Sexual fetishism is the personal or cultural attribution of attractive sexual qualities to objects which are both inanimate and commonly considered non-sexual to an authoritative group in a society.

In clinical psychology, fetishism exists as a sub-class of paraphilia. The diagnosis of fetishism is justified while the person's subject remains the sole means of his/her sexual gratification for a period of six (6) months, causes a "clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning", and causes significant harm to either themselves or others.


In the common English language, any degree of attention given to a singular inanimate object, body part, body feature or sexual behaviour may be said to be a sign of sexual fetishism. This use of the term is considered an overly compensatory gesture to the cognitive and emotional uncertainty caused by the liberation of sexual discourse, tastes and practices in the 20th century.

Types of fetishes

Above all, it must be noted that there is no reliable data available on frequency and distribution of fetish objects. Indications offered here are derived from the number of hospital treatments due to accidents, the number of interest groups, especially in the world wide web, and the number of erotic and pornographic offers in the media; all of these data are subject to systematic errors and thus have no empirical force.

Fetishism is extremely varied and encompasses many types of objects. Though in theory each object can become a fetish, the common assumption that there is a fetishist for each and everything seems to be wrong: Most fetishes reported are either body parts, clothes or objects similar to clothes (e.g. jewels and casts). Fetishes that are not directly related to the human body seem to be extremely rare, if present at all. Commonly fetishized items appear to be shoes, lingerie, and specific materials such as satin, leather or fur.

Also, a number of sports and sports activities can serve as a sexual fetish, both homoerotic and heteroerotic. Swimming, Gymnastics, Bodybuilding to name few. Combat sports, like wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, Mixed Martial Arts are all another pretty spread fetish, both homosexual and heterosexual. Both the type of sports activity, athletes and bodies of athletes themselves as well as sportswear (e.g. swimming trunks, wrestling singlets, etc) can all serve as fetishes.

Sadomasochism

Sexual activity and gratification, in which one person enjoys inflicting physical or mental suffering on another person, who derives pleasure from experiencing pain.

Shoes

According to the number of erotic offers, shoes—often in combination with a desire for feet—are among the top of the list of commonly fetishized items. Most often, a preference for high-heeled female shoes is reported, but admirers for nearly all kind of footwear can be found on the internet. Even a desire for sneakers or sports socks and spandex can be found.

Outsiders tend to spot inner coherence between shoe fetishism and sadomasochism, e. g. because kissing someone's shoes is a submissive act, but from a systematic point of view, there is none.

• Boot fetishism
  
• Shoe fetishism
  

Hosiery and bodywear

Women's hosiery is another commonly fetishized item. Some prefer stockings while others prefer pantyhose (tights). Fetishists often have favorite colors or deniers, or specific features such as seams, reinforced toes/heels, or "fishnet" material. And not to forget kneehigh socks (cableknits, tubes, soccer, baseball etc...). Those are combined with different types of uniforms (schoolgirl, soccer, etc...).

Spandex leggings and leotards are similarly fetishized, as are tight, shiny garments made of leather, rubber, or PVC. The Japanese term "zentai" refers to a spandex suit covering the entire body. For other fetishists, tight jeans are the object of interest.

One basis of this fetish is that the material forms a "second skin" that acts as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer's own skin. Another basis is that the woman wearing them receives autoerotic pleasure from the tightness or silkiness. Other fetishists associate the tightness with corsets or bondage.

• Corset fetishism
  
• Jeans fetishism
  
• Navel Fetishism
  
• Pantyhose fetishism
  
• Parka fetish
  
• Second skin
  
• Sock fetishism
  
• Spandex fetishism
  
• Stocking fetishism
  
• Zentai skin tight suits
  

Lingerie and evening wear

Satin and lace items such as slips, nightdresses, and undergarments are often fetishized, as well as other silk items such as evening gowns, skirts, and scarves. Sometimes, as with hosiery fetishism, there is a transvestite component. Many men find the tactile sensations caused by the wearing of silk or satin lingerie arousing; some wear panties under their male clothes, whereas others may wear a full set of lingerie. Due to the taboo nature of this fetish, the possibility of getting caught often heightens the fetishists' enjoyment.

In other cases, "fuzzy" materials such as fur or Angora sweaters are fetishized.

• Fur fetishism / Doraphilia
  
• Panty fetishism
  
• Silk/Satin fetishism
  
• Transvestic fetishism
  

Leather and latex

Leather is another commonly fetishized item by both heterosexual and homosexual fetishists. It is commonly associated with motorcycle gangs, kinky sex, and the leather subculture.

Another "hard" material for fetish clothing is rubber. This can range from items such as cloaks to thin, tight and shiny clothing. While rubber, at least natural rubber, is made from latex, in this context "latex" usually refers to the thinner materials. PVC is also used to make similar garments.

The rubber fetish can focus on conventionally sexy items such as gowns and skintight garments as well as seemingly unlikely items such as gas masks.

• Diaper fetishism
  
• Latex and PVC fetishism
  
• Leather fetishism
  
• Mask fetishism
  
• Rubber fetishism
  

Partialism

Other fetishistic attachments can be to specific parts of the body, such as head or body hair, legs, feet, neck, fingernails, moles or breasts, or specific shapes of the body, rather than to the person as an individual. This might explain foot binding in China in pre-modern times, extensive corset use in the West in the 19th century, and breast implants in the contemporary United States and elsewhere (e.g., Brazil).

• Breast fetishism
  
• Breast expansion fetish
  
• Ear fetishism
  
• Freckle fetishism
  
• Foot fetishism
  
• Hair fetishism
  
• Hand fetishism
  
• Navel fetishism
  
• Nose fetishism
  
• Head Locks
  
• Buttocks fetishism
  

Accessories

Sometimes the attraction, rather than being toward clothes that are in close contact with the body, is toward jewelry or similar accessories, such as braces, eyeglasses, gloves, cigarettes, etc.

• Body piercing
  
• Eyeglasses fetishism
  
• Glove fetishism
  
• Diaper Fetishism
  

Medical and disability

There also exist fetishes related to medical procedures and devices, as well as to disabled persons and orthopedic equipment such as crutches, leg-braces and plaster casts. In general, these are attractions to disability.

• Abasiophilia (disability)
  
• Amputee fetishism
  
• Anesthesia fetishism
  
• Medical fetishism
  

Fluid and excretory

Another cluster of fetishes is centered around dirt and fluids, bodily or otherwise.

• Fecal fetishism
  
• Emetophilia (vomiting)
  
• Erotic lactation
  
• Omorashi
  
• Saliromania (messy/disheveled)
  
• Sneezing fetishism
  
• Spitting fetishism
  
• Urolagnia (urine fetishism)
  
• Wet and messy fetishism
  
• nose blowing fetishism
  

Pedophilia

This type of fetish is centered around prepubescent children, or the appearance of youth. Pedophiles are obsessed with children or childlike features.

• flat chests
  
• small size
  
• excessively skinny
  
• childlike features
  

In most adults this is an unwanted and sometimes uncontrolled fetish; such desires may also be illegal to act on if children below the local age of consent are involved. Most adults are not diagnosed with this condition due to the intense social stigma against it. This condition is present in both sexes and can be homosexual or heterosexual in the ones affected. There are no accepted treatments for this condition.