To understand Fetishism it is important to understand the concept and definition of paraphilias. A paraphilia is the modern day psychiatric term for perversion. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, paraphilias refer to intense repetitive sexual urges, fantasies or behaviors where the sexual goal is an unusual situation, activity or object. These arousal patterns are only considered deviant because they are usually required for sexual functioning.

The object of a fetishist's sexual desire might be used with a partner but more often than not the fetish becomes the entire focus of sexual pleasure.

Fetishism is a perversion that is found, primarily in male heterosexuals, in which orgasm is impossible without the presence of their fetish. A fetish can be any number of things. There are three basic types of fetishes: 1) an inanimate object (e.g. women's clothing, shoes, gloves, underwear), 2) a part of the hum

Fetishism, anthropologically, can apply to a form of belief and religious practice in which supernatural attributes are given to inanimate objects. In some cases it is a figure carved out of stone, clay, or wood, in which the "believers" will have little ceremonies for the object. In some religions the fetish is attached to a specific place, such as, a tree, rock, or a river. In many cases, the belief becomes similar to the sexual fetishes explained earlier where the believers are unaware of the symbolism that the item has, and they begin to worship the item itself. In this situation the fetishism can be considered as something like a religion.

5) "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition". 1994. American Psychiatric Association. Washington DC

4) "Fetishism". Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis. Ludwig Eidelberg, MD 1968, The Free Press, New York.

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