A striptease is a performance, usually a dance, in which the performer gradually removes his or her clothing for the purposes of sexually arousing the audience, usually performed in nightclubs. The “teasing” involves the slowness of undressing, while the audience is eager to see more nudity. Delay tactics include additional clothes under clothes being removed, putting clothes or hands in front of just undressed body parts, etc. Emphasis is on the act of undressing along with sexually suggestive movement, not on the state of being undressed: in some cases the performance is finished as soon as the undressing is finished. (Prior to the sexual revolution, striptease performance often ended with the performer wearing a g-string and pasties).

Along with physical attractiveness and appropriate clothing, the main asset and tool used by the exotic dancer in recent years is the stripper pole. Almost all exotic dancers are drawn to the profession by attractive salaries they can receive in the form of tips and commissions from lap/couch dances and champagne rooms.

A variation on striptease is private dancing, which often involves lap dancing or contact dancing. Here the performers, in addition to stripping for tips, also offer “private dances” which involve more attention for individual audience members. Types of private dances include table dancing (performer dances on or by customer’s table) and couch dancing (customer sits on a couch).

For certain events, including bachelor / bachelorette parties, the stripper’s job often involves holding games or contests with sexual themes. In addition, the main guest of the party can sometimes be eligible for ’special’ couch dances involving sexual acts between two strippers.

The contact between a performer and a customer is regulated in ways that vary in response to local laws and club rules, ranging from “air dances” with minimal or no contact to “full-contact” lap dances which involve genital contact through clothing. In disreputable clubs, physical contact with the dancer may include sexual intercourse, at the dancer’s discretion.

The ancient art of the strip tease traces its origins in the Sumerian tablets, on which were written the myth of the desecent of the goddess Innana into Hades to retrieve her lover Damouz. At each of the seven gates, she removed a veil and a jewel. As long as she remained in hell, the earth was barren. When she returned, fecundity abounded. Her dance lived on as the famous dance of the seven veils of Salome, who danced for King Herod in the New Testament. Many forms of the strip tease made their way throughout Sumeria, Mesopotamia, into Asia and west into the near east and southern europe, via Gypsies.

In South India, the dance evolved through the Devadasi temple and court dancers.

In the nineteenth century, French colonists in North Africa and Egypt “discovered” and seized upon the dances of the Ghawazee, especially a courtesan dancer known as Kuchuk Hanem, and exoticized the image of the nonwestern woman as one who would disrobe as part of a dance performance. It is likely that the women performing these dances did not do so in an indigenous context, but rather, responded to the commercial climate for this type of entertainment.

Middle Eastern belly dance, also known as Oriental Dancing, was popularized in the US after its introduction on the Midway at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago by a dancer known as Little Egypt.

American strip tease nurtured its roots in carnivals and Burlesque theatres. The art and business enjoyed prosperity as the United States economy grew out of the depression of the 1932 through the fifties. In the sixties and seventies, with changing cultural expressions of sexuality, it degraded into less profitable, more depressing status. In the eighties and technology boom of the nineties, those in the profession enjoyed more widespread aceptance and better working conditions.

The People’s Almanac credited the origin of striptease as we know it to an act in 1890s Paris in which a woman slowly removed her clothes in a vain search for a flea crawling on her body.

Striptease enjoyed a revival with the advent of burlesque theatre, with famous strippers such as Gypsy Rose Lee. In 1940, humorist H. L. Mencken coined the term ecdysiast as a euphemism for strippers; it derives from the Greek ekdusis meaning “to molt.”

Until the 1970s, strippers were almost invariably female, performing to male audiences. Since then, male strippers, performing to female audiences, have also become common. Male and female strippers also perform for gay and lesbian audiences respectively, as well as for both sexes in pansexual contexts. Prior to the 1970s dancers of both genders appeared largely in underground clubs or as part of a theatre experience, but the practice eventually became common enough on its own.

