Fetishes have been around for centuries — from the Marquis de Sade to Kinky Boots. But fetishes are about much more than shoes and leather.
Dear Lucy,
I am very turned on by raincoats but my wife is not keen. Do you have any advice?
Kind regards, Peter.
Peter* posed this question to an advice column of an online UK women’s magazine and got some handy marital guidance. But what does science have to say about fetishes? How common are they? What causes them? And if your partner doesn’t share your fetish, can science help?
Fetishes are not just about feet and leather.
When it comes to fetishes for body parts, nothing comes near feet and toes in popularity.
In 2007, the biggest ever study of fetishes found that the foot was way more popular than everything else, accounting for almost half of all fetishes.
Blood and other body fluids came a distant second, while tattoos and piercings were a clear minority, with body odour coming in dead last.
But if a penchant for BO seems unexpected, the fetishes for clothes or accessories were nothing short of eclectic.
Shoes and stockings still topped the list, accounting for two thirds of all fetishes.
But people registered sexual preferences for everything from stethoscopes and nappies to pacemakers.