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Lecture Notes

Fetishism is the sexual attraction to an object which is required or preferred for sexual arousal. To meet APA definition of fetishism as a disorder, one must not be able to have satisfactory sex without the fetish. Instead of relating to another person, one can gain sexual gratification from kissing a shoe, caressing a glove, drawing a lock of hair against his or her cheek, or masturbating with a piece of underwear.

 

A form of Fetishism is partialism. This is the exclusive attraction to particular body parts. For example, a woman's feet, ears, breasts, legs, elbows, or any other part of her body. As a reaction, the heartbeat increases, muscles can tense, and toes can curl.

Using objects for sexual stimulation, such as vibrators, or using female clothing for cross-dressing is not a sign of fetishistic disorder. Fetishistic behavior can be viewed on a continuum. The object is a substitute for sexual partners and can vary from a slight preference to a strong preference to a necessity for sexual arousal. Most people have slight fetishes, and most fetishes and partialisms rarely cause harm.

Image from McGraw-Hill