Sexual fetishism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Sexual Fetishism)

Jump to: navigation, search

A public display of fetishistic art in California.

Wikinews has related news:

Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy

Sexual fetishism is the sexual attraction for material and terrestrial objects while in reality the essence of the object is inanimate and sexless. Body parts may also be subject to sexual fetishes (also known as partialism) in which the preferred body part for the fetishist takes a sexual precedent over the owner. Sexual Fetishism may be regarded as a disorder of sexual preference, or as an enhancing element to a relationship.^[1]

The concept has its origins in the 18th century with Charles de Brosses' theory of fetishism as a primary stage in the evolution of a religion^[2], and from the advent of psychosexual/psychodynamic theories of society and individuals in 19th century Europe by (amongst others) psychologist Alfred Binet, German philosopher Max Dessoir, ^[3]and Sigmund Freud.^[4]