Fetish

Sexual or erotic fetishism is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object or specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish. A sexual fetish is sometimes an enhancement to a sexual or romantic relationship, some of which are achieved in ordinary ways, such as having a partner wear a certain outfit, or the attraction to a particular body part. The word ‘fetish’ is derived from the French ‘Fetiche’, coming from the Portuguese ‘feitico’ (or spell), which in turn comes from the Latin ‘facticius’ (or artificial), and ‘facere’ (or to make). Fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object, or the complex emotional meaning of an object or situation to the fetishist (the person with the fetish). The common meaning of the term a fetish, is that it plays a supporting role, not the lead in a person’s sexual arousal. The true fetishist cannot have not have a truly satisfying sexual experience without their fetish being satisfied. Almost everyone has preferences, especially concerning sexual arousal; there are literally thousands of fetishes, but there are a few that are almost hardwired into human beings and turn up time and again in surveys, bedrooms, and conversations around the globe. Five of the most common fetishes include body piercings and tattoos, hair (this one primarily involves men, but not exclusively. Hair means anything from a particular type of hair preferred, extremely hairy, or even baldness), Leather (crosses gender and age barriers), shoes (here our example would be men’s attraction to a woman wearing high heels and possibly nothing else during sexual arousal, or the sex act itself), and feet (a 2007 study found that feet were the most common fetish, coming in above tits and asses!) Who knew.