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[1, 2]
Fetishism
Chapter 2
It might be easier to try and understand things from our own perspective,
but it is also important to reach for understanding beyond our immediate
grasp. For instance, while discussing foot fetishism, it is possible
to identify with it from a comfortable perspective. Women in high-heeled
shoes, wearing black stockings perhaps, are probably pretty approachable
subject matter for most heterosexual guys. But when your eyes start
moving up, the fetishist's start going down. The feet are the object
of desire. This is what constitutes the fetish. In attempting to
understand fetishism, it is essential to appreciate that. You may
very well like your mate to dress up in garters and stockings, maybe
even put a high-heeled foot on your chest once in a while, but that
doesn't qualify as fetishism, unless you have to end it by masturbating
on her feet every time.
Fetishes are likely formed early in our sexual development. An
early quasi-sexual experience in childhood can hold great power
over us and result in a later psycho-sexual association with a certain
object or circumstance, even long after we have forgotten the original
encounter. Sometimes though, a fetish can develop later as a result
of a powerful sexual reaction or episode. A fetish could also develop
over time from repeated exposure to a certain stimulus.
There is a trend evolving in the mainstream today to romanticize
fetishism. The animalistic, and somewhat anti-social aspects of
fetishism have been appropriated, sanitized and repackaged for the
masses, so that we now see a burgeoning interest in leather, piercing,
tattooing, etc. The number, variety and quality of fake tattoos
available everywhere, from bars, to women's' dress shops attest
to this 'flirting with the dark side'. Sex shops, featuring such
familiar old fetish finery as latex hoods, handcuffs and dominatrix
gear, are appearing in nicer neighborhoods and are retooling to
appeal to a broader, more mainstream audience - especially married
couples who want to revitalize their sex lives. Their low-key approach
is to make shopping for sex goodies a fun, safe experience for men
or women and couples. And it seems to be working. Their very popularity
threatens to undermine some of these very things' status as fetishes.
It can even be a fun date idea to meet your significant other at
one, pick out a few trinkets, a movie or two, and some of that new
mango-chutney flavoured sex-lube. Head home from there, and hey,
you've got dinner and a movie for two with a twist for the new millennium.
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