Aquaphilia is a term used to describe a form of sexual fetishism which involves images of people swimming or posing underwater, and sexual activity in or under water. Literally “water lover” from the Latin Aqua and Greek Phili.

Some subsets of this category are underwater glamour, underwater fashion (models posing underwater, often while fully clothed), scuba fetishism, rubber (people in skin-tight rubber wetsuits), simulated or fantasy drowning (often incorporating asphyxiation), mermaids, and underwater sex.

The term “Aquaphile” was first used by Phil Bolton, when he created the “Aquaphiles Journal” - an online magazine for followers of the underwater erotica scene published in the 1990’s.

The psychology of Aquaphilia was the subject of a paper by the late Dr Corinne Lamberth (a therapeautic counsellor based in Lewisham, South London) in 1998. A copy of this paper was published in the Aquaphiles Journal in early 1999.

Aquaphilia as a fetish has numerous followers, as exemplified by the number of different websites that can be found discussing the subject.

As with many fetishes, there are several producers of specialist underwater and aquaphile media, including photographers, video producers and authors.

Breast fetishism is a fetishistic sexual interest in the female breasts, especially their size, shape, display and movement. Particularly in American and Japanese culture, this fixation has increased cultural acceptance of female breast implants. The roots of this phenomenon date back to ancient history, are culturally driven, and reflect differences in each society.

A bountiful bust is seen by some as a symbol of sexuality and attractiveness, especially in large portions of the Western world, although historically the “preferred” breast size has changed many times. Anthropologists and sociologists have often tried to explain this in terms of natural selection and biology but conflicts exist over what is the conclusive reason for many men’s attraction to big breasts. It is worth noting that breasts are not completely sexually irrelevant organs, since the nipples are an erogenous zone.

Not all breast fetishism concerns size. Some fetishists prefer puffy areolae or unusually long or thick nipples. The “puffy” fetish, in particular, can be somewhat controversial because this characteristic is most common in pubescent girls (though it is not unknown in older women). There are also fetishes concerned with lactation in general, and with nursing (”milk fetishism”). Finally, some prefer small rather than large breasts (estimates of men’s preferences range as high as 1/3).

Some individuals have a fetishistic preference for large “natural” breasts without breast implants. Natural breasts are required to become a Page Three Girl in the UK tabloid The Sun.

Like any other sexual fetishes or paraphilias, this preference might become psychologically problematic when it develops into a strong fixation and becomes the only means of sexual arousal.

Tightlacing (also called corset training and waist training) is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture and experience the sensations of a very tight corset. Those who practice tightlacing are called tightlacers. Some tightlacers call the corsets they wear training corsets.

The most frequent aim of tightlacing is a slim waist. Depending on the silhouette desired, the shape of the ribcage may be altered as well. Wearing a corset can also change the bustline, by raising the breasts upwards and shaping them, flattening the stomach, and improving posture. However, these effects are only temporary and will be lost on removing the corset. Indeed, excessive corset wearing has been claimed to weaken certain muscles, making it more difficult to maintain posture without a corset.

Although some tightlacers do aim to get their waists as small as possible, others prefer to reduce their waists to a certain point and go no further (even though they could) as they consider that proportion and aesthetics are more important than achieving the smallest possible measurement. For example, male-to-female transvestites often seek to get a realistic feminine figure rather than a wasp waist.

Corsets were first worn during the 16th century, and remained a feature of fashionable dress until the French Revolution (1789). These corsets were mainly designed to turn the torso into the fashionable cylindrical shape, although they narrowed the waist as well. They had shoulder straps; they ended at the waist; they flattened the bust, and in so doing, pushed the breasts up. The emphasis of the corset was less on the smallness of the waist than on the contrast between the rigid flatness of the bodice front and the curving tops of the breasts peeking over the top of the corset. There are no records of tightlacers at this time.

The corset then went into eclipse. Fashion embraced the Empire silhouette: a Graeco-Roman style, with the scanty skirts gathered under the bosom and the waist de-emphasised, and dresses sewn from thin muslins rather than the heavy brocades and satins of aristocratic high fashion.

The reign of the Empire waist was short. In the 1830s, shoulders widened (with puffy gigot sleeves or flounces), skirts widened (layers of stiffened petticoats), and the waist narrowed and migrated towards its “natural” position. By the 1850s, exaggerated shoulders were out of fashion and waistlines were cinched at the natural waist, above a wide skirt. Fashion had achieved what we now tend to remember as the Victorian silhouette.