Visits by women to clubs featuring male exotic dancers, usually as a group for an activity such as a bachelorette party, have now become part of mainstream culture in Western countries. Unlike the enforced sedate atmosphere at clubs featuring female exotic dancers for male audiences, the female audience for male strippers is very vocal, rowdy, and even aggressive. Female patrons getting up on stage with the male exotic dancers and helping them strip or joining them stripping is commonplace. Cultural stereotypes would have it that this atmosphere is possible because the male exotic dancers do not view such women as a physical threat as female exotic dancers would if their male patrons were to do likewise—not only is the average man stronger than the average woman, but male strippers tend to be unusually muscular. Usually, the nightclub management and their bouncers do not try to restrain their female audiences. Female patrons tend to “push the envelope” to see how far they’re allowed to go. Most commonly, it is the female patrons testing the boundaries who are the ones that start restraining themselves before the bouncers do.

Gay male strip clubs feature men who appear initially in skimpy undergarments (which are quickly removed if full nudity is allowed) and socks. Fondling the strippers is commonplace and considered fair game, even as it is often technically prohibited. In cities such as Washington, D.C. where full nudity is allowed, the male strippers at gay venues stand on the bar or stage and masturbate to maintain erection, allowing the customers to also masturbate them for tips.

Many erotic actresses and actors in the US make their main living from their earnings from personal appearances as featured exotic dancers, in much the same way that many musicians make their main living from live performance, with their recordings serving as advertising. Many in the striptease industry appear in pornographic movies or magazines to be paid more for appearing at stripclubs as “feature dancers” because they are “porn stars”, which clubs advertise to bring in a bigger paying audience. The more famous the “porn star”, the more the exotic dancer will be paid by the stripclub to perform at their club.

In addition to night club entertainment, people are now daring to strip for their partner at home for an occasion, such as their birthday or Valentine’s day. Partners have to decide various things before the event like whether they want it to be a surprise to one of them, or a long anticipated night, the fantasywear, the music, the place, the color of rooms and lights, and little dance moments that suit the generally less space available at home.

Computer depictions of striptease, eg on screensavers have in the past proved a diversion in some tolerant office environments, but are now rare. Developments which produce comparatively small ‘dancers’, usually in one corner of the desktop are now available - but these are often viewed as inappropriately sexist, a misuse of computing resources, and a possible route for viruses and trojans.

Transformation fetish is a form of sexual fetishism in which a person becomes sexually aroused by descriptions or depictions of transformations, usually the transformations of people into other beings or objects. It can be considered a paraphilia. Most transformation interests are not paraphilia-based, typically having their roots in mythological or literary accounts of transformation.

The TF community does not seem to have a specific name for its members; often the generic “TF fan” is used, however this term is also applied to people who have a non-sexual interest in Transformation fiction. The internet community consists mainly of webpages featuring artwork or stories dealing with transformations, although there is no distinct barrier between fetish and non-fetish material.

Note that sexually-based transformation fetish materials are not necessarily centred around BDSM or pain-infliction fetishes, as is sometimes claimed; the “thrill” of the material comes from the transformation aspect itself, and other fetishes triggered as a consequence of the transformation could be considered to be side-effects. The overtly sexual aspect of the fetish shares characteristics with various roleplay-centric fetishes in that there may or may not be any actual sexual activity involved.

Most TF media share a few characteristics. They involve a human (of either gender, but most often a female) being transformed into another form. The means of transformation are varied and include viruses or strange chemicals, magic spells or curses, and sex with a creature/person of the form being transformed to. The transformation is usually non-consensual, with the transformer often becoming confused, scared, or angry as the changes take place, although some transformations are gladly accepted and even chosen by the individual.

Authors and artists usually separate themselves into one or more subgenres.

Animal transformations

Main article: animal transformation fantasy

The most common form of TF is the animal transformation, involving the transformation of a human to an animal. The most common transformations are to mammals, especially foxes, canines, cattle, and horses, although transformations to reptiles, fish, birds or amphibians do exist. This particular subgenre of the transformation fetish often involves themes of bestiality or zoophilia. Not all animal transformation fetishists share the attractions, however.

