Fetishism is a psychological state in which a nonliving object becomes the primary source of sexual arousal (e.g. female undergarment). This type of deviation often begins during the adolescence and is not addressed by law. But sometimes, fetishists do tend to commit crimes to acquire their favourite fetishes. Fetishism is one of the most puzzling of all forms of sexual behaviour. It is chronic and in some cases the collection of objects is the main activity in the individual’s life. Nobody has been able to explain why fetishism occurs but a range of theories varying from unconscious motivations to impaired neural mechanisms have put forward their thoughts, but the true causes still remains a mystery. Treatments based on the learning principle have been applied successfully, up to an extent. For example, ‘Aversion Therapy’ pairs the fetishist’s object (either in reality or in fantasy) with an unpleasant stimulus (such as an electric shock, being discovered by a family member or vomiting for example) in which the discovery of fetishism causes an overwhelming embarrassment and pain.

Fetishism is a psychological state in which a nonliving object becomes the primary source of sexual arousal (e.g. female undergarment). This type of deviation often begins during the adolescence and is not addressed by law. But sometimes, fetishists do tend to commit crimes to acquire their favourite fetishes.

Fetishism is one of the most puzzling of all forms of sexual behaviour. It is chronic and in some cases the collection of objects is the main activity in the individual’s life. Nobody has been able to explain why fetishism occurs but a range of theories varying from unconscious motivations to impaired neural mechanisms have put forward their thoughts, but the true causes still remains a mystery.

Treatments based on the learning principle have been applied successfully, up to an extent. For example, ‘Aversion Therapy’ pairs the fetishist’s object (either in reality or in fantasy) with an unpleasant stimulus (such as an electric shock, being discovered by a family member or vomiting for example) in which the discovery of fetishism causes an overwhelming embarrassment and pain.