Here are several excerpts of interest from The Sexual Fetish paperback. Click here for part one and here for part two of the main blog entries.
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Chapter I: Contemporary Definition of the Sexual Fetish
The term that one is "making a fetish out of it" is used pretty freely today, although not only in a sexual sense. The implication is that one is overly obsessed by some object or quirk. The word fetish, or fetich, actually denotes a feeling applied to a primarily non-sexual object that has, for the beholder, certain erotic and sexually stimulating connotations. This can be carried to extremes in which sexual feelings are applied to most unlikely-sounding items. There are cases of persons having erotic reactions to a roll-top desk or a can-opener. These persons are candidates for the analyst's couch.
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Rubber as clothing material, while as prevalent a fetish item as leather, has not yet been fully accepted as a public form of dress. The one exception to this, of course, is the brightly colored rain-wear that women wear, contrasted with the more drab official coats issued to postmen. Nevertheless, there are many people who devote themselves to the wearing of clothes made of rubber, who cannot understand the attraction of leather; they feel that rubber is so much more form-fitting. These include the skin-diving enthusiasts who would never dream of actually going under water.
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Chapter XX The Fetish: A Summing Up
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Fetish is derived from the Portuguese word fetico, meaning charmed. Psychiatrists believe that no person, except the very rare asexual individual, escapes the aura of fetishism. Whether he recognizes as fetishes the things that attract his attention depends upon the person's depth of self-understanding.
Some authorities suggest that an attraction for a "non-sexual" part of the body is always a fetish. If this be true then we would have to assume we are all would-be fetishists if we enjoy looking at a pretty girl. For what catches the eye first is basically non-sexual. Generally, the buttocks, breasts, hair, facial contours, and type of walk attracts the attention. None of these are absolutely essential for sexuality. [Sexuality, not eroticism: big difference.--Rubber Betty]
One is pleased by a tight sweater, a contour-clinging pair of slacks, some saucy and eye-catching footwear. Is he a fetishist? The very correct gentleman of yesteryear admired the crinoline and taffeta that fell gracefully over curving bosoms and hips. Was he a fetishist? According to current definitions, the answer is yes.
Less prevalent, perhaps, is the third category of fetishism mentioned. The sexual reaction obtained from the association of a certain material. But it must be remembered that the definitions of fetishism do not stipulate that an orgasm must be obtained, or even sexual "preparation" be present during an association with certain materials.
If one thrills to the touch of a leather handbag or the rubber gloves used for dishwashing; if the wooden breadboard gives one chills up and down the spine (it may resemble that college paddle) one has, like it or not, a fetish attachment.
By unanimous consent, however, one need not worry about the fetish if it does not replace sexual activity. And, some of the authorities in the field say, one need not worry even if the fetish does replace sexual activity. Most who do hold this opinion would prefer that the etish be a supplement to the traditional sex act, but thet feel that sexual activity of some kind is better than none at all.
Often, so say the liberals, a fetish attachment can have the same stabilizing effect that a hobby such as coin collecting or bowling can have. Indeed, some fetishists do turn their interests into an actual hobby. Collecting literature and illustrations (spankology, leather publications, bondage pictures) or fetish implements (whips, paddles, phallic symbols, special tailor-made clothing) is believed to ba a channeling of fetish desires.
The question arises as to what is fetishism's future. It is not a question as to whether fetishism will continue to be in existence (it will be as long as sex remains with us) but as to what forms it will take. Psychiatrists, backed by sociologists, say all indications are that the three forms of fetishism are maintaining their traits primarily in one combination.
Fetish materials are being made into clothing and applied to non-sexual (and sexual too, of course) parts of the body for purposes of displaying the anatomy. Thus all three aspects of fetishism become rolled into one. Fashion and clothes designers are attempting to appeal to this fetish attraction. It transcends mere surface sex appeal and becomes an appeal to sensuality.
Another phenomenon is the increasing output of fetish literature and fetish-orientated magazines. As people seek to know themselves better and to be aware of their "afflictions," they seek information about things that do or could apply to themselves. The large demand for knowledge of fetishism is noted bt psychiatrists as an indication of increased fetish existence.
As Kinsey's studies provided exhaustive information and lifted a screen that was covering sexual relations, so fetishism is beginning to grip the researcher's interest. The taboos that have long been obscuring this area of sexual activity are being dispelled.
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