Furries

Furries, also known as anthros (short for anthropomorphic), are usually depicted as half-human, half-animal hybrids, with the appealing characteristics of both highlighted. Furries are usually bipedal and have the ability to walk, talk, think, and essentially do anything like a normal human. Many in the TF community, even those with an interest in TFs other than animal, adopt a made-up identity as a furry, known as a fursona. It should be noted that like the TF community not all Furries are involved with the fetish aspects of anthropomorphic media. There are some large differences between the communities. However, the overlap is broad enough to warrant mention on this page. For more on this distinction, see Yiff: Debates and Furries: Sexuality.

Inanimate transformations

The transformation of people (usually women) into inanimate objects in stories and pictures as a form of sexual fetishism. The most common object is a statue, but there is material involving transformation into almost anything, including pantyhose, clothing, cigarettes, etc.

Statuephilia

Main article: statuephilia

Transformation into statues, mannequins or dolls, or of a living being frozen in place for long periods of time. Transformations of this type are sometimes referred to or noted as being caused by Pygmalion syndrome.

Age regression/Progression

Age Regression and Age Progression, often shortened to AR and AP respectively, are a subgenre of Transformation Fetish wherein the victim’s bodily age is increased or decreased. Though there are some stories where the victim’s mental age changes with their body, by and large most AR / AP media feature the victim retaining their original mental level of maturity, whatever it may be. This is often a point of plot development within many stories, with the victims usually having difficulty adjusting to how self-sufficient or helpless they may be in their new state as compared to their old state.

A typical Age Regression story features an adult, usually one in an esteemed position or one with many resposibilities (such as a high position in a corporation or a parent of young children) encountering a situation that causes him or her to become younger. Typical causes include all manner of magic and pseudo-science, though a variety of fictitious medical conditions have also been concocted by writers. The most prevalent of these is the aptly titled Age Regression Virus, which is usually shortened to AR Virus or simply ARV. In these stories the victim will gradually regress, eventually reaching the physical body of an infant or a small child, and then will “bounce,” or stop regressing. Many writers have written stories about the AR Virus, and thus the details outside of the basic definition will often differ. One commonly agreed-upon symptom of contracting the AR Virus is frequent excretion of bodily fluid of some manner, presumedly as a method of jettisoning the millions of cells the body casts off as it shrinks.

The typical Age Progression story usually has children as victims, who will increase drastically in physical age but not mental maturity. Unlike Age Regression this usually occurs all at once, rather than in a gradual curve. A staple of these stories, resultingly, are the tearing of clothes the victim wears as they grow, which usually occurs too quickly for the victim to remove them.

Body modification

The transformation of a body’s shape or size, for example, by shrinking, growing, or gaining muscle mass. Shrinking and growing have their own fandoms in the microphilia and macrophiliafandoms, with more emphasis on the results of the transformations than on the transformations themselves.

There’s also the type of modification that involves addition/removal/repositioning of body parts. The transformations may involve arms, breasts, legs, heads, fingers, eyes, heads, torsos, non-human parts such as wings, tail, digitgrade legs, and the form of humantaur, which means a second torso after the hip, with extra arms or extra legs on hip height. Stories of such transformations tend to involve implants, diseases, radioactivity, magic rituals, or sometimes they simply happen mysteriously.

Transgender

A type of transformation fetish where the person is aroused by the idea, description, or depiction of a person of one gender transforming into a member of the other gender; usually the stories depict magical changes. Many of these stories involve magical talismans, rings, or necklaces, and they often involve the ‘victim’ being involved in sexual situations as a member of the opposite sex. A typical plot involves a person becoming the opposite sex, engaging in various forms of sexual activity, and eventually becoming so satisfied with their new forms that they decline to change back, even if a cure is readily available. There are, however, sites that attempt to do TG literature without the sexual content. Characters still rarely, if ever, get reverted to male form.

Abasiophilia, considered by some to be a type of paraphilia, is a sexual attraction to disabled people who use orthopaedic appliances such as leg braces,orthopedic casts, spinal braces or wheelchairs. The etymology is from the Greek language abasios, meaning “lameness”. The attraction can be very strong. For some, it can be a source of guilt, as the combination of sex and disability are still considered taboo in most societies. It is not uncommon for those affected to want to use orthopaedic appliances themselves. The majority of people who do find this a source of relief from what can be an overpowering desire.

