Abnormal Psychology

488 CHAPTER 11

Fetishism: Sexually Arousing Objects

Fetishism is the paraphilia characterized by the repeated use of nonliving objects,

such as women’s shoes or undergarments, in sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors,

which in turn leads to distress or impaired functioning (see Table 11.3). The object—

termed a fetish—may be used to achieve sexual arousal or to maintain an erection

with a partner or alone. For instance, a man with a shoe fetish will become aroused

by seeing or smelling women’s footwear. He may steal women’s shoes and use them

to masturbate (Shiah et al., 2006). When fetishism is severe, he may be unable to

have sexual relations with a partner unless the fetish is part of the sexual experi-

ence. When the fetish is a nonsexual body part, such as a foot, the paraphilia may

be referred to as partialism. The DSM-IV-TR defi nition of fetishism, however, does

not include partialism (and so a foot fetish is technically classifi ed as a paraphilia

not otherwise specifi ed).

A survey of hospital discharge summaries of men with fetishism (Chalkley &

Powell, 1983) found that:

• 60% preferred items of clothing (as did the man in Case 11.5);


• 25% were aroused by items of rubber;


• 15% were aroused by footwear;


• 15% had partialism; and


• 37% regularly stole items of their preferred fetish.

People with fetishism generally come to the attention of mental health professionals

only after being apprehended for the theft of their fetish.

Transvestic Fetishism: Cross-Dressing for Sexual Arousal

Formerly called transvestism,transvestic fetishism is the diagnosis given to

heterosexual men who cross-dress in women’s clothes for sexual arousal and experi-

ence distress or impaired functioning because of it (Table 11.3), as Mike did. (Note

that this is in contrast to men with gender identity disorder, who dress as women

not for sexual arousal but to make their outward appearance more congruent with

their internal experience; see Table 11.4.) Moreover, men with transvestic fetishism

use female clothing differently than those with a nontransvestic fetish that involves

female apparel, such as an underwear fetish. Men with a nontransvestic fetish may

wear female clothes to achieve sexual arousal, but only if the clothes were previ-

ously worn by a woman; they do not try to appear female, as Jenny Boylan, in Case

11.1, did. In contrast, men with transvestic fetishism wear newfemale clothes and

try to appear as female, as Mike did.

Transvestic fetishism usually begins in childhood; most men with this disorder

began cross-dressing before age 10. As adults, the cross-dressing usually is not lim-

ited to the privacy of the home: Almost three quarters of men with this disorder who

Transvestic Fetishism: Cross Dressing for Sexual Arousal

CASE 11.5 • FROM THE OUTSIDE: Fetishism

A single, 32-year-old male free-lance photographer presented with the chief complaint of

“abnormal sex drive.” The patient related that although he was somewhat sexually attracted

by women, he was far more attracted by “their panties”... His fi rst ejaculation occurred at 12

via masturbation to fantasies of women wearing panties. He masturbated into his older sis-

ter’s panties, which he had stolen without her knowledge. Subsequently he stole panties from

her friends and other women he met socially. He found pretexts to “wander” into bedrooms

of women during social occasions, and would quickly rummage through their possessions

until he found a pair of panties to his satisfaction. He later used these to masturbate into and

then “saved them” in a “private cache.” The pattern of masturbating into women’s underwear

had been his preferred method of achieving sexual excitement and orgasm from adolescence

until the present consultation... he felt anxious and depressed because his social life was

limited by his sexual preference.

(Spitzer et al., 2002, p. 247)

The hallmark of the paraphilia fetishism is being

sexually aroused by inanimate objects, such as

footwear or mannequins.

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Fetishism

A paraphilia in which the individual

repeatedly uses nonliving objects to achieve

or maintain sexual arousal and such an

arousal pattern causes signifi cant distress or

impairs functioning.

Transvestic fetishism

A paraphilia in which a heterosexual man

cross-dresses in women’s clothes for sexual

arousal and experiences distress or impaired

functioning because of the cross-dressing;

formerly called transvestism.