Fetish & Paraphilia - Same or Different?

Fetish & Paraphilia – Same or Different?

What Is a Fetish?

A fetish is described as 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.

A paraphilia is described as sexual interests in objects, situations, or individuals that are atypical or extreme. A Paraphilic Disorder is described as having an additional experience of distress or impairment in functioning.

The main difference between a paraphilia and a fetish, is that a paraphilia is much more extreme and harmful than a fetish. A fetish can become a paraphilia if the attraction becomes obsessive or harmful.

Paraphilias can include sexual behaviours that society may view as distasteful, unusual or abnormal. The most common are pedophilia (sexual focus on children), exhibitionism (exposure of genitals to strangers), voyeurism (observing private activities of unaware victims) and frotteurism (touching, rubbing against a non-consenting person).

Perhaps because they are becoming more widely acknowledged fetishism (use of inanimate objects), sexual masochism (being humiliated or forced to suffer), sexual sadism (inflicting humiliation or suffering) and transvestic disorder (sexually arousing cross-dressing) are far less common as paraphilias.

Some paraphilias have more than one term to describe them, and some terms overlap with others. But the list is quite extensive. Anil Aggrawal, a professor of Forensic Medicine, once compiled a list of over 500 terms describing paraphilic sexual interests. He did explain that not all of these have necessarily been seen in clinical setups. Not because they don’t exist, but because they are so harmless that they are never brought to the attention of a doctor or are dismissed by them.

Just like allergies, sexual arousal may occur from anything under the sun, including the sun.

Most of the listed names for paraphilias are used in medical contexts only, due to their Greek or Latin origin.

Title	Description
Abasiophilia/ Acrotomophilia/ Apotemnophilia	People with impaired mobility/amputations/being an amputee
Agalmatophilia	Statues, mannequins and immobility
Algolagnia	Pain, particularly involving an erogenous zone; differs from masochism as there is a biologically different interpretation of the sensation rather than a subjective interpretation
Andromimetophilia	Trans men
Anililagnia	Attraction by young men to older women
Anthropophagy	Ingesting human flesh
Asphyxiophilia	Being asphyxiated or strangled
Autagonistophilia	Being on stage or on camera
Autassassinophilia	Being in life-threatening situations
Autoandrophilia	A biological female imagining herself as a male
Autoerotic asphyxiation	Self-induced asphyxiation, sometimes to the point of near unconsciousness
Autogynephilia	A biological male imagining himself as a female
Auto-haemofetishism	Bleeding oneself (does not involve ingestion of blood). Type of autovampirism
Autonepiophilia/ Autopedophilia	The image of one’s self in the form of an infant/Child
Autovampirism/Vampirism	The image of one’s self in the form of a vampire. Involves ingesting or seeing one’s own blood
Autozoophilia	The image of one’s self in the form of an animal or anthropomorphized animal
Biastophilia/Raptophilia	Raping a person, possibly consensual rape fantasy
Capnolagnia	Smoking
Chremastistophilia	Being robbed or held up
Chronophilia	Partners of a widely differing chronological age
Coprophilia Feces;	also known as scat, scatophilia or fecophilia
Dacryphilia	Tears or crying
Diaper fetishism	Diapers; considerable overlap with paraphilic infantilism
Emetophilia	Vomit
Eproctophilia	Flatulence
Erotic asphyxiation	Asphyxia of oneself or others
Erotophonophilia	Murder, often of strangers (also known as dacnolagnomania)
Exhibitionism	Exposing one’s genitals to unsuspecting and nonconsenting others
Feederism	Eating, feeding, and weight gain
Formicophilia	Being crawled on by insects
Forniphilia	Turning a human being into a piece of furniture
Frotteurism	Rubbing against a non-consenting person
Gerontophilia	Elderly people
Gynandromorphophilia/Gynemimetophilia	Transsexual or transgender women
Heterophilia	Idealization of heterosexuality and/or people who are “straight-acting,” especially by non-heterosexual people.
Hoplophilia	Firearms, guns
Hybristophilia	Criminals, particularly for cruel or outrageous crimes
Infantophilia Pedophilia	with a focus on children less than five years old, a recently suggested term that is not in general use
Klismaphilia	Enemas; arousal and enjoyment in receiving, administering, or both
Lactophilia	Breast milk
Liquidophilia	Immersing genitals in liquids
Macrophilia	Giant beings; the imagined growth of beings
Maschalagnia	Armpits
Mazophilia	Highly atypical sexual interest focused on female breasts
Masochism	Suffering or humiliation; being beaten, bound or otherwise abused
Mechanophilia	Cars or other machines; also “mechaphilia.”
Menophilia	Menstruation
Morphophilia	Particular body shapes or sizes
Mucophilia	Mucus
Mysophilia	Dirtiness, soiled or decaying things
Narratophilia	Obscene words
Nasophilia	Noses
Necrophilia	Corpses
Objectophilia	Specific inanimate objects
Oculolinctus/ Oculophilia	Licking the eyeballs/ activities directly relating to and/or involving the eyes
Olfactophilia	Smells and odors emanating from the body, especially the sexual areas.
Omorashi	Arousal from having a full bladder and/or wetting oneself, or from seeing someone else experiencing a full bladder and/or wetting themselves
Paraphilic infantilism	Dressing or being treated like a baby, also known as autonepiophilia or “adult baby syndrome”; considerable overlap with diaper fetishism
Partialism	Specific, non-genital body parts
Pedophilia	Prepubescent children, also spelled paedophilia; often confused with hebephilia, ephebophilia, and pederasty
Peodeiktophilia	Exposing one’s penis
Podophilia	Feet
Pictophilia	Pornography or erotic art, particularly pictures
Piquerism	Piercing the flesh of another person, most commonly by stabbing or cutting the body with sharp objects
Plushophilia	Stuffed toy animals (Plushies)
Pygophilia	Buttocks, as in a highly atypical sexual interest focused on the buttocks.
Pyrophilia	Fire
Sadism	Inflicting pain on others
Salirophilia	Soiling or dirtying others
Sexual fetishism	Nonliving objects
Somnophilia	Sleeping or unconscious people
Sophophilia	Learning
Sthenolagnia	Muscles and displays of strength
Stigmatophilia	Body piercings and tattoos
Symphorophilia	Witnessing or staging disasters such as car accidents
Telephone scatologia	Obscene phone calls, particularly to strangers; also known as telephonicophilia and scatophilia
Teratophilia	Deformed or monstrous people
Toucherism	Touching an unsuspecting, non-consenting person with the hand
Toxophilia	Archery
Transvestic fetishism	Wearing clothes associated with the opposite sex; also known as transvestism
Trichophilia	Hair
Troilism	Cuckoldism; watching one’s partner have sex with someone else, possibly without the third party’s knowledge
Urolagnia	Urination, particularly in public, on others, and/or being urinated on. Also referred to as “water sports”
Vorarephilia	The idea of one person or creature eating or being eaten by another; usually swallowed whole, in one piece; also known as vore
Voyeurism	Watching others while naked or having sex, generally without their knowledge; also known as scopophilia or scoptophilia
Wet and messy fetishism	Messy situations, including, but not limited to, being pied, gunged or covered in mud
Zoosadism	Inflicting pain on or seeing animals in pain

Summary

The above list is, by no means, exhaustive. More details can be found here.

There seems to be many overlaps in definitions and one can easily become another. It’s very important to control any fetish and seek help when it starts to consume you or harm others. Communication is key! If you or someone you know is affected by a Paraphilic disorder then please speak to your nearest mental health professional or general practitioner for advice.