So our fetish is considered a Paraphilia

[BelieveInRollins]

So i found out that our fetish is considered a paraphilia which i then found out falls in the same catagory as Pedophilia O_O (and others but that one obviously caught my attention)

but im kind of scared though...i mean of course this fetish is different and it's not considered normal...far from it but if it's in the same catagory as pedophilia does this fetish make us bad people or like would we be considered to be "mentally ill or unstable"?

But it's like when i discovered that my fasination was indeed a fetish and i found this forum it made me feel so much better about myself thinking im not alone and there's other people out there just like me.

i don't want to ever rid myself of the fetish mostly because it just makes me happy and happy in other ways if you know what i mean lol

but i don't know ever since i made that discovery yesterday, im thinking that we would really be considered like mentall ill or unstable? like i don't know what to think im so confused

[Zebra]

Well if I'm honest I didn't actually know what parophilia was so I googled it. Ok............

On Wikipedia, it says that homosexuality was once considered a form of parophilia which is obviously complete bull. People who don't have the fetish don't really understand what it's like. For example I could analyze everything on foot fetishm say but that doesn't mean that I can actually feel the turn on myself. I actually have friends who think that this fetish in particular is cute because we like to look after people. (I don't know if they realize that the fact that we have more power is a contributing factor but still).

Either way I enjoy my fetsih. It allows me to have a sort of secret identity. Plus we'll never run out of "fetishy eye-candy". If we had a fetish for something completely random then it would be harder for us to come across it often. So don't worry, all of us here are in the same boat. If we're classed as paraphilic then so be it

[Nova]

Paraphilia isn't a category with "exclusively bad sexual things". It's basically just a name for when people get aroused by things out of the ordinary. Some people consider it bad, some people don't. Sure, it's in the same category as pedophilia, but also in the same category as hundreds of other paraphilias. And, as wikipedia puts it:

A 2009 list contains a total of 547 paraphilias, but leads with the statement that "Not all these paraphilias have necessarily been seen in clinical setups. This may not be because they do not exist, but because they are so innocuous they are never brought to the notice of clinicians. Like allergies, sexual arousal may occur from anything under the sun, including the sun."

Please observe the allergy line. x) Also, I don't consider myself or anyone here mentally ill or unstable just because they like something as innocent as a sneeze. That's just silly ; )

[pinknose]

Okay, so I wiki'd paraphilia and this is my opinion.

My thought is that if more people could understand just what the fetish is, there would probably be a different opinion on the matter in general.

I think as long as you aren't using the fetish as an excuse to humiliate or gain power over your partner (which I'm pretty damn sure most of us do not), it shouldn't even be placed in that category.

I mean, I can sort of see the outside point of view, but I hope that eventually the world gets to a point where people can distinguish between safe and unsafe kinks.

So, yeah...

Not to say that I really know anything about all that. It's just my opinion.

[Quell]

As far as I understand it (I am not a psychologist), all fetishes are paraphilias, but not all paraphilias are fetishes.

A paraphilia is, as Nova said, "basically just a name for when people get aroused by things out of the ordinary." A fetish is defined as the sexual need for an object or non-sexual body part to get sexual satisfaction. So we have a general term, and then a more specific one. A bit like red and ruby, in terms of colors.

I think more people are familiar with the term fetish, so perhaps it sounds friendlier than paraphilia.

[NameTaken]

I think more people are familiar with the term fetish, so perhaps it sounds friendlier than paraphilia.

I agree with everything said above, of course, but I don't know...I think a lot of people view the word fetish in a really negative light, like a terribly deviant and disgusting thing. But then, paraphilia does sound excessively medical and somewhat harmful. Aghh, why.

I wish it was all as simple as saying 'sneezing turns me on' and leaving it at that :U

[Jorm]

Eh, paraphilia's just a psychological technical term for a sexual stimuli that is out of the ordinary. It doesn't inherently mean anything bad or good, it's just a way of describing a sexual phenomenon. Sure, pedophilia is there, but so are loads of other things.

[count tiszula]

Surely we all know that an interest in sneezing is not a fetish [though oddly interest in hankies is], and my recollection is that it doesn't fit into the definition of paraphilia either. I'm too lazy to look it up again, I fear. In my view, an interest in breasts is a completely unnatural, so if any of you are interested in breasts, your own or anyone else's, you are bad and should burst into tears at once, your lovely noses imitating the actions and colour changes of a really good hay fever attack. Mmmm!

[BelieveInRollins]

hahaha alright guys i was just freaking out about petophilia being in the same catagory that automatically means that this is a bad thing that we have this fetish.

idk im a very paranoid person in general so...yeah lol

also on another article i saw how this guy got arrested (or fired from his job i forgot what it was...maybe both lol) because he kept blowing pepper in his coworkers face to make her sneeze. He had a sneeze fetish..

THAT is going too far with it. a lot of people on here are discrete about it and just fantasize about doing something naughty like that you know? lol

but thanks for all the comments guys...you guys are seriously the best though <3

[Jorm]

Surely we all know that an interest in sneezing is not a fetish [though oddly interest in hankies is], and my recollection is that it doesn't fit into the definition of paraphilia either. I'm too lazy to look it up again, I fear.

Sexual interest in hankies is a fetish because it involves an object. Technically speaking a fetish has to be directed at an inanimate object. Hence why attraction to sneezing isn't a fetish because it's directed at a bodily function, not an object. Likewise a foot fetish isn't technically a fetish because it's a part of the body, not a separate inanimate item. My recollection though is that attraction to sneezing does fit into the definition of a paraphilia, but I am also too lazy to look it up.

[March Hare]

Behold the power of connotation.

This is why it's important to try and keep an open mind, to look critically at the definitions of words and terms, and to approach matters rationally, without letting your feelings run away with you. It's too damn easy to freak out over nothing.

[Hankysneeze]

Whatever it's considered as, I've got it and I love it so hey hoo! Lol

[TalkingEvilly]

Whatever it's considered as, I've got it and I love it so hey hoo! Lol

Haha, I agree with this.

[Renny]

I was once mentally unstable but I don't think this is related.

But now you make me wonder.... :/

[March Hare]

I was once mentally unstable but I don't think this is related.

But now you make me wonder.... :/

As I said: it's too damn easy to freak out over nothing. Relax. 'Paraphilia' is a very general term, almost as general as 'preference'. Also, 'mentally unstable' is relative. Don't attach too much importance to labels like that.

[tk2927]

I had to look up the definition myself. Here is the first paragraph from Wiki:

Paraphilia (in Greek para παρά = beside and -philia φιλία = friendship, meaning love) is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her. A paraphilia involves sexual arousal and gratification, involving a sexual behavior that is atypical or extreme.^[1] The term was coined by Wilhelm Stekel in the 1920s.^[2] Sexologist John Money later popularized the term as a nonpejorative designation for unusual sexual interests.^[3][4][5][6] He described paraphilia as "a sexuoerotic embellishment of, or alternative to the official, ideological norm."^[7]

I don't see anything in there that suggests there is anything wrong or damaged about us just because we have this. If I read between the lines correctly, I think the question at the top of this discussion was "should I be ashamed of my fetish if it is in any way linked to this?" I don't know what the scientific link or justification for grouping these things together is, but even if there is some link I don't think we need to feel bad for a fetish that is completely personal, kept to ourselves, and not inflicted on others.