Sexual fetishism

Sexual fetishism, first described as such by Alfred Binet in his Le fétichisme dans l?amour, though the concept and certainly the activity is quite ancient, is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a person's body. The term arose from fetishism, the general concept of an object having supernatural powers, or an object created by humans that has power over other humans. Karl Marx also used the term, but in a quite separate way.

References and further reading

• Valerie Steele, Fetish: Fashion, Sex, and Power, Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0195090446
• Larry Utley, Autumn Carey-Adamme, Fetish Fashion: Undressing the Corset, Green Candy Press, 2002. ISBN 1931160066
• Katharine Gates, Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex, published by Juno Books ISBN 1-890451-03-7
• Brenda Love, The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, published by Barricade Books, 1994, ISBN 1569800111