It is classed as a form of disability fetishism which starts in early childhood, usually long before puberty is reached. There is normally a trigger event in early childhood involving disabled children or adults. It is most common in those who were children in the 1940s, 50s and 60s whenPolio was common and there were lost of people using leg braces to be seen.

Amaurophilia is the preference for sexual intercourse with partners who are blind or blindfolded.[1] This type of sexual activity may also be conducted by engaging in sexual intercourse in complete darkness.[2] Amaurophilia is classified as a fetish.[3]

1. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices (ISBN 094263764X). The “Amaurophilia” entry is excerpted online
2. ↑ Amaurophilia at AbbreviationDictionary
3. ↑ Fetish Medical Terms Dictionary

Arborphilia (or Arbourphilia) is the paraphilia involving sexual arousal related to trees.

An especial attraction to trees, often leading to sexual intercourse. This includes attraction to both gymnosperms and angiosperms. Some arborphiles are also attracted to bryophytes; however, this symptom is less frequent. Oftentimes, an arborphile will claim saplings as his or her own offspring.
Arborphilia has been mentioned in the movie The Evil Dead.

Balloon fetishism is a fetish in which a person has an unusual fascination of, or pertaining to, balloons, which provides sexual arousal or stimulation. Many persons with this fetish casually refer to themselves as looners. The fetish itself varies greatly from person to person, some people enjoy only the act of inflation itself or viewing members of the opposite sex inflating balloons, while others enjoy the act of popping by various means, while yet others simply find stimulation in the color, clarity, smell, tactile sense, sound, and movement of the balloon itself. There are several known female balloon fetishists, however the vast majority is made up of men. Naomi-Rose is one of the most famous, some say she has over a metric ton of exotic balloons.

The life cycle of a balloon has four phases: inflation (blowing it up by some means), admiration (looking at it), interaction (touching, moving, watching), and destruction (deflation, popping, releasing). Any or all of these phases can constitute the primary interest of the balloon fetishist, while the remainder are simply complimentary. The practices of the fetishist falls into two distinct camps, poppers and non-poppers, and their foci are seen as drastically different.

The popper is primarily excited by the bursting of a balloon, both by the anticipation and the sensory experience of the explosion itself. The method by which the balloon is popped, however, can vary dramatically. Some persons enjoy blow-to-pop, in which the balloon is continually inflated until it ultimately bursts, and is commonly most fully enjoyed when executed by a partner or member of the sex to which the popper is attracted. Some persons enjoy viewing various forms of erotic popping by means of objects such as cigarettes and pins, in addition to more physically involved and sexually stimulating methods such as sitting, hugging, squeezing, stomping, clawing, etc. In all these cases the popper’s primary interest is in building anticipation and the sexual tension of bursting at any time.

The non-popper, on the other hand, dislikes (often vehemently) destroying the balloon but instead chooses to admire and interact with it. This type of looner is far more varied and individualistic in their preferred interaction. Practices can range from simply blowing up and holding balloons for pleasure, to watching other persons interact with balloons, to placing the balloon under you genitals and bouncing on it, known as boinking or riding. A popular sub-group of non-poppers includes persons who enjoy stuffing, an act in which baggy clothing is worn and balloons are blown up inside the clothing as a way to maximize the tactile sensation of contact with the object in addition to the sense of being overcome by the object.

The only clear area of similarity in the practices of both these groups is the general preference to involve a sexual partner into their preferred activity, either as an observer or as an active participant. Often, with a partner, a sexual event that involves balloons becomes secondary to the act of sex itself and simply foreplay.

Balloon fetishism is related to a great variety of other fetishes, including Breast fetishism (due to the shape and feel that balloons and breasts share), Shoe fetishism (generally by persons who enjoy seeing balloons stomped on), Breast expansion fetish and Inflation fetishism (due to inflation, growth etc.), Macrophilia (for people who prefer huge balloons), Smoking fetishism (generally by people who enjoy seeing balloons popped by cigarettes), and many more. Each looner is unique and therefore may have many other related fetishes or none at all. The only commonality among the vocal community of balloon fetishes in this reguard is that balloon fetishism is the focal point and all other fetishes simply enhance their primary interest.