In the 1830s, the artificially inflated shoulders and skirts made the intervening waist look narrow, even with the corset laced only moderately. When the exaggerated shoulders disappeared, the waist itself had to be cinched tightly in order to achieve the same effect. It is in the 1840s and 1850s that tightlacing is first recorded. It was ordinary fashion taken to an extreme.

As it was accepted that a corseted waist was the ideal, it is hard to define tightlacing strictly, or to say what proportion of Victorian women practised it. We cannot take today’s waist measurements as a guide, since:

* Women’s bodies have increased in size since the nineteenth century, so waist measurements that seem small today might not have been considered so by Victorians.

* As corset wearing was the norm in the nineteenth century, it is likely that women tolerated proportionally greater reductions as a matter of course, without thinking of themselves as tightlacers.

We can guess that young and fashionable women were most likely to tightlace, especially for balls, fashionable gatherings, and like occasions for display. Older, poorer, and primmer women would have laced moderately – just enough to be decent.

The Victorian and Edwardian corset differed from earlier corsets in numerous ways. The corset no longer ended at the waist, but flared out and ended several inches below the waist. The corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous rather than cylindrical. It was also much sturdier in construction, thanks to improvements in technology. Spiral steel stays curved with the figure, rather than dictating a cylindrical silhouette. While many corsets were still sewn by hand to the wearer’s measurements, there was also a thriving market in cheaper mass-produced corsets.

In the late years of the Victorian era, medical reports and rumors claimed that tightlacing was fatally detrimental to health (see Victorian dress reform). Women who suffered to achieve small waists were also condemned for their vanity and excoriated from the pulpit as slaves to fashion. It was frequently claimed that too small a waist was actually ugly, rather than beautiful. Dress reformers exhorted women to abandon the tyranny of stays and free their waists for work and healthy exercise.

Despite the efforts of dress reformers to eliminate the corset, and despite medical and clerical warnings, women persisted in tightlacing as long as it was fashionable. In the early 1900s, the small corseted waist began to fall out of fashion. The feminist and dress reform movements had made practical clothing acceptable for work or exercise. The rise of the Artistic Dress movement made loose clothing and the natural waist fashionable even for evening wear. Couturiers like Fortuny and Poiret designed exotic, alluring costumes in pleated or draped silks, calculated to reveal slim, youthful bodies. If one didn’t have such a body, new undergarments, the brassiere and the girdle, promised to give the illusion of one.

Corsets were no longer fashionable, but some men still felt that they were sexy. Corsets entered the underworld of the fetish, along with items such as extreme high heels, bondage gear, and black vinyl catsuits.

In the 1980s and 1990s, fetish wear became a fashion trend and corsets made something of a recovery. They are often worn as top garments rather than underwear. However, most corset wearers own a bustier or two for evening wear; they do not tightlace. Historical re-enactors also wear corsets, but few tightlace.
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Tightlacing today

Modern tightlacing is a minority interest, often associated with fetishistic interest in the corset and BDSM. The majority of tightlacers are women, although some men do tightlace – corsetier Mr Pearl has a nineteen-inch waist.

Tightlacers typically wear a corset for at least 12 hours a day, every day, when they are most active, although some tightlacers wear corsets for up to 23 hours a day, taking the corset off only in order to bathe.

Tightlacers usually have a partner, called a trainer, to help and support them. However, it is possible (although very difficult) for somebody to tightlace without a partner. (Tightlacers are often—but not necessarily—in a sexual and/or loving relationship with their trainer.)

A partner might take on any of the following tasks:

* help the tightlacer put on and take off the corset, especially tightening the laces
* help him or her follow through with the training schedule
* monitor the tightlacer’s health
* monitor body changes and keep a log

Contemporary tightlacers claim that tightlacing does not adversely affect the health, as was believed in the later Victorian era. Certainly, there are no contemporary medical sources condemning tightlacing, and the continued good health of modern day extreme tightlacers would seem to demonstrate that the practice is not dangerous if properly done.

A typical training routine begins with the use of a well-fitted corset (most serious tightlacers have at least one custom–tailored corset) and very gradual decreases in the waist circumference. Lacing too tight too fast can cause extreme discomfort and potential short-term problems such as shortness of breath and faintness, indigestion, and chafing of the skin.

