Nature vs Nurture?

[Zebra]

So there have been a few topics lately about people "catching a sneeze fetish". Got me wondering....would you lot say it's nature or nurture? If you don't know the theory basically nature means that certain aspects of our personalities are defined as hereditory. Our sexual orientation, aggresssion etc are part of our genes. Nurture is the term used to describe that although genes have some effect, ultimately our personalities are defined by our upbringing/environmental factors. So sneeze fetish......nature or nurture? Personally, I'm all for nature in this sense. I mean, I was never taught to like sneezing or brought up to think it was *right*. Opinions??

[Ouro]

I see no reason why it can't be both. Most of the people who acquire the fetish later in life seem, from what I've seen, to be people who have dated someone who had the fetish and it kind of makes sense that it could lead to a sort of Pavlovian connection between sex and sneezing. It's not unusual for people to come to be turned on by the things that turn on their partner because knowing that you're turning someone on tend to be arousing. And if the same thing causes that frequently enough it only makes sense that it will become strongly connected with sex in your mind.

[sexyhankysneeze]

i think it was nurture.. not full on, just subtle things

[Deadsh0t]

Well, I'm pretty sure I've had the fetish since birth so in my case, it's definately nature. Probably some faulty wiring in my brain or something.

I don't know about anyone else, but it's comforting to think that it might be a genetic thing since it means it's not my fault that I'm 'different'.

[buildup_lover]

I'm going with nature. I've had the fetish for as long as I can remember, before the first sneezing fetish website even existed.

[Sniffle Lover]

I'd say it's probably both for me. There's definitely nature involved because I've had it for as long as I can remember, so there's probably some part of the brain that makes certain people predisposed for developing some kind of fetish. However, as time goes on I'm sure I've nurtured myself/been nutured into having the fetish that I have today (i.e. why my strong preference is allergies now whereas i liked colds when I was really young and didn't know what allergies were or even what sexuality was yet). So events along the way probably have reinforced my allergy liking, such as happening having my first crushes on people with bad allergies instead of people who got sick a lot.

[JenJen]

I think I was most likely born with the predisposition to develop a sexual fetish, but the sneeze fetish specifically is something I believe I developed when I was very, very young. Possibly even as a baby. I have a hunch or two as to what caused it, but I'm unsure. I'll probably never know why I have it.

So yeah, I think it's part nature and part nurture.

[Copper]

Well...

Nature provides the basics upon which paraphilias grow - rooted deep within our sexual drive and very primitive mechanisms to fire certain synapses and trigger the sexual arousal that is necessary for mating, which itself is a genetical imperative.

However, the current scientific answer as to the particulars of any given kink or inclination - be it fetishism, paraphilias such as ours, or even more normative sexual behaviour is wholly up to nurture. In short: That it happens to be sneezes (or, y'know, colds, allergies, whatever it might be) that turns us on is not a trick of nature but of post-natal experiences.

Like JenJen said: These experiences are most likely subconscious or subtle connections from very very early in your life, or, as Ouroboros so nicely put it - a pavlovian connection (guilty as charged).

Even such a thing as the most normative heterosexual tendencies (I like boys/girls) could be said to be a behavorial construct, but that's hardlining it a bit.

[Graham Cracked]

On the show, Strange Sex, there was a guy with a fetish for smelling women's shoes. They said that most fetishes derive from one instance that lasts in a person's psyche until puberty/sexual curiosity. I would say it would be the same for me with the environmental triggers I had when I was young. That's usually how most fetishes start with a stimuli at a young age. At least that's how I always thought it did xD