Fetishes involving inflated objects are closely related to balloon fetishism, particularly that of inflatable animals (animal shaped PVC inflatables) and pool toys, such as beach balls and swim rings. However, it is far more common for a balloon fetishists to enjoy PVC inflatables than the reverse. To a lesser degree, some balloon fetishists are excited by watching women blowing bubbles with bubble gum.

Balloon fetishism seemingly exploded in popularity with the proliferation of the internet, not because fetishists discovered the interest, but because they found that they weren’t alone. In particular the group Balloon Buddies, a pen-pal club for balloon fetishists started in 1976, came online in 1994, bringing hundreds of people together in an open forum. Many balloon fetishists feel very uncomfortable and un-masculine because of their preoccupation with balloons, making online forums such as Balloon Buddies a place for people to come to terms with and eventually accept their interest.

In the late 90’s several US based websites appeared catering specifically to balloon fetishists, most of which exist to this day. Because the sites cater to sexual fetishism these sites are considered pornographic in nature, however several sites offer no nude content at all, while others offer only minimal amounts of nudity, typically clearly deliniated on the given site. Sites typically are populated with images, videos and stories of women; however male sites, typically directed at gay looners exist.

In addition to websites and communities, several stores dedicated to serving the needs of balloon fetishists appeared in the late 90’s. Balloon fetishists tend to be very specific about exactly which shapes, colors, and brands of ballons they enjoy. Many are so specific in their preferences that only specific qualities of a balloon are capable of exciting them. Brands such as Qualatex are the most commonly preferred because of their strength and quality. Not only are looners specific about what they buy, but larger sized balloons (16″, 24″, 36″, and beyond) are popular but very hard to find in a conventional party shop. Additionally, these onlines stores typically guarantee anonymity; for many looners, going into a party shop is like going into an adult store and can be nerve racking.

Dental braces fetishism is a form of sexual fetishism where a person is sexually aroused or stimulated by the sight, brushing, or feel of dental braces (particularly silver stainless steel braces, but sometimes retainers and headgear). They can be aroused the most by tongue contact with the braces, or by seeing semen ejaculated onto the dental braces (which is common in some pornography). Many are also aroused simply by the bright silver shine and sparkle of traditional stainless steel braces. The rubber band colors can also stimulate such a reaction in the person with the fetish. Some are aroused by the sight of a woman’s tongue touching her braces. All of these are fetishes mostly associated with males seeing braces on females. A number of pornographic websites that concentrate on this fetish exist. There are also non-pornographic websites that focus simply on the aesthetic qualities of braces–particularly silver stainless steel braces and retainers. Some of these websites are maintained by adult female orthodontic patients for this express purpose and charge expensive membership fees to those wishing to view these sites. Also, there are pornographic websites devoted to auxilliary devices used with braces–particularly headgear and facemasks. Supposedly, devotees of these devices are sexual bondage buffs and associate these devices with sexual bondage.

Emetophilia is a sexual fetish in which an individual is aroused by vomiting or observing others vomit. When emetophiles put emetophilia into practice by actually vomiting, especially on a partner, it is called a Roman shower, after the supposed frequent induction of vomiting at Roman feasts.

For emetophiles, the sequence of “spasm, ejaculation, relief” in vomiting is erotically-charged.

An online site theorizes, “vomiting was probably something either arousing or frightening to emetophiles at some point … it aroused powerful emotions, and the emetophier called upon these emotions for the purpose of sexual gratification.” (Frequently Asked Questions about Vomiting)

Emetophilia may be related to emetophobia, the fear of vomiting. Many emetophiles, ironically, continue to fear vomiting themselves despite the amount of time they spend fantasizing about other people vomiting.

Endosomatophilia (from Greek endo- (within) somato- (body) philia (affection); often shortened to endosoma, not to be confused with endosome) is an attraction (often as a sexual fetish) to fantasies involving complete encapsulation of a living thing within the body of another living thing. Endosomatophilia is often an underlying factor in vorarephilia/phagophilia, unbirth, insertion fantasy, and other related fetishes. However, the term itself was not coined until 2004.

