Although Freud's theory on fetishes may seem peculiar and was based on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence, he had discovered a critical aspect of human sexuality: the relationship between human orgasms and conditioning. Ongoing studies make this relationship more clear. For example, in a study published by Dr. Lique M. Coolen on April 14, 2003 at an Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, California, male rats accustomed to having sex in a particular cage will have elevations of "pleasure-inducing chemicals in the brain" simply from being in the particular cage, even if a female or a female scent are not present. Sexual conditioning occurred. It has been hypothesized that human sexuality may similarly be tied to conditioning, and this may explain the phenomenon of sexual fetishism.
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. Sometimes there is a preference for "dangerous-looking" shoes where there is some overlap with sadomasocistic desires.
Hosiery and Bodywear
Women's hosiery is another commonly fetishized item. Some prefer stockings while others prefer pantyhose (tights). 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.
In other cases, "fuzzy" materials such as fur or Angora sweaters are fetishized.
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.
Partialism
Other fetishistic attachments can be to specific parts of the body, such as head or body hair, legs, feet, neck, fingernails, lipstick, 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 (e.g., Brazil).
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.
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.
Fluid and Messy
Another cluster of fetishes is centered around dirt and fluids, bodily or otherwise.
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 [1] 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:
Popular use
In popular culture, the term 'fetish' has gained a broader meaning, and can cover any sexuality which is perceived as unusual. For example a man who has a strong preference for overweight women, or women of a particular race, hair color, having freckles, etc. may be popularly described as having a fetish, even though he is not aroused by an inanimate object or specific body part. One site states that "plenty of white guys want Asian girls. When this happens, they usually call it a fetish" [2].
Similarly, 'fetish' is often used as a synonym for BDSM, whether or not it involves a fetish in the technical sense.
A parodic example of this tendency is the article in The Onion which explored a man's 'naked-lady fetish' [3].
Other varieties of fetishism
References and further reading
- Steele, Valerie (1995). Fetish: Fashion, Sex, and Power. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509044-6.
- Utley, Larry; Carey-Adamme, Autumn (2002). Fetish Fashion: Undressing the Corset. Green Candy Press. ISBN 1-931160-06-6.
- Gates, Katharine. Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex. Juno Books. ISBN 1-890451-03-7.
- Love, Brenda (1994). The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. Barricade Books. ISBN 1-56980-011-1.
- Kaplan, Louise J. (1991). Female Perversions: the temptations of Emma Bovary. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26233-7.
- ^ [1] JURIST: Forum: Rape, Porn and Criminality: Political Truth on Trial – refers to Victorian eroticization of the ankle
External links