What’s in a Fetish? You’ll Be Happy to Know, We’ve Got the Best Answers!
A fetish defines the object of someone’s sexual fantasies (a living being or an inanimate object). As you likely already know, Between Our Thighs posts a weekly Fetish Friday article, highlighting a different fetish or kink each week, to educate our readers and help make the world become more sex-positive.
Today, we’ll be sharing a one-stop-shop, so to speak, of all the fetishes we’ve talked about since first launching our blog until the date of this publication. We’ve listed each in alphabetical order, for your ease of reference. If the fetish you’re looking for isn’t here, we may have featured it in a separate post outside of this roundup (you can look it up by searching here). If we haven’t yet talked about it, let us know in the comments below and we can feature it in the future!
Balloon play: Balloon play, or a balloon fetish, describes a person who achieves sexual arousal when balloons are incorporated into sex. The folks often call themselves, or are referred to by others, as ‘looners.’ Arousal can stem from looking at, popping, blowing up, lying or sitting on, experiencing the tactile texture, or interacting with balloons of varying materials.
Body modification: In terms of fetishism, body modification refers to an attraction and sexual pull to folks who have (a) specific modification(s) on their body. This includes having these mods done to yourself.
Foot Worship (Podophilia): More commonly referred to as a foot fetish or ‘foot worship,’ podophilia describes a person with a sexual interest and attraction to feet. The feet as a whole, as well as the toes and ankles, are a turn-on to someone with this fetish, though there can be varying preferences based on the look of the foot. As an example, someone may like the toes to be a certain length, for the skin to be smooth or dry, for them to be adorned with jewellery, or for the toes to be painted with nail polish.
Furry fandom and anthropomorphism: For starters, anthropomorphism describes the labelling of non-humans — particularly animals — as having human emotions, intentions, and overall traits. The furry fandom, called ‘furries,’ are a group of folx interested in human-like animals (standing on two legs and sometimes wearing clothes) and is tied into the notion of anthropomorphism.
Ghosts and the paranormal (spectrophilia): A sexual attraction to or experiencing sexual arousal from ghosts, ‘spectrophilia’ can also describe the sexual encounters that some people claim to have had with the spirit world. These paranormal experiences can occur through varying forms, including (but not limited to) a séance, demonic possession, or even chance interactions. These encounters date back thousands of years, with many cultural folklores involving sexual relations between spirits and humans; Arabic, Celtic, Greek, and Hindu are just some.
Golden showers: Golden showers — also commonly referred to as ‘water sports’ or ‘piss play’ — describes erotic play involving urine. This is associated with urophilia, when someone is aroused by either the sight or thought of themselves or another person urinating. This can be either experiencing the physical sensations (for example, being urinated on), the smell of the urine, or simply watching another person relieve themselves in a sexually-charged situation. The attraction to urine is a fetish, while the enjoyment of urinating is a kink.
Hand fetishism (cheirophilia): Hand fetishism — also referred to as hand partialism or cheirophilia — describes a sexual attraction that a person has towards hands. For some, it’s directed at a specific area of the hands, such as the fingers or nails. To others, it’s to a particular action performed by the hands (not always sexual, such as tying shoelaces). It can even be a combination of both!
Lingerie and Underwear Fetishism: Underwear fetishism is a broad term, referring to a sexual attraction to undergarments in a general sense. However, lingerie fetishes are a more specific subculture. They describe the attraction to lingerie itself, or a partner wearing sexier pieces of underclothing, including undergarments like bras and panties, sleepwear, lightweight robes, and stockings. This fetish can often have overlap with another, such as a foot fetish with stockings or role-playing when themed undergarments are used.
Menstruation (period sex): Period sex is exactly what it sounds like — the desire to have sex while someone is on their period. While it’s a common occurrence for many sexually active couples where one or both partners are menstruating, for some folks, sex while a uterus owner is on their period is actually the source of arousal. The proper terms used to describe this fetish are ‘hematolagnia’ (when referring to blood in general) or ‘menophilia’ (referring specifically to menstrual blood). Depending on the person, this could also be a kink, as opposed to a fetish.
Objectum sexuality: Objectum sexuality, also known as object sexuality or objectophilia, can be described as a sexual attraction or romantic attachment towards a specific inanimate object, or a group of like items. These are often referred to as “beloved objects.” As just one example, someone may be attracted to their personal car, or they might be attracted to all cars of that make and model. Possibly, they might be attached to all yellow cars, regardless of its manufacturer. It varies from person to person.
Scat play: Scat play refers to any sexual activity that incorporates scat or feces (poop). Often, this involves defecating on a sexual partner or getting pooped on for the purpose of sexual pleasure and gratification. scat play Folks who fantasize about and take pleasure in scat play have what is called “coprophilia” and can sometimes be referred to as “scatophiliacs.” The attraction to faces is a fetish, while the enjoyment of defecation is a kink.
Sex dolls and sex robots: Invented by Dutch sailors in the 17th century, sex dolls were initially formed from old pieces of clothing (in fact, in Japan, they’re sometimes still referred to as ‘Dutch wives’ for this very reason). In the modern-day, they typically resemble more of a sex robot, in that they are realistic — often made of silicone — and can sometimes make complex, human-like movements. Many sex dolls have oral and anal openings, with a vaginal opening on ‘biologically’ female dolls and realistic penises on ‘biologically’ male versions. People who share this kink are called ‘iDollators.’
Zoophilia: Zoophilia is a sexual interest or paraphilia that involves a human's attraction to animals, whether that is just a fantasy or an act they would like to carry out. The term ‘bestiality’ describes when these interactions become physical and sexual. The folks who experience this paraphilia are called ‘zoophiles.’ It is essential to keep in mind that in any sexual interaction with an animal, one party — the animal — is non-consenting.
*Please note that we do not, under any circumstances, agree with the abuse of animals (sexual or otherwise), as they are unable to give consent.*
Are you interested in any of these fetishes? What are some additional fetishes you’d like us to delve into on future posts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