The primary effect of tightlacing is the decreased size of the waist. The smallest waist recorded is that of Ethel Granger, who tightlaced for most of her life and achieved a waist of thirteen inches: a reduction of over ten inches. Such extreme reductions take a very long time to achieve. At first, corsets with waist measurements four inches smaller than the tightlacer’s natural waist size are recommended. The length of time it will take a tightlacer to get used to this reduction will vary on his or her physiology; a large amount of fat on the torso and strong abdominal muscles will mean that it takes longer for the tightlacer to wear their corset laced closed at the back. Thereafter, reducing another couple of inches is not much more difficult, but each inch after a six-inch reduction can take a year to achieve.

Felching is a sexual practice in which a person sucks semen out of another person’s vagina or anus, with or without a straw, after creampie or anal creampie. The semen is usually that of the man doing the sucking, though this is not always the case.

The term can also refer to sucking enema fluid from a person’s vagina or anus, though this definition is much less common. Milk, water, urine, beer, orange juice, or spritzer are often used in this kind of enema, though introducing alcohol into the anal cavity carries a high risk of death through alcohol poisoning as the rectum absorbs fluids far more quickly than orally-ingested fluids. Milk is a popular fluid due to its likeness in colour to semen. It is often squirted into the mouth of the sexual partner and shared between them both.

Felching also became a featured sexual act in heterosexual pornography in mid-2000s (always from the anus of a female performer to the mouth of another one, often ending in snowballing) mainly due to bring new attractions to prevalent “plotless porn”.

The term is also used in reference to several other sex acts, specifically:

* In urban legend, the act of inserting small animals (more specifically, rodents such as hamsters, gerbils or mice) into the anus or vagina, which is a form of zoophilia. (See gerbilling.); or

* The act of defecating on one’s partner’s torso, which is a form of coprophilia.

* Felcher is used as derogatory term; goat felcher is popular in many Internet forums. Felcher has also been used as slang in the United States Air Force to describe airmen who masturbate excessively.

* Felch is also a sound effect used in shock entertainment, specifically when a person breaks wind so that it sounds “wet”.

Minimalist author Chuck Palahniuk defines and references the act in his novel Invisible Monsters.

Foot fetishism is a pronounced fetishistic sexual interest in human feet. This paraphilia is also called podophilia. It is also one of the most common fetishes and is male-dominant.

A foot fetishist can be sexually aroused by viewing, handling, licking, tickling, sucking, sniffing or kissing the feet and/or toes of another person, or by having another person doing the same to their own feet. The fetishist response to the foot is the same or very similar to arousal at seeing genitals (or the sex-specific features like female breasts). Others enjoy having their genitals manipulated by their partner’s feet to the point of orgasm or ejaculation (which is called a “footjob”, analogous to the concept of a “handjob”), or merely being touched by feet or used as a foot-rest by another person.

A footjob (often shortened to “FJ”) is also called a “toejob,” “solejob” and “heeljob.” Regardless of what part of the foot is used, it is often referred to as a footjob. The most common example of this involves someone placing both of their feet on their male partner’s penis and stroking it continuously until he ejaculates on their feet, although they can also perform a footjob with only one foot. Multiple people can also perform a footjob on the same male. For example, if two people are performing a footjob on one man, they are giving a “double-footjob.” A footjob done by three people on the same man is called a “triple-footjob.” A footjob done by four people on the same man is called a “quadruple-footjob.” A footjob is also sometimes called a QT, after director Quentin Tarantino who is known for his lingering shots of Uma Thurman’s size 11 feet, and has admitted to having an “unhealthy interest in feet”.

Like other paraphilias, foot fetishism varies widely and can be highly specialized, therefore one fetishist may be aroused by elements another might find repulsive. Some foot fetishists prefer to concentrate on feet that are arched, others concentrate on relaxed feet. Most prefer bare feet, while others may prefer feet dressed in certain types of shoes, socks or hosiery. Some even concentrate on specialized scenarios, such as bare feet resting on a car dashboard. Some like to bite toenails. Many like painted toenails (such as red or pink), and other nail styles, such as the French pedicure, are also very popular. Thus there is often a blurred distinction between foot, nylon, pantyhose, shoe, dirt and similar fetishes.

