Sexual fetishism
 | The English used in this article or section is in the process of being made simple, and may not yet be easy for everybody to understand. (March 2026) |
| Sexual fetishism | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 Foot fetishism is one of the most common fetishes[1] | |
| ICD-10 | F65. |
| ICD-9 | 302.81 |
| MeSH | D005329 |
In sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism, a person fixates sexually on an object that is not sexual by its nature.[2] The object is usually not seen as sexual.[3] The person in this situation is called a fetishist; the object of their interest is called the fetish.[4] The term was created in the late 1800s[5] by Alfred Binet.[6]
Examples of common or well-known fetishes include feet and footwear (shoes, socks), rubber, bondage, furry or cross-dressing. However, almost any object can become a fetish (except sex toys, since they were designed for sexual arousal in the first place).
If a fetish causes psychological problems, like severe distress, it may be seen as a mental disorder.[2][7] But according to the World Health Organization, fetishistic fantasies are common and should only be treated when they keep people from functioning normally or cause distress.[7]
Doctors only use the word “fetish” when talking about objects or body parts. In common speech, people also use the word fetish for a sexual interest in specific activities, peoples, types of people, substances, or situations.[8]
Partialism
[change | change source]Partialism is a type of sexual fetishism where the sexual want of a body part is more than the sexual want of the person who has the body part. Martin Kafka states that partialism is not exactly the same as fetishism,[6] although common use does not agree.[9]
Treatment
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Fetishes are common, and only need to be treated in severe cases. Goals of treatment can include elimination of criminal activity, making people rely less 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, and no research on treatment for female fetishists exists.[10]
Cognitive behavioral therapy 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 and covert conditioning 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 approaches.[10]
A number of studies support the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which may be preferable over antiandrogens because of their relatively benign (small) side effects. Pharmacological agents are an adjunctive treatment which are usually combined with other approaches for maximum effect.[10]
Relationship counselors may attempt to reduce dependence on the fetish and improve partner communication using techniques like sensate focusing. 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 to increase arousal to normal stimuli (although the evidence base for these techniques is weak).[10]
Other animals
[change | change source]Human fetishism has been compared to Pavlovian conditioning of sexual response in other animals.[11][12][13] People have artificially made rats become sexually aroused. Both male and female rats will develop a sexual preference for other rats that have no special smell, or that smell bad if those scents are paired with their early sexual experiences.[11] Injecting morphine or oxytocin into a male rat during its first exposure to scented females has the same effect.[11] 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.[11][12] 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.[11] Similar sexual conditioning has been demonstrated in gouramis, marmosets and Japanese quails.[11]
Possible boot fetishism has been reported in two different primates from the same zoo. Whenever a boot was placed near the first, a common chimpanzee 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, would become erect while rubbing and smelling the boot, but not masturbate or touch it with his penis.[14]
References
[change | change source]
- ↑ Layton, Julia. "5 Most Common Fetishes (page 5)". HowStuffWorks Health. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- 1 2 American Psychiatric Association, ed. (2013). "Fetishistic Disorder, 302.81 (F65.0)". Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing. p. 700.
- ↑ Layton, Julia. "5 Most Common Fetishes (page 1)". HowStuffWorks Health. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ↑ "Common Misunderstandings of Fetishism". K. M. Vekquin. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)[better source needed] - ↑ "Fetishism". Psycology Today. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- 1 2 Griffiths, Mark. "Survival of the Fetish". Psycology Today. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- 1 2 "Fetishism, F65.0" (PDF). The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. World Health Organization. p. 170. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ↑ Scorolli, C.; Ghirlanda, S.; Enquist, M.; Zattoni, S.; Jannini, E. (2007). "Relative prevalence of different fetishes". International Journal of Impotence Research. 19 (4): 432–437. doi:10.1038/sj.ijir.3901547. PMID 17304204.
- ↑ "Fetishism". dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Darcangelo, S., Hollings, A., Paladino, G. (2008). "Fetishism: Assessment and Treatment". In Laws, D. R.; O'Donohue, W. T. (eds.). Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition. The Guilford Press. pp. 122–127. ISBN 9781593856052.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pfaus, J. G.; Kippin, T. E.; Coria-Avila, G. A.; Gelez, H.; Afonso, V. M.; Ismail, N.; Parada (2012). "Who, what, where, when (and maybe even why)? How the experience of sexual reward connects sexual desire, preference, and performance" (PDF). Archives of Sexual Behavior. 41 (1): 31–62. doi:10.1007/s10508-012-9935-5. PMID 22402996. S2CID 12421026. Archived from the original (PDF) on Aug 9, 2017.
- 1 2 Zamble, E., Mitchell, J. B., & Findlay, H. (1986). "Pavlovian conditioning of sexual arousal: Parametric and background manipulations". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes. 12 (4): 403–411. doi:10.1037/0097-7403.12.4.403. PMID 3772304.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Akins, C. K. (2004). "The role of Pavlovian conditioning in sexual behavior: A comparative analysis of human and nonhuman animals". International Journal of Comparative Psychology. 17 (2): 241–262. doi:10.46867/IJCP.2004.17.02.03. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ Epstein, A. W. (1987). "The phylogenetics of fetishism". In Wilson, G. (ed.). Variant Sexuality (Routledge Revivals): Research and Theory. Routledge. pp. 143–144. ISBN 9781317913528.
