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Originally Posted by Janszoon
Look, I can quote definitions too:
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual attraction to objects, situations or body parts not conventionally viewed as being sexual in nature.
Looks like there is a relationship to popularity after all.
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Wikipedia huh? Try going to dictionaries for definitions of words. For some reason (maybe because every man and his dog can edit it ...) wikipedia doesn't usually stand up so strong. Not to mention the article you quote from (
Sexual fetishism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) is talking in reference to psychological disorders (hence why it talks about treatments and such). One of the core points that runs throughout psychology is whether or not something should be classed as a disorder just because it's not "popular" or common. So obviously in an article talking about the discussion and diagnosis of sexual fetishism an unfair (untrue?) bias will be placed on the specification that it must be an
uncommon interest to be classed as a fetish - otherwise there would be no justification for a need to treat it.
fetish - Definitions from Dictionary.com
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fet⋅ish
–noun
1. an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.
2. any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion: to make a fetish of high grades.
3. Psychology. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.
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Chambers Search Chambers
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fetish noun (fetishes) 1 in primitive societies: an object worshipped for its perceived magical powers. 2 a procedure or ritual followed obsessively, or an object of obsessive devotion. 3 a an object other than the sexual organs that is handled or visualized as an aid to sexual stimulation; b a person's attachment to such an object.
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fetish - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Quote:
fe·tish
1 a: an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner ; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence b: an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion : prepossession c: an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression
2: a rite or cult of fetish worshipers
3: fixation
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AskOxford: fetish
Quote:
fetish
• noun 1 an inanimate object worshipped for its supposed magical powers. 2 a form of sexual desire in which gratification is focused abnormally on an object, part of the body, or activity. 3 a course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment.
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You will notice that none of these four internet dictionaries (three of which I would be tempted to term as "very respectable" - Chambers, Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries all with hefty, tangible tomes you can buy from a book shop as well as reference online) specify proportional popularity as being at all relevant to the classification of something to be termed as a fetish. The requisite is that undue interest is paid to something for the purposes of sexual gratification.
Regardless, your snubbing also lacks an erudite attitude and ignores (again) the original point made. Namely, how can somebody with such self-certainty claim something (in this instance, that of body hair) to be not-a-fetish. Especially due to the fickle nature of humanity to move in and out of trends, and for there to be such a degree of cross cultural variation. Considering the population of Earth is 6+ billion (I forget what it is nowadays) and Western culture makes up for a very small proportion of this, and that a penchant for the hairless cooch is predominately a fascination of Western culture, and that even so the definition of fetish is irrespective of majority interest - how can it be claimed that expecting a shaven vagina is in any way, shape or form anything other than a fetish.
Although to be honest my original intent wasn't to start an argument as to who was right or wrong, just to encourage people to think outside of the box that society demands of us. To put into perspective the self-certainty that society has on it's own internal viewpoints.