On the Internet in particular, several web sites have been dedicated to showing the feet of famous women, often by using the expression “celebrity feet”. Some websites have expanded the “celebrity” aspect to the point that a fantasy element is involved. This element, called a “foot fake,” contains a picture of a fetish-related activity with a celebrity’s face pasted on top of the woman’s body. For example, in one picture Paris Hilton might give a footjob, and in another Jennifer Lopez might show off her stockinged soles. These would be classified as a “Paris Hilton foot fake” and “Jennifer Lopez foot fake,” respectively. There are many web-sites that deliver erotica based solely on men or women and their bare feet.

A foot fetishist can be male or female (although males account for over 90% as fetishes in general are a male dominated trait), and can have an interest in the feet of either sex, albeit usually parallel to their sexual orientation. Other fetishes such as tickling or bondage often accompany foot attraction.

Some foot-fetishists enjoy seeing toes and soles. The soles are the bottoms of the feet and can represent very unique patterns and lines that can produce incredibly sensational feelings. Others enjoy the top of the foot. Some fetishists compare the rush of having a foot-fetish to the rush produced from doing cocaine.

One explanation, advanced by neurologist Prof. Daniel Griffiths, highlights the fact that the feet and the genitals occupy adjacent areas of the sensory cortex, possibly entailing some neural crosstalk between the two. Similarily, Reflexology is the practice of stimulating points on the feet to process this crosstalk.

An alternative hypothesis is that in many cultures, an infant’s experience of its mother may involve crawling around her feet. If sexual/behavioral imprinting occurs during this time, this might lead to the feet becoming the primary object of sexual arousal.

Another theory is that the shape of the human foot is visually similar to that of the curves found on the human body, particularly the female hips (again explaining the tendency of foot fetishists to be primarily heterosexual men).

Yet another theory proposes that visually, the feet and genitals occupy the same space within the sexual visual field that someone sees of a person, when the legs are raised for sex, and that some males are genetically brain imprinted to find parts of the body within that field as erotic.

Freud considered foot binding as practised in China as a form of fetishism.

Another possible theory behind foot-fetishism could be rooted in the idea that a persons feet are usually hidden. Therefore the exposure of a foot can produce feelings of intense pleasure because the fetishist is exposed to a part of his body that is normally hidden.

Another possible theory is that feet are some of the most visibly functional parts of the body, up there with hands and eyes. A person with a foot fetish might be simply seeing the beauty in one of nature’s most elegant structures.

Another possible theory is that it is a part of the body that has an odor. Genitalia tends to have an odor and so do feet, therefore they both produce sexual stimulation in an animal attraction type way.

Still another theory is that a person who adores feet is submissive. However, this would be a small percentage, as most foot fetishists are male, and are therefore sexually dominant by nature.

Giannini, A J; Colapietro, G; Slaby, A E; Melemis, S M; Bowman, R K (October 1998). Sexualization of the female foot as a response to sexually transmitted epidemics: A preliminary study. Psychological Reports. Volume 83(2): 491–498.

Erotic humiliation is the consensual use of psychological humiliation in a sexual context, whereby one person gains arousal or erotic excitement from the mixed and powerful emotions of being humiliated and demeaned. The humiliation need not be sexual in itself, as with many other sexual activities it is the feelings derived from it which are sought, regardless of the nature of the actual activity. It can be verbal or physical, and can be relatively private or public. Often it can become ritualized, and unlike some sexual variations it can also be easily carried out over a long distance or online. The distinction between humiliation and dominance in an activity such as erotic spanking is that the sought after effect is primarily the humiliation, the activity is just a means to that end.

Whilst mild or moderate humiliation is not an uncommon part of BDSM or other sexual roleplay, humiliation play can be taken to a point where it becomes considered edgeplay by most people, either due to its extreme nature or due to the controversial views on its psychological impact. As such it is a highly subjective issue, and depends greatly on context.

The person being humiliated is often called a bottom, and the person who humiliates them is often called the top. Other common names are slave or sub/submissive for the bottom, and Master/Mistress or dom/dominant for the top. A professional dominant who specializes in humiliation play is sometimes known as a humiliatrix.

Humiliation is not the same as domination as the devotee is not necessarily seeking to be ordered about. Humiliation comes into its own as a sexual force when the devotee seeks the humiliation over and above the means, for example when being spanked is primarily valued because of the belittlement involved. As such, it encompasses a range of fetish types, in particular fetishes such as foot fetish or shoe fetish, body worship, spanking, bondage and most BDSM styles. It can be as basic as the desire to kiss and massage feet as a precursor to sex, or it can be complex, involving roleplay or public displays of subservience. It can also be for a set period of time (a “scene”) or as an ongoing facet of a relationship.

