Fetishism A Paraphilia
Fetishism- A ParaphiliaFetishism- A Paraphilia
A fetish is a recurring fantasy or sexual desire or manner involving sexual arousal directed toward or acted upon a nonliving or inanimate object or a body part. These fantasies, desires, or manner eventually cause problems in the performance of daily life.
To understand Fetishism it is important to understand the concept and definition of paraphilias. A paraphilia is the modern day psychiatric term for perversion. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, paraphilias refer to intense repetitive sexual urges, fantasies or behaviors where the sexual goal is an unusual situation, activity or object. These arousal patterns are only considered deviant because they are usually required for sexual functioning.
The object of a fetishist's sexual desire might be used with a partner but more often than not the fetish becomes the entire focus of sexual pleasure.
Fetishism is a perversion that is found, primarily in male heterosexuals, in which orgasm is impossible without the presence of their fetish. A fetish can be any number of things. There are three basic types of fetishes: 1) an inanimate object (e.g. women's clothing, shoes, gloves, underwear), 2) a part of the human body (e.g. foot, hand, hair, legs, breasts, fingernails), 3) or something odd such as, leather, rubber, the touch of velvet, adult diapers, perfume, music, or fruit.
The object of a fetish is most always used during masturbation. Inanimate object fetishes can be placed into two categories: form fetishes and media fetishes. A form fetish has to do with the shape of the object or object itself such as high-heeled shoes. A media fetish has to do with the material that the object is made out of, such as leather. Those fetishists that have inanimate object fetishes many times have a collection of that object, even if it takes robbery to get the right addition to their collection. The most common form fetish objects are bras, panties, slips, pantyhose, shoes, and gloves. The most common media fetish objects are rubber, fur, silk, and leather. Most of the time the fetishist tries to get objects that have been worn before, but in extreme cases the fetishist may be sexually aroused from a picture or drawing of the object. Animate fetish objects are body parts such as ears, hands, legs, fingernails, noses, buttocks, feet, or hair.
There is a thin line between fetishism and preferences. We all know people or may our selves be attracted to or obsessive about a body part or piece of clothing. The difference is that fetishists are compulsive about their fetish and may not be able to become sexually aroused with out that item. Sexual preferences are normal because the person is not dependent on it.
A Case Study and Freudian Views
As observed by Freud, some fetishes may not even be visible to the other person at all. In one case a patient...
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