Many people don’t have any idea about Fetishism or Fetish. What is a fetish and what are 10 popular fetishes?
Erotic fetishism or sexual fetishism is a kind of sexual arousal that a person receives from physical objects or from specific situations. These objects or situations are referred to as a fetish. The person who has a fetish for that particular object is known as fetishist.
Sexual fetishism may be done by an individual but is often interlaced with another person or persons that share that common fetish.
What are Fetishes?
People (whether men or women) who like erotic fetishism, can be aroused by unusual parts of the body, or activities as well as objects that are usually not used in regular sex.
Its desire is so strong that some people may not get fully sexually satisfied without using a fetish object, imagining fetish objects or creating a fetish scene.
This often makes the fetish scene seem underground and bizarre. But in truth it may be different but is no more unusual or bizarre than the BDSM scene.
A Quick Intro To Types of Popular Fetishes
Some fetishes are non-sexual too and may be as simple as dressing up as animals ‘furrys’ or as your favorite action character ‘cos play’.
There are various kinds of sexual fetishes each different from the other but all have their own way to get erotic pleasures.
Body Parts
Some people concentrate on parts of the body such as legs, feet, bottom, hair, armpits. Along with various other parts of the body.
Scenarios with BDSM
Other people involve sex by creating certain kind of scenarios including bondage, spanking, dominant / submissive role playing, trampling as well as cross-dressing.
Types of Clothing or Fabric
There are many others, who like to wear certain kind of fabrics or clothing for stimulation including rubber, latex, leather or even angora sweaters. So there are an unlimited number of scenarios and objects that are used.
Is Sexual Fetishism Bad?
There are many people who have considered sexual fetishism as a sin. This is beccause our society labels anything that differs from conventional sex as perverted or deviant.
These ideas are narrow minded and in all probability those who are most vocal in their hatred have hidden fetishes themselves.
There Should be No Boundaries – Except Legal
A person should have no boundaries (except legal) in how they wish to express their sexual freedom. They want to enjoy their sexual life in non traditional ways with their fetishes. according to their sexual needs.
People who don’t fulfill their sexual needs will be frustrated. Not being sexually fulfilled has equal importance in the people’s well-being as many other as things like diet and exercise.
10 Popular Fetishes
Babification – Popular Fetishes #1
Adults that dress up, act as and wanted to be treated as infants or children. They may appreciate partaking in wearing diapers, being looked after by a grown-up, sucking on a bottle or pacifier. Or dessing up in infant garments, crawling as opposed to walking and talking in :”baby” talk.
People inspired by infantilism probably appreciate not having responsibilities at home and many are often in high pressure jobs.
Swinging – Popular Fetishes #2
Generally when a married couple or those in a very long-term relationship wish to experiment sexually with other people. They do this mostly with other couples also in long-term relationships whilst remaining together.
Often they go to swinging parties where they may wife swap or allow the other partner to have sex with someone else whilst watching.
It is essential to note that the relationship of the swinging couple must be strong prior to venturing into this fetish.
Water Sports or Urolagnia – Popular Fetishes #3
This is the demonstration of being turned on by pee, whether it is the sight, feel or smell of it. It might include the fulfillment or demonstration of washing in pee also.
Regular sorts of Urolagnia include wetting one’s self or the perception of someone else wetting themselves while completely dressed. Watching someone peenig in the washroom. Being ahuman urinal, otherwise called accepting or giving a “golden shower”.
It might include the craving to urinate out in the open or watch another person do as such.
Why is somone into that?
Nobody really knows what causes this but people that are into this sort of fetish like the freedom when urinating in broad daylight and satisfaction when someone pees on them.
Cross-Dressing – Popular Fetishes #4
People that cross-dress wear clothes and adornments of the “opposite sex.”
Cross-dressing is more normal than you may might suspect, influencing mainly hetero and gay men. Athough some women will cross-dress as men too.
There are an assortment of explanations behind cross-dressing. It might be that the individual does not feel the sex they were naturally born with fits who they are. Maybe they are excited by the thought of wearing something “prohibited” to them.