Due to its relative youth as a fetish term, there are currently no known websites or references with focus on endosoma. Because of this, many vore sites host endosoma material unrelated to vorarephilia itself. Because vore fantasies often involve violence, endosomaphiles are often daunted by the overwhelming presence of vore, as opposed to other forms of endosoma. The term was created in the hopes of forming more endosoma-oriented web content, communities, and chat rooms.

Endosoma is often associated with macrophilia and microphilia, as a large size difference can facilitate bodily containment.

Freckle fetishism is a paraphilia in which an individual is fixated on freckles, the phenomenon of small brownish spots, caused by the pigment melanin, which naturally occur on human skin.

A freckle fetishist is sexually aroused by the appearance or visualization of freckles. The distinction between a freckle fetishist and a person who likes freckles is largely a matter of degree and, like other paraphilias, may be associated with depersonalization of the objects of affection to an extent which impairs normal sexual relationships.

There are several subtypes of freckle fetishism. As individuals differ, one freckle fetishist may have preferences very different from another’s. Freckle fetishists can be male or female.

Freckle fetishes can also be categorized by preferences for the locations of freckles on the body. For example, some fetishists are fixated on shoulder-freckles, others cheek-freckles, and still others back-freckles, or other combinations.

Freckle fetishism may be linked to fetishism for other dermal features such as beauty marks and moles, as possessed by Marilyn Monroe, or birthmarks such as that belonging to Mikhail Gorbachev.

Because freckles are closely genetically linked to red hair and Irish derivation, freckle fetishism is in many cases related to (but not identical with) redhead fetishism and trichophilia. Because the genes for red hair are recessive, it has been hypothesized that there is a biological basis for freckle fetishism in assortative mating for this desirable trait.

One might also speculate that freckles become a fixation because they are a common part of the “girl next door” image of women and girls who are appealing for their accessibility and comforting, sister-like qualities. This could explain why freckle fetishism is predominantly limited to North America and Western Europe.

Trichophilia is a paraphilia in which one becomes sexually aroused by, or is extremely fond of, human hair (usually cephalic); this may be of hair in general or different hairstyles or colours.

Arousal may also occur from imagery and physical contact of hair, this including head hair, pubic hair, and axillary hair.

Some fetishists may find they have a strong dislike for pubic and/or body hair but a strong attraction to head hair. Specific hair types can be found as a fetish, not just hair in general.

Hypnofetishism is the linking of hypnosis (or other forms of mind control) to sexuality, sometimes known by other names such as “erotic hypnosis” and “erotic mind control.”

Hypnofetishism has a long history, stretching as far back as the ancient world. Western culture (and many others around the globe) is filled with early myths of seduction by some form of mind control: the Sirens of the Greeks and the witches of the Middle Ages both had a hypnotic aspect in their sexuality.

In medieval legend, an incubus (plural incubi; from Latin incubare, “to lie upon”) is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleepers, especially on women in order to have sexual intercourse with them.

In medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi; from Latin succubare, “to lie under”) is a female demon which comes to men, especially monks, in their dreams to seduce them and have sexual intercourse, drawing energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death. This legend was an explanation for the phenomena of wet dreams and sleep paralysis. From mythology and fantasy, Lilith and the Lilin (Jewish), Lilitu (Sumerian) and Rusalka (Slavic) were succubi.

Klismaphilia (sometimes spelled Klysmaphilia) is the paraphilia of deriving sexual pleasure from enemas. Many practitioners in the sex industry offer enemas to cater to klismaphiliac desires. It is sometimes regarded as a form of anal masturbation. There are many movies, magazines and websites devoted specifically to this fetish. The term was coined in 1973 by Dr. Joanne Denko.

John Harvey Kellogg is regarded as a textbook case of klismaphilia, although he was in his time viewed as a campaigner for health and sexual temperance. Many modern commentators now see him as a man who diverted his entire sexuality into receiving enemas and inflicting them on others.