Sexual humiliation is very open ended. Broadly it can be divided into verbal, and physical aspects. Verbal aspects might include:

* Verbal belittlement, such as “slave”, “boy”, “girl”, “missy”, “pet”.
* Insults and verbal abuse, such as “fat”, “ugly”, “stupid”, “worthless”.
* Degrading references such as “slut”, “tart”, “bitch”, faggot” and “whore”.
* Slating of body parts or behaviors, such as disparaging or cruel references to breasts, facial appearance, genitalia or genital size, bottom, and slighting of mannerisms such as walking, responsiveness, standard of self-care.
* Having to ask permission for everyday activities such as toilet, or eating or spending money.
* Small penis humiliation, where scorn is addressed towards the supposed inadequacy of the male’s genitals or his inability to please a man or woman (and by implication his essential worthlessness as a man).
* Forced repetition, such as being obliged to repeat back commands to confirm them.
* Mockery and ridicule.

Physical and tangible aspects might include:

* Ejaculating or urinating on the bottom’s body or, especially, the face.
* Performance of menial tasks.
* Detailed accountability and control (micro-management) as to time spent or activities done, including list of jobs to do, precise directions as to how the housework is to be performed, exactly how to act and behave, and so on.
* Specific rituals and affectations to be adopted. This includes displays of subservience, such as lighting cigarettes, walking a pace behind the dominant, only speaking when spoken to, kneeling or eating after others, low status place to sleep, etc.
* Roleplaying “lower status” beings such as animals or babies (see human animal roleplay and adult baby play).
* Spanking, restraint or other BDSM activities.
* Prohibitions or restrictions on clothing, or (for men) feminizing, cross dressing and/or sissification.
* Use of chastity belts or other means of erotic sexual denial.
* Wearing of external signs of “ownership” such as a collar.
* Having friends, family or strangers aware of or witnessing one’s treatment (i.e.: public humiliation).
* Erotic objectification, where the bottom is cast in the role of an object.
* Embarrassment.

Some sexual humiliation involves inflicting pain but much of it is far more concerned with ridicule, mocking, degradation and embarrassment.

Sexual roleplaying may or may not involve humiliation. For example, one person might play the part of a dog because they enjoy being mock-forced into it and the top will emphasize the lowness of the bottom’s status as an animal, where another person might instead play the role of the dog without any element of humiliation, as an expression of their inner animal or playful spirit.

Humiliation in general touches strong emotional buttons, the more so when it becomes sexualized. Because of this, consent and paradoxically a high degree of awareness is needed, to ensure that the result is desirable rather than abusive. For example, a submissive may enjoy being insulted in some ways, but genuinely crushed and devastated if humiliated or insulted in other ways, especially by an insensitive top.

Humiliation play is also connected to sexual fetishism, in that non-sexual activities may become sexualized by association with arousal, and also may be associated with exhibitionism in the sense of wanting others to witness (or being aroused by others witnessing) ones sexual degradation.

For some people, activities such as name-calling are a way of achieving ego reduction or getting over sexual inhibitions. For example, between gay people, terms usually associated with homophobia may be used, such as “faggot”.

As with all sexual activities, some people have sexual fantasies about humiliation, and others actually undertake it as a lifestyle or in a scene. Sexual fantasies of humiliation are very common, but for most people remain a fantasy - they would have strong reservations about it being public, or engaged in with a partner for real, however erotic the idea may be. Others do explore humiliation with partners, and many people use online humiliation (where the humiliator and others are involved via the internet using chat, email, websites, etc.) as a compromise between exhibitionism and reality on the one hand, and safety and anonymity on the other.

Online humiliation is the desire to be seen in a sexually embarrassing context via the internet. This is generally considered “safe”, as the fetishist can control the time and degree of exposure. However, some adherents have overestimated the net’s privacy and found themselves in compromising difficulty, in a rather ironic outcome that fulfills the wish for humiliation far more than originally intended.

Online humiliation allows the submissive to seek fetish partners across the world, to send them embarrassing pictures or to submit to their demeaning instructions without it directly affecting their home life (hopefully).

