 Originally Posted by dave1701
I think some of yall are confused as to what constitutes a fetish.
I'm not sure anyone knows. All the words that are used to describe sexual things are so prone to having their meanings utterly raped (see what I did there) and used in wrong ways. And I don't think the definition of a fetish makes much sense. Let's look at some, yes? (Have we done this in this thread before?)
 Originally Posted by Google dictionary:
1. An inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit
2. A course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment
"he had a fetish for writing more opinions each year than any other justice"
3. A form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc
The first one is a different meaning, so we can write that one off. The second one is at the same time so vague that almost everything in this thread can fit into it, but at the same time it is extremely limited when it only includes "courses of action". To this definition, a foot fetish cannot exist unless it is some kind of action involving feet that is the fetish.
The third definition seems the most right. With this definition, a fetish is a sexual attraction to objects, clothes and body parts, etc. So I guess here we can easily fit the foot fetish in. How about breasts? I mean, breasts are non-sexual body parts, but the definition says it has to be "to an abnormal degree"? And I'd say attraction to breasts is normal, so that one isn't a fetish? Well, who knows whether an attraction to feet is abnormal, then? I think I heard somewhere that foot fetish is the most common fetish right next to breasts. Well that's conflicting a little bit with the definition. But wait...
"etc"
What the fuck? "etc"? Really? You're just gonna casually stick et cetera into a definition? Shouldn't a defintion be clear and precise? When you stick et cetera at the end, you can include god damn everything.
Not to mention, this example is included on that very definition: "common male fetishes are breasts, legs, hair, shoes, and underwear"
I'm finding that very unhelpful... Let's move on to wikipedia and wikitionary!
 Originally Posted by wikitionary
fetish (plural fetishes)
1. Something which is believed to possess, contain, or cause spiritual or magical powers; an amulet or a talisman. [from the early 17th c.]
2. Something sexual or nonsexual, such as an object or a part of the body which arouses sexual desire or is necessary for one to reach full sexual satisfaction. [from the early 19th c.]
3. (US) An irrational, or abnormal fixation or preoccupation. [from the 19th c.]
Again we can right off the first one right away, as that is the second meaning of the word. The second one is more specific, and I think that's the one I agree with the most. But this one leaves out 'fetishes' that are about specific actions and fantasies like dying, being eaten (Well that one is a paraphilia, a whole different can of worms) and the likes. But on the other hand, you could interpret it as including everything, because with this definition it just has to be "something [...] which arouses sexual desire" So basically, everything sexual is a fetish.
The third one is marks every single obsession as a fetish. It doesn't have to be sexual either.
But wait, let's look at what wikitionary says about "fetishism".
 Originally Posted by wikitionary
fetishism (countable and uncountable; plural fetishisms)
2. a form of paraphilia where the object of attraction is an inanimate object or a part of a person's body.
Wait, what? Out of nowhere, fetishes are suddenly paraphilias. I'm not going to do the same shit to the word "paraphilia", I've done that lots of times before and it induces the same mindfuck of ambiguity as this.
 Originally Posted by wikipedia
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation.
Here's another definition where every single sexual attraction can be labeled a fetish. Having sex with a woman as a man is a specific situation, yes? And so is having sex with a man. So apperantly even those things we normally call sexual orientations are fetishes. How is that helpful or useful at all? How does that even make sense?
So yes, you're damn right I'm confused as to what constitutes a fetish! I don't think anyone knows, and I think that's because nothing actually seperates fetishes, paraphilias and sexual orientations. Just confused scientists who thought it was a good idea to bring out the labelers when they saw abnormal types of sexualities.
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