Sex: An act of love or a fetish?
While some of us are content with the idea of sex being an
intense expression of love, the truth lies somewhere else. The conventionally
approved act yet remains under wraps of shame; but the repression caused as a
result of such controlled discretion seems to be manifesting in bizarre forms.
Thus, redefining the purpose of sex is a whole new level of mania and fetish
being practised by people around the world. Such unique practices that deviate
from the accepted form of sexual explorations come under paraphilias- sexual
arousal directed towards non-conventional objects of desire.
Agalmatophilia: a fetish for
inanimate objects
The reason for such fetish could lie anywhere between battered
relationships to poor social skills. Most sexual repressed people express their
sexual fantasy over mannequins, dolls and other pseudo-human inanimate
figures. The fantasy may extend to exchange of sexual pleasure between the objects or
the thought of transforming oneself into the object itself. Pygmalionism, a
fetish where the person develops feeling for the statue/object made by them, is
also a form of Agalmatophilia.
Salirophilia: vandalism or merely
harmless fetish?
This form of paraphilia involves the fetishist distorting the
appearance of the object of desire. Dishevelling the objects appearance by
tearing their hair and damaging the face and clothing among other things is a
sexually exciting experience for the person.
BDSM: a reformed act of slavery?
Among other bizarre practices, this is the most obsessively
discussed one, thanks to the popular fictional work by EL James. There are four
aspects to BDSM: Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism. When clubbed in
pairs, for instance, bondage and discipline or Sado-masochism, they become a
sexual practice. Due to its unconventionality on all levels, BDSM is celebrated
as a sub-cultural practice among non-normative members such as cross-dressers,
animal players, and latex and rubber aficionados among others.
Typically, conventional sexual acts are power neutral.
However, BDSM allows for informed consent to enact the master-slave
relationship, wherein the dominating partner occupies the tops position while
the subservient other falls under the category of the bottoms. Sadists and
masochists are characterized by their sexual desire to inflict and receive pain and
humiliation during the act.
According to modern psychology, Sado-masochistic practices
are harmless provided they cause emotional distress to the person involved. On
a subjective note, the practice can be considered as a therapeutic means to
de-stress from daily, mundane activities. More importantly, as long as it is
consensual, there is no room for worry. Legally, however, such practices may be
considered demoralizing to the individuals well being and are therefore banned
under certain jurisdictions.
Considering how shady these practices are to most people, it
is surprising to find certain activities being commercialised on a large scale.
Take Nyotaimori, for instance. This form of paraphilia involves sushi being
presented to the consumer on a naked human body. The whole act is polished to
make it not look like a sexual practice- pubic hair shaved, body being cleansed
and enhanced with fragrant oils among other things. This kind of food play
requires the naked body to remain still for hours and withstand the cold
temperature emitted by the food. The sexual experience will improve sexual performance as well.
Finally, it is evident from the above instances that it is
not the fear of the act that requires attention, but its repressive forms that
need to be curbed from harming civilised societies.
