An informal, often very broad way to describe a strong fascination or attraction. This usage may be playful and does not carry a clinical meaning.
Back to the glossaryFoundations
Fetish
A sustained erotic or intimate focus on a particular object, material, body feature or highly specific context. In everyday speech the word is often used broadly; having a fetish does not, by itself, establish distress, impairment or a clinical disorder.
SourcesScorolli et al. (2007), relative prevalence of different fetishesJoyal and Carpentier (2017), population study of paraphilic interests and behavioursJoyal and Carpentier (2022), concordance between interests and behavioursVentriglio et al. (2019), fetishism overviewWHO ICD-11 clinical descriptions (2024)Krueger et al. (2017), ICD-11 proposals for paraphilic disorders
Foundations
In brief
A focus of meaning, not a diagnosis.
A fetish is a focused interest in which an object, material, body feature or particular context carries erotic or intimate importance. For one adult it may be a preference among many; for another it may be closely tied to fantasy, identity, ritual or sensory pleasure. The label alone does not reveal what a person does, whether an object is essential, or whether the interest causes difficulty.
A sexual or intimate focus on an object, material, body feature or specific context. Definitions and sampling methods vary between studies, so findings are not always directly comparable.
A focused interest in a particular non-genital body part or feature. It can overlap with what people call a fetish, but the terms are not identical.
A clinical diagnosis with requirements involving distress, impairment, non-consent or serious risk of harm. An unconventional consensual adult interest is not a disorder merely because it is unusual.
Objects, materials and sensory qualities
Commonly described focuses include footwear, boots, gloves, hosiery, lingerie, uniform-style garments and materials such as leather, latex, rubber, PVC, silk, satin or metal. Interest may centre on texture, sheen, scent, sound, weight, fit, craftsmanship, symbolism, transformation or an association with a wearer or role. These possibilities overlap, and no object has one fixed meaning.
The same item can be practical clothing, fashion, a collectable, a memory object or a fetish object depending on the person and context. A garment's category or a retailer's description does not determine the response. Material allergies, skin sensitivity, fit, cleaning requirements and manufacturer guidance remain ordinary practical considerations even when an item also has intimate significance.
What research can—and cannot—show
Scorolli and colleagues examined messages and memberships across 381 internet discussion groups involving about 5,000 people. Within that particular online dataset, body features and objects associated with the body were the most visible categories, with feet and foot-associated objects especially prominent. This is evidence about the relative visibility of interests in selected online groups, not a population prevalence estimate.
Population research by Joyal and Carpentier distinguishes reported interests from reported behaviours. Their later work likewise found that an interest and acting on it are not interchangeable. Surveys and online-group studies can describe patterns and associations, but they cannot establish a single cause, predict an individual's behaviour or determine whether that person has a diagnosis.
Consent, ownership and privacy
A fetish focus never creates entitlement to another person's body, clothing, image or belongings. Touching, wearing, borrowing, photographing or sharing an item involving someone else requires the relevant person's freely given permission, and that permission can be limited or withdrawn. Interest is not the same as consent, and fantasy is not the same as action.
Consensual examples might involve an adult choosing a particular garment for a partner, mutually viewing a collection, or agreeing that an object's texture or symbolism will form part of an encounter. Someone may also enjoy an object privately without involving another person. Where a partner participates, consent remains specific to the people, acts and circumstances agreed; a relationship or previous participation does not supply blanket consent.
Clinical distinction and wellbeing
The World Health Organization's ICD-11 framework distinguishes atypical sexual interests from paraphilic disorders. For patterns involving consenting adults or solitary behaviour, diagnostic requirements concern marked distress that is not explained solely by rejection or fear of rejection, or substantial risk of injury or death. A consensual adult fetish is therefore not a disorder simply because it departs from social convention.
Only a suitably qualified clinician can assess an individual diagnosis, and this page should not be used to label someone. Support may be useful when a person experiences persistent distress, impaired daily life, unwanted compulsive behaviour, risk of harm or concerns about consent. Good support can take the interest seriously without treating consensual difference itself as pathology.
Non-graphic examples
What the umbrella may include
- An adult may be drawn to the texture, sheen, scent or sound of leather, latex, rubber or another material.
- Footwear, boots, hosiery or gloves may be a visual, tactile, symbolic or collecting focus.
- Dressing, polishing, arranging or collecting adult garments may form part of a private ritual or a mutually agreed experience.
- A particular adult body feature may be the focus; researchers often discuss this overlap using the term partialism.
- An object or uniform-style garment may matter because it represents a role, craft, memory or transformation rather than because of its material alone.
Reviewed 30 August 2026
Keep exploring.
This detailed field note uses the best available evidence without treating one community sample as universal. Evidence limits and UK context are stated where relevant.
Prepared by The UK Kink Guide editorial team. Read the evidence and review methodology.
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