We were tasked with researching an aspect of sex, sexuality or gender that interests us. I tried to go a little bit different on this task and decided to do sexual fetishism.
I have looked up some psychology articles of fetishism.
Fetishism is defined as; “Fetishism is characterized as a disorder when there is a pathological assignment of sexual fixation, fantasies or behaviours toward an inanimate object — frequently an item of clothing — such as underclothing or a high-heeled shoe — or to non-genital body parts — such as the foot. Only through use of this object can the individual obtain sexual gratification.”
Common fetishes include;
- Amputee fetishism
- Breast fetishism
- Corset fetishism (Tight lacing)
- Diaper fetishism
- Foot fetishism
- Food fetishism
- Furry fetishism/Toonophilia
- Glove fetishism
- Infantilism
- Leather fetishism
- Medical fetishism
- Pregnancy fetishism
- Rubber fetishism
- Boot fetish
- Spandex fetishism
- Stocking fetishism
- Swim cap fetishism
- Tickling fetishism
- Transvestic fetishism
- Belly button fetish
The above list is by no means an exhaustive list of sexual fetishes but are seen as common. In a medical sense the sufferer having, over a period of six months, a sexual fixation and arousal over non-living objects that cause social, personal and/or professional dysfunction diagnoses a fetish.
Some psychologists believe that fetishism develops in childhood experience. During this time an object is associated with a particular type of sexual excitement or gratification. Others theorise that it may come from pubescent years and closely associated with masturbation. Some studies have shown that fetishists have poor social skills compared to those who don’t display the symptoms of fetishism. They are also seen to be more isolated and are less able to maintain an intimate relationship.
It is said that if a child is subjected to inappropriate sexual behaviour either as the victim or observer is likely to learn to imitate this behaviour.
“Compensation models suggest that these individuals are deprived of normal social sexual contacts and thus seek gratification through less socially acceptable means. In the far more common cases, involving males, the patterns suggest that causes stem from doubts about ones own masculinity, potency, and a fear of rejection and humiliation. By his fetishist practices and the mastery over an inanimate object, the individual apparently safeguards himself and also compensates for some of his feelings of inadequacy.”
If a person’s fetish becomes a hindrance in day to day living there are a few courses of action that can be taken. From my reading it would seem like the most common and effective methods are a combination of hypnosis, cognitive and behaviour therapy as well as pharmacotherapy. The medication side of treatments is to lower the sex drive to help control the urges.
In recent years a new medication has been introduced which significantly lowers the level of testosterone in the patient’s body which controls the sex drive and also lowers the frequency of sexually arousing thoughts thus helping the patient concentrate on counselling.
There appears to be a social stigma regarding fetishes even with the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey, which sold 5.3 million copies within the UK, where it seems to be not acceptable to have a fetish or a kink for most of the populous. There are definite sub-cultures that are much more accepting of “abnormal” sexual behaviors such as the goth and “alternative” scenes.
When I say there’s a stigma around fetishes I don’t mean all of them, only some. There are some kinks that have become very mainstream, the obsession with large breasts and large bottoms has become not only accepted but it seems encouraged for women to feel the need to have a large posterior by any means.
Another kink or fetish that is very popular males currently is redhead or ginger women. They are seen as more desirable for whatever reason the individual has.
There are men who see redhead women as more fiery and passionate than any other hair coloured woman and others who think that good looking redheads are near perfection simply on looks.
If we look on to pornography websites and look at the category system they use we will see a list of common kinks or in this case, niches it can be seen the amount of different things that large groups of people enjoy watching whilst pleasuring themselves. Pictured below are the 90+ categories they have that people who use the site can create groups and effectively curate a gallery of images and video for other people to view depending on their preference.
The collection of group niches on Motherless.com
The online community seems far more open and accepting to some people compared to others when it comes to sexual preference and fetishes. There are large thread boards on websites where people across the world discuss their kinks and fetishes with likeminded people. One of the more infamous sites is 4Chan (I take no responsibility for anything you may see on the boards there). There are many different boards for various topics such as /GIF is a board dedicated to GIF images and /r is a request board which generally revolves around people requesting nude pictures of celebrities or faked nude pictures.
The board that has the worst reputation is /b which is entitled Random, there are topics on that board ranging from very illegal and morally dubious to completely innocent, there will normally be some talk on fetishes and kinks of the users in what ever level of detail the user base wish to use on that occasion.
I suppose, in conclusion to this research post that has gone a bit awry from where I started, there are lots of different things that people use to get off to and are, within reason, healthy however with anything if an obsession is formed it can be destructive.
Reference list;
Unlisted. (2005). Diagnosis Dictionary Fetishism. Available: http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/fetishism. Last accessed 6th Oct 2014.
Jesse Bering, 2013. Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us. First Printing Edition. Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Compensation (psychology) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2014. Compensation (psychology) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compensation_%28psychology%29. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
Understanding Sexual Fetishes And Paraphilias | Kinsey Confidential. 2014. Understanding Sexual Fetishes And Paraphilias | Kinsey Confidential. [ONLINE] Available at: http://kinseyconfidential.org/sexual-fetish-blog-post/. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
Kafka, M, 2010. The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Fetishism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 39 Issue 2, 357 – 362.
Louise Kaplan, 1990. Female Perversions. Edition. Nan A. Talese.
Shifting stigma for kinky fetishists | elisabethsheff. 2014. Shifting stigma for kinky fetishists | elisabethsheff. [ONLINE] Available at: http://elisabethsheff.com/2012/11/12/shifting-stigma-for-kinky-fetishists/. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
Fifty Shades of Grey – E L James. 2014. Fifty Shades of Grey – E L James. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.eljamesauthor.com/books/fifty-shades-of-grey/. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
50 Shades of Grey is best-selling book of all time – Telegraph. 2014. 50 Shades of Grey is best-selling book of all time – Telegraph. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9459779/50-Shades-of-Grey-is-best-selling-book-of-all-time.html. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
Get Kinky With It | Psychology Today. 2014. Get Kinky With It | Psychology Today. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/200911/get-kinky-it. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
5 Things Not to Say to a Redhead On a Date | The Date Report. 2014. 5 Things Not to Say to a Redhead On a Date | The Date Report. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thedatereport.com/dating/conversation-starters/1904-5-things-not-to-say-to-a-redhead-on-a-date/. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
Google. 2014. Google. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=Redhead+dating. [Accessed 06 October 2014].
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