It might be that they just appreciate the distinctive part of design not normally accessible to them in public. Cross-dressing has turned out to be more accepted by society in recent years. Shops and online boutiques showcasing particularly to cross-dressers.
Foot fetishism – Popular Fetishes #5
This is a common one. It is the most well-known fixation.
Sigmund Freudoffered the clarification that individuals build up this interest because of the way that the human foot looks like a penis. Foot worshiping is a well known interest with 90 percent of the fetishists being male.
It can include the foot alone, or feet, shoes and socks or leggings. People that are not into this fetish may still appreciate having their toes sucked every so often.
Sado-Masochism – Popular Fetishes #6
Spanking a butt can bring about excitement for some individuals. More severe discipline may take us back to our adolescence, make us feel loved and cared for, which many people find a turn on.
It can likewise be a piece of mastery and subjugation with the master or mistress directing the spankings taking control of the subordinate/slave. Whatever it is that we appreciate about punishment its a regular and common fetish.
Exhibitionists/Voyeurism – Popular Fetishes #7
People appreciate watching sex or exposing themselves in broad daylight. Men are more voyeuristic than ladies with 12 percent of men being stimulated while watching sexual acts compared to 4% of ladies.
As shown by statistics from the sex industry, 80 percent of people watching porn are men. Exhibitionism is an alternate story however and almost all of us have done it. It is not just about taking off all your clothes. But wearing something more seductive, showing a bit more leg or opening the shirt button a little extra.
Doing anything for the purpose of showcasing our bodies is a form of exhibitionism and who has not been guilty of that?
Rubberists – Popular Fetishes #8
This fetish is demonstrated by those that either get sexual satisfaction from wearing or having someone wear rubber, leather, latex, vinyl or other material. They are colled “rubberists”.
The tight material goes about as a sort of sexual servitude. For a few, the odor of elastic/latex/cowhide may likewise be a turn on. An interest can extend from wearing the more traditional things like a cat suit to something more extreme like a gas mask.
Role Playing – Popular Fetishes #9
Sexual role playing scenarios includes two or more people carrying out various parts to create a sexual situation. It can be any kind of sexual fantasy. Couples could role play in a certain place, or during a certain activity or a certain way.
BDSM – Popular Fetishes #10
This stand for bondage, domination and sado masochism so entails a great deal. BDSM is a general fetish that in itself contains hundreds more and may be any on or all of these words.
Generally it is accepted that those doing Bondage play have “an arrangement of practices, traditions, and customs. These can be including the giving by one individual to another individual control over them”. It includes punishment and domination but between two consenting adults.
This can be as a one-time event, occasional practice or always in their relationship. Many times couples reverse roles in different sessions.
Is The Fetishisation Of Race, Racist?
Recently, I sat down to watch the critically acclaimed horror film, Get Out.
Now whilst I thought that it was a pretty decent film, I wasn’t quite sure as to whether the film was as great of a psychological thriller as the critics claimed it to be. I was ultimately left feeling a little confused and wondering if this was it. And I felt like I had missed an integral part of the film at some stage.
Well, in a way, it turns out that I had.
Upon speaking about the film afterwards with friends, it quickly became apparent that I had been looking at the film with white privileged eyes. And that despite my education and understanding of race, racism and gender, I was never going to be in a position where I would intimately be able to understand the racial undertones, and social commentary of the film.
The film, in many ways, can be seen as a discussion of race and racism. It highlights the perception of the subservient stereotype of African Americans.
Such a discussion is relevant, as it comes at a time where the Black Lives Matter campaign is still on everyone’s lips. The social and political divide across America is fraught with difficulties and challenges.
Get Out Left Me Thinking
The film left me thinking about our interaction with race and racism. This ultimately led to thinking about how these topics impact sex.
A comment was made in the discussion of the film. It brought out a whole new layer and depth which had me reconsidering the idea of sex and racism.
We already have an understanding about the prevalence and overtness of racism through dating apps such as Grindr, Tinder and Scruff. But I have to note that such discussions have always centred around the idea of what people are not interested in.
Such discussions rarely focus on backhanded racism or the valuing of attributes which are stereotypically assigned to race.
