Boston Counseling and Psychotherapy

Sexual Fetishism: Leather, Rubber and Foot Fetishes: Facts and Sex Therapy Concepts

August 10, 2008 – 11:41 pm

Portraits

Kate loves leather. She has leather pants. She has leather bed sheets. Leather is such an important part of her sex life that without it sex seems dull and listless.

Keith is what you call a ‘foot man.’ She’s said a number of times, “I don’t know if a woman is attractive until I see her feet. I got to see her feet.” Even in the winter he asks his wife wears her high-heeled sandals.

Something about the smell of rubber has always turned Megan on. She shyly admits this to her friends one day. “Is that weird or what?” she says.

Definitions and Key Thoughts

Fetishism is more accurately called sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism.

One who has a sexual fetish is known as a fetishist.

Fetishism is the sexual attraction to materials or objects not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature. When a body part is the subject of a person’s fetish (known as partialism), to the fetishist the body part will often take sexual precedence over the rest of the owner.

The term sexual fetish was first introduced by Alfred Binet, the famous psychologists best known for developing the IQ test. [i]

Fetishism is categorized by the American Psychiatric Association as a paraphilia, a sexual disorder characterized by abnormal or socially unacceptable sexual behavior (other paraphilias include voyeurism and exhibitionism).

Many people never seek treatment for their sexual fetishes but instead embrace or even celebrate them. Some consider fetishes to be an element that enhances their sexual relationship.

In a review of the files from a teaching hospital; of 48 cases over a 20 year period who met criteria for fetishes, the objects of their fetishes included clothing (58.3%), rubber and rubber items (22.9%), footwear (14.6%), body parts (14.6%), leather and leather items (10.4%), and soft materials and fabrics (6.3%).[ii]

Today many psychologists and medical doctors regard a fetish as a normal variation of human sexuality. The practice of incorporating a fetish into sexual practice is often understood to be unobjectionable as long as all involved persons feel comfortable.

According to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), fetishism is the use of inanimate objects as a stimulus to achieve sexual arousal and satisfaction. The diagnostic criterion for fetishism is as follows:

• Unusual sexual fantasies, drives or behavior occur over a time span of at least six months. Sometimes unusual sexual fantasies occur and vanish by themselves; in this case any medical treatment is not necessary.
• The affected person, her object or another person experience impairment or distress in multiple functional areas. Functional area refers to different aspects of life such as private social contacts, job, etc. It is sufficient for the diagnosis if one of the participants is being hurt or mistreated in any other way.

Action Steps and Treatment Plan for Sexual Fetishism

Sexual fetishism is rarely treated in the conventional sense. Some person have attempted to treat sexual fetishism with cognitive behavioral therapy (which helps one see how their thoughts effect their emotions) or through psychoanalysis (which could look into the origins of fetishism by seeking out a trauma from one’s past). However, treatment may be more successful if it focuses on keeping a fetish under control, and by making sure one’s sexual partner is comfortable with the sexual practices.

1) Keeping it under control

If you have a sexual fetish, try focusing on parts of your partner’s body that are customarily sexual in nature.

Allow yourself to become sexually aroused by all parts of your partners body, and take time to appreciate the body as a whole. Remember the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

2) Establish comfort in the sexual relationship

Find a way to incorporate your sexual desires and your partner’s sexual desires into the sexual relationship.

The most important thing is that you and your partner feel safe and comfortable in the sexual process.