The process can be conducted via chat and webcam, or via email, or via dating and contact websites or even via online auctions where the person publicly bids for items that reveal their fetishes.

Leather fetishism is the name popularly used to describe a fetishistic attraction to people wearing leather, or in certain cases, to the garments themselves.

One reason why leather may be fetishized is perhaps that the garment forms a “second skin” that acts as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer’s own skin. This is heightened by the fact that the leather was originally animal skin. The smell of the leather and the creaking noises it makes is often an erotic stimulus for people who fetishize leather. [citation needed]

Leather can also be polished to be shiny and can also be produced in bright colours, adding further visual stimuli to add to the physical sensations produced by the material.

Leather enthusiasts often fantasize about trades where leather clothing is commonly worn. In particular, some leather fetishists fantasize about cowboys or bikers and their leather clothing.

The feel of tight leather garments may also be viewed as a kind of sexual bondage, and much bondage equipment is made out of leather. This led to the term “leather culture” being applied in the 1960s to describe a particular American sadomasochistic subculture. The human pony fetish often involves elaborate leather harnesses.

Panty fetishism is a sexual fetish relating to underwear, particularly worn or soiled underwear. It can also involve printed or electronic material depicting exposure of underwear, usually of a softcore nature.

Pornographic magazines in the West have long contained advertisements for “used” women’s underwear. However, this fetish has been carried to extremes in Japan.

Buru sera is a Japanese (Engrish) term for “bloomer sailor” — a reference to the underwear of teenage schoolgirls in “sailor”-like uniforms. This sexual fetish is popular in Japan where female adolescence is perhaps more prominently revered as the idealized form of beauty than it is even in Western cultures.

The term refers to the sale and exchange of the panties of these schoolgirls, as independent transactions between female and adult store and the store and the buyer. Girls who participate in this business will exchange their panties at adult stores on their way to school, and returning them soiled for profit. The more soiled they are, the more they will fetch at sale. Further increasing the value is attaching girls picture or bio to the panties, personalizing them for the consumer. At one point, such panties were even made for sale in vending machines in the Chiba Prefecture, until they were found to be illegal under “antiques-resale” legislation.

Those affected regard the panties (knickers in the UK) as the primary sex object, and the female sex organs as merely secondary. The panties become the central source of desire, and fetishists frequently amass huge collections of used panties. Washing lines are a common source of supply, because it is essential that the items should have been worn. The connection between the wearer and the panties is important, but not essential - it is for this reason that the garments stolen from washing lines are almost invariably taken by men who have personal knowledge of their owner. Some psychologists say that the ownership of the panties gives the fetishist the sensation of control over their original owner.

There is an age-association broadly in line with normal sexual age-associations, though as mentioned below schoolgirl panties are particularly prized. It is by no means unusual for a mother to find her young daughter’s panties have disappeared from the washing line overnight, usually taken by a local male, frequently middle-aged, who has seen the daughter on her way to or from school. White cotton panties, worn by many schoolgirls, are a particular favorite.

One step up from used panties for serious fetishists are soiled panties, and here the washing line is of little use. Supplies of soiled panties are limited, and those wishing to acquire them usually resort to petty break-ins. Again, the target household is likely to include girls of school age, and the thief will frequently raid only the upstairs of the premises, looking for panties stained with bodily fluids, whether it be vaginal secretions, urine or blood.

Having got them home, he will smell the panties, probably holding them against his face, which is important in establishing the psychological link between the original wearer and the fetishist. The next stage normally involves masturbation, and ejaculation onto one pair of panties, frequently while sniffing or even facially wearing a second pair. The all-important mental link between the panties and their true owner will usually be present, and the fetishist will imagine as he masturbates that he is actually ejaculating over the panties as if they were still being worn by the real owner, probably still in her school uniform.

Pregnancy fetishism, also known as maiesiophilia, is a sexual fetish for women who are or appear pregnant. Amongst those who have the fetish there are many subtle distinctions and sub-fetishes, so not all are the same. In some cases it coincides with lactophilia, and can be connected to inflation fetishism. It is not, however, at all connected to pedophilia (despite the apparently-common assumption).

If the belly is bigger, it will cause more arousal, similarly like the size of a woman’s breasts. This is why the mention of multiples often catches the attention of pregnancy fetishists. Although many have an “upper limit” to their fantasies, a point at which the size of a belly becomes too much (the most commonly used phrase to describe the limit is “when it becomes a belly with a girl attached”, as opposed to a girl with a belly attached), there are others who enjoy the concept of a belly outgrowing its owner.