Is the fetishisation of race, and the preferential views towards individuals of a specific race, considered to be racist?
It needs to be argued, that for whatever reason, we do have sexual preferences. And these preferences shouldn’t necessarily be ignored.
For the same reason we prefer Pepsi over Coke and vice versa, we as individuals cannot escape the idea of choice and preferences.
What Do We Need to Consider?
Are the exclusionary practices that we employ when it comes to ‘preferences’ simply a form of racism?
Let’s First Discuss African American Men
And the idea of the big black cock (BBC). A person with these traits is known as a Mandingo. Through porn there is a prevailing idea among many communities that African American Men possess larger than average cocks.
The thing that is slightly different with the fetishisation of African American men is that there are several ideas running concurrently.
African American history, the Cuckold and power play
There are many arguments that link this back to colonial periods of a young America. Where African American men were made to be subservient due to their physical traits.
The rapid expansion of the Early America’s meant that there were large amount of labouring work to be done. And the continuation of the American Empire.
Slaves, for the most part, combated expensive labourers and they were considered to be stronger, more active, possess greater strength. But did not possess a greater intelligence so making them perfect servants and hard labourers.
Interracial Couplings
This ultimately gave birth to the taboo nature of interracial couplings. They were seen as both inferior (Intellect) and superior (Physicality) to white men.
Cuckolding
A popular practice which sees one partner willingly sleeping with other men. It often involves interracial ‘third wheels’ due to the idea that they have the ability to reinforce the inferiority of the cuckolded male.
In this regard, the taboo nature of interracial couplings actually work towards the fetishisation of interracial sex and relationships.
This results in interesting dynamics of a constant power play.
Colonial thinking makes the idea to be penetrated by what was once considered to be an inferior male with a larger cock, to be hot. The taboo nature of the act, combined with the idea that an individual can simultaneously be inferior and superior, is arousing.
To be fucked in such a way, is the dream of many a white male. Who dares to imagine the idea of being split in half by a massive black dildo like phallus, where the white male wants to be conquered.
The power play is the interesting dynamic here.
Because to bottom is to be seen as passive, with the top assuming the active role. Simultaneously, there are many white men that wish to switch this dynamic through the topping of an African American male. To conquer and dominate as a toy.
In these examples, does the fetishisation extend to the individual.? Or is it reductive in the idea that such a fetish exists solely around the genitals?
Defining a person’s qualities based upon their cock size
For the big black cock, it can certainly be seen as reductive. You are reducing the sexuality, and presence, of an individual to the size of the phallus.
In an article published FS: The Gay Health and Life Magazine – Peter, an individual interviewed for the study. He was continually asked variants of the question ‘how hung are you?’. This was long before a potential date was asking questions about him and his personality.
In this regard, Peter was continually being reduced to nothing more than his penis. A tool of pleasure as opposed to an individual with thoughts and feelings.
On the flip side.
It could be argued that a white male looking to dominate a male of colour is reinforcing an ingrained idea of white dominance.
So is it racist?
When you are reducing an individual to the size of their cock, based on a stereotype then you are absolutely reinforcing racism. This is regardless of whether or not it is considered to be ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ racism.
By this token, actively seeking an individual of race might not be considered to be racist. Actively seeking a specific race on the basis that they possess a quality or attribute which you find arousing is reductive and ultimately racist.
From this discussion we acknowledge the idea of preferences, we also acknowledge the idea of reduction. So is it racist?
It’s a difficult question to answer. When you’re reducing an individual to the size and colour of their cock, in the quest for a quick fuck, then yes, it’s certainly racist.
But if you have a preference for a certain race, but don’t actively exclude the possibility of others then it becomes blurry. Justification of the preferences become the identifier for the racism.
In saying that though, anyone that’s been on Grindr or a dating app knows that there’s just about a justification for everything.
Author: Stephen Smith – BA Of Social Sciences, M.Ed
Enter Andrew Pullen BDSM world of Fet Lifestyle, BDSM, and expert Shibari insights. Explore his descriptive and educational articles at Adultsmart.
Leave a Reply