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What is a
Fetish?
fet·ish
also fet·ich
-
- An object that is believed to have magical
or spiritual powers, especially such an object associated with
animalistic or shamanistic religious practices.
- An object of unreasonably excessive
attention or reverence: made a fetish of punctuality.
- Something, such as a material object or a
nonsexual part of the body, that arouses sexual desire and may become
necessary for sexual gratification.
- An abnormally obsessive preoccupation or
attachment; a fixation.
You might also consider this
definition.
fetish, fetishism
In anthropology, a fetish is an object to which powers are attributed that go
beyond its natural ones; when the term is extended to sexuality, it indicates an
object not naturally connected with sexual reproduction that nonetheless causes
sexual arousal for some people. As
Freud
puts it, the fetish 'bears some relation to the normal sexual object but is
entirely unsuited to serve the normal sexual aim' (by which, of course, he means
the reproductive aim). The best known object fetishes are for items of clothing,
especially those made out of particular materials like fur,
leather
and
rubber, and
boots and shoes.
However, if the notion of a fetish is extended to include activities, then SM,
which consists almost entirely of activities 'unsuited to serve the normal
sexual aim', appears as one big fetish. For further discussion see under
Fetishism
in the Boundaries article on the Dynamics and Definitions Source sheet.
Note that originally 'fetish' was used of the object itself: a particular
artifact would be a fetish. But in its sexual use it usually means the
propensity to be aroused by a certain object, as in 'Mary has a fetish for dirty
socks', and the object is called 'the fetish object'. 'Fetishism' is the
propensity to be aroused by a fetish object.
To have a fetish is to honour with
extravagant love, to adore; to idolize. Therefore, a fetish object should
always be of the highest quality ; equally worthy of such worship and
adoration.
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