Latex fetishism is the fetishistic attraction to people wearing latex clothing, or in certain cases, to the garments themselves. Sometimes this is called rubber fetishism also, as latex is closely-related to rubber (the latter usually being thicker and less shiny, more matte). Latex or rubber fetishists sometimes refer to themselves as “Rubberists“.
PVC fetishism is closely related to latex fetishism and refers to shiny clothes made of the synthetic plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This is sometimes confused with the similarly-shiny patent leather, which is also a fetish material.

Some “PVC” clothes are actually made from a mixture of polyester (58-80%) and polyurethane (PU) (20-42%). Just to add to the confusion, this is sometimes described as just “PU”. An alternative mix includes PVC (63%), polyester (27%), and PU (10%). Pure PU clothes seem rare. The alt.lycra FAQ notes that PU “is a type of ‘plastic’ material that is very similar to rubber in many respects but has many superior characteristics and none of rubber’s ‘bad’ habits.” However PVC is usually not skin-tight like latex and degrades quicker. It is often referred to by rubberists as “the poor person’s latex”.

One reason why latex, and other tight shiny fabrics may be fetishised is perhaps that the garment forms a “second skin” that acts as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer’s own skin. Thus, wearers of skin-tight latex or PVC garments may be perceived by the viewer as being naked, or simply coated in a shiny substance like paint. Latex and PVC can also be polished to be shiny and can also be produced in bright colours, adding further visual stimulus to add to the physical sensations produced by the material. The tightness of the garments may also be viewed as a kind of sexual bondage. The smell of latex rubber is also a turn-on for some rubber fetishists, and such garments are usually impregnated with chemicals to enhance the odour.

However, some latex enthusiasts are also turned on by the wearing of draped latex garments such as cloaks. Other rubber paraphernalia, such as gas masks and Wellington boots, are also often added to the scenario. Some PVC enthusiasts are turned on by PVC Hazmat suits and other forms of industrial protective clothing.

One variant of rubber fetishism involves Mackintoshes. This appears to be predominantly a British form of rubber fetishism and is rare among rubberists.

Latex fetishism often involves dressing up in the material, or looking at it worn by sexual partners, or fantasies about wearers of skin-tight or other latex garments, such as divers and workers wearing industrial protective clothing. Another common stereotype of is the image of a dominatrix wearing a skin-tight latex or PVC catsuit, usually jet-black.

For hygienic reasons, many sex toys such as dildos and butt plugs are made from rubber or similar materials, and this is also a factor in rubber fetishism. Some rubber fetishists are also medical fetishists or have an interest in klismaphilia - medical gloves are made from latex, as well as condoms.

The Batman films made heavy use of rubber and PVC for Batman and Catwoman’s (Batman Returns) costumes respectively. The upcoming major fan-film (publicised in several newspapers and popular websites like The Internet Archive), Catwoman: CopyCat uses an entirely latex costume for the femme fatale.[1]

A substantial industry exists to produce specialist latex or rubber fetish clothing garments for rubber enthusiasts.

The International Association of Rubberists is a free online support community for those who may be struggling with their fetish. It is also a vast source of information on the rubberist subculture and its related industry.

Lots of latex or rubber clothes appear on websites such as eBay, and in recent years clothes made in PVC have been prevalent in young people’s fashions, particularly in jackets, skirts and trousers. Several mainstream designers have made latex clothing. As fashions come round and round again it would seem that PVC, latex and similar materials will appear again in mainstream street fashions as well as continuing to be central to the fetish scene.

The artwork of Allen Jones has been strongly influenced by the imagery of rubber fetishism and BDSM.

There are a number of specialist rubberist magazines devoted to this fetish, including:

* AtomAge
* Dressing for Pleasure
* Marquis
* «O»
* Shiny International
* Skin Two

Scuba fetishism is sexual arousal by scuba diving, snorkeling, or the wearing of diving equipment. It is a type of sexual fetish which falls under the broader category of aquaphilia. Aquaphilia in general is sexual arousal involving water in some form. Forms of aquaphilia include arousal by immersion, swimsuits, drowning, dolphins, and wet clothing (see wet and messy fetishism).

