own thoughts without being distracted by sexual arousal. Also, the application may give the patient relief in everyday's life, enabling him to ignore his fetish and get back to daily routine.
Although ongoing research has shown positive results in single case studies with some drugs, e. g. with
topiramate, there is not yet any medicament that tackles fetishism itself. Because of that, physical treatment is only suitable to support one of the psychological methods.
Surgery
In few cases, brain surgery has turned out to be a remedy for fetishism. It must be noted, however, that these surgical engagements were always due to other diagnosis like epilepsy and the relief of fetishism was a mere side effect. Though some consider brain construction a possible cause for fetishism, surgery is never considered a possible treatment.
Other varieties of fetishism
References and further reading
External links
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- — Note that this map does not comply with the medical point of view on fetishism. Especially it calls preferences fetishism that in a medical sense have nothing to do with fetishism, e. g. zoophilia and necrophilia.
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