There are many aspects to the scuba fetish which attract fetishists. First, there is the sensual pleasure of being in a liquid environment. One is weightless and free to move in three dimensions which allows for a wider variety of sexual positions. Often, the sexual arousal comes in the form of wearing wetsuits, swim caps, and other rubber articles which serve as a second skin (see rubber fetishism). For many, the arousal comes from the wearing of face masks; this is related to fetishes involving gas masks, hazmat suits, and decorative masks (see mask fetishism). Other fetishists are aroused by other diving gear such as swim fins, snorkels, regulators, and technical diving equipment.

In order to help understand what this is all about, some pointers to sites run by SCUBAphiles may be of help:

* AtlantisBizarre - some UW SCUBA images taken during a fetish party held at an indoor dive center near Munich (Germany)
* RubAquaGirl - a fetish site run by a couple from Great Britain who are both into rubber and SCUBA fetishes
* UWfans.com - a forum for everything wet and sexy…

As with other fetishes, actually living out fantasies with a partner is the exception rather than the rule. Not only is it predominantly a male fetish, but the sole fact that not everyone has a large enough indoor pool often enough prohibits living out fantasies with a partner. Some may develop an emphasis on the SCUBA gear and any clothing involved, so unlike with Aquaphilia, water, or actual SCUBA diving is not a strict requirement. Often enough this merely adds to the thrill.

Thrill often is a keyword here as well. People by and large tend to associate fun and adventure with SCUBA diving, so a prospective partner who actually does SCUBA diving may appear more attractive anyway, but to a SCUBAphile who actually does SCUBA diving him or herself this will almost be a requirement. To have a partner who is geared for fun and adventure just seems more promising and the ability to spend vacations on live aboards or in tourist resorts that offer SCUBA diving in order to share the passion for SCUBA diving with each other will certainly be of concern.

Spandex fetishism is a fetishistic attraction to people wearing shiny stretch fabrics or, in certain cases, to the garments themselves.

Many people refer to spandex fetishism as Lycra fetishism, although Lycra is INVISTA’s trademark for their own brand of spandex fabric.

One reason why spandex and other tight fabrics may be fetishised is that the garment forms a “second skin,” acting as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer’s own skin. Wearers of skin-tight spandex garments can appear naked or coated in a shiny substance like paint. The tightness of the garments may also be seen as sexual bondage. Another reason is that nylon-spandex fabric (preferred by many spandex fetishists) is often produced with a very smooth and silk-like finish, which lends a tactile dimension to the fetish - as well as a visual one.

Spandex is often produced in bright colours.

Spandex fetishism often involves dressing up in the material, or looking at it worn by sexual partners, or fantasies about wearers of skin-tight spandex garments such as athletes, acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, swimmers and contortionists.

In comic books, superheroes, superheroines, and supervillains are generally depicted as wearing costumes made of spandex or a similar material. The superheroines always wear skintight, very flashy and bright-coloured costumes that usually cover only just enough of the female body to be presentable. Fantasies involving superheroes or the wearing of superhero costumes are commonly associated with spandex fetishism. This type of fetishism is usually restricted to men. In superheroine-fetishistic pornography, the superheroines, who are either dressed up as either canonical characters or characters invented solely for the fetish, are typically in some sort of trouble, such as bound or fighting supervillains (who are often also female).

Full-body suits called zentai entirely immerse the wearer in skin tight fabric. The suits are essentially catsuits with gloves, feet, and a hood. The wearer gets to experience total enclosure and those who enjoy erotic objectification might make use of the garment’s anonymizing aspect. Zentai fetishism appears to be quite popular in Japan and Europe. The world zentai (全体) means total, whole in Japanese.
Kigurumi (着包み, meaning cartoon-character costume), a form of Japanese costuming, often makes use of lycra as artificial skin.

Stocking fetishism is a sexual fetish relating to stockings. Stocking fetishists may find sexual partners clothed in stockings to be sexually stimulating, viewing the process of putting on stockings or taking them off sexually stimulating, or, in some cases, wearing them. This can be related to transvesticism.

Fetishists may also be divided into many sub-categories relative to their attraction to certain types of stockings. Some find fishnet stockings more arousing compared to other forms of stockings, for example. Other preferences include full-fashioned stockings, seamless stockings, designer stockings etc. Fetishists may also derive sexual pleasure in foot fetishism related sexual acts - sniffing or licking partners’ legs and feet in stockings, and having their genitals stimulated by stockinged feet.