Gender and Related Fetishes

[bloom]

Short version: I like numbers and gender studies and wanted to see how this might play out. Pick whatever options you feel are most relevant to your experience. For the purpose of this poll, marking off one of the options means that you find it sexually appealing if sneezing doesn't factor in at all.

Long version:

I've been thinking about starting a poll/thread about this for a while, because (as always) I am curious about numbers.

Basically, what I've noticed is that in the Related Fetishes section, men seem to be the overwhelming majority of posters. To be clear, I don't think that's a bad thing at all, just interesting. But I've been wondering what the reason for this is, because in the sneezing-related section of the board, I feel like there's a much more even split, or even that it's women who post more often in those sections.

I'm curious as to what accounts for this discrepancy. It seems a little off to me that men would be so overwhelmingly more into the related fetishes, so I starting thinking about my own posting habits as a jumping-off point. I have two related fetishes that I have maybe implied, but never explicitly spoken about being into on the forums (mainly due to embarrassment on my part). So, I thought maybe there might be a tendency for women to be less open about certain fetishes other than sneezing.

My theory is some combination of the two: that women are, for whatever reason, less likely to post about being into certain things, and that men are somewhat more likely to have certain fetishes. But I also think people are more likely to 'admit' to being into certain things via an anonymous poll, and thus was born the idea for this one.

Actually, now that I've started thinking about which fetishes I wanted to include in this poll, I realized that the opposite seems to be true for certain related fetishes too: women are more likely to post about being into certain related fetishes than men are. So this could end up being even more interested than I originally thought it might be. My theory is the same for these ones but with the genders swapped. Men do still make up the majority of posters in this section, but women seem to post more about certain very specific related fetishes.

I didn't want this to be one of those polls that ends up with a billion options, so even though I'd've liked to include even more poll options, I tried to pare down to the ones I thought might get the most interesting results (which is why I included crying, even though it's not strictly related). This is also why I've decided not to include nonbinary genders in the poll options - I really apologize if anybody feels slighted or forgotten because of this, but I didn't want it to get too unwieldy. Please do feel free to comment if you fit into that category, though!

(As an aside, I'm kind of bummed that I feel like this poll basically has to go into the Related Fetishes section because it gets so much less traffic than the purely-sneezing bits of the forum do. Also, this was pretty stream-of-consciousness post-writing, which is maybe not the best idea but heeey it's ten to one AM here and I didn't want to lose steam while I had it. )

[Jorm]

I am non-binary and slighted How dare you neglect me so carelessly???? *weeps in a corner*

I have trouble with a lot of these things working out whether they're really independent fetishes of their own, or if they're purely elements of other fetishes. I think ultimately all of my related fetishes are pretty tangled up and interconnected so it's hard to say that any of them other than sneezing is truly a fetish in it's own right. But for the sake of simplicity....

I am a person of non-binary gender who has a fetish for:

Nose-blowing

Noses

Hurt/comfort

Fever

I also find handkerchiefs, coughing, congestion, and sniffling attractive in their relation to other things, but I wouldn't go so far as to count them as fetishes.

I hope that wasn't more complicating than helpful

[bloom]

No, of course it's helpful, you noodle

I think I didn't anticipate the following thing when I created this poll: Women are probably more likely to click on threads that don't have explicit fetish content and vote in them.

[HotHanky]

I voted as a man who has a handkerchief fetish, I am curious to know who the girls are on here that have a handkerchief fetish too x

[Bondi]

I'm a guy. I guess I like sniffling but generally as it relates to sneezing. If person is just sniffling, you kind of hope they'd sneeze or something. That's generally how it works for me.

As far as the whole related fetishes thing goes, I've met a few guys here and there who are into nose-blowing, hankies, etc. but I've never met a female who was into that or who at least admitted to being into that. I have seen plenty of females that were, in edition to sneeze, were into illness, injury, hurt/comfort, and/or fevers, and they were pretty open about it. I have talked to one or two that said that they don't get anything sexual out of such things, but it would still make her melt and really bring out the nurturing side of her, which she claimed to enjoy as well but of course not in a sexual sense, so I guess that wouldn't count as a fetish and I'm not really sure what I would call that. But in any case, women can have related....interests, however it might affect them, and they might even be open about these things, but still they are different things to what related things men might have.

[Sonicman]

i just love to hear myself blow my nose somehow. but i mostly like thinking about Feamale cartoon characters blowing thier noses in various things.

[kendisima]

This is super interesting I think Bondi is right about women and related fetishes. I voted yes for fetishes in sniffling, coughing, and hurt/comfort, but thinking about it now those are more things that bring out my mothering side. I do get something out of it, but it isn't as 'sexual' as sneezing.

[bloom]

I voted as a man who has a handkerchief fetish, I am curious to know who the girls are on here that have a handkerchief fetish too x

I doubt most of the women who are into them will say anything, but I made the thread and I've been thinking about why this one is so much more embarrassing to articulate, so I'll just go ahead and say that one of them is me. I think I've probably implied it vaguely before but I've never outright said it.

[HotHanky]

I voted as a man who has a handkerchief fetish, I am curious to know who the girls are on here that have a handkerchief fetish too x

I doubt most of the women who are into them will say anything, but I made the thread and I've been thinking about why this one is so much more embarrassing to articulate, so I'll just go ahead and say that one of them is me. I think I've probably implied it vaguely before but I've never outright said it.

Hiya Mint, Awwwwwww thankyou for having the courage to say, there is no need to be embarrassed at all, thankyou so much, Rob x

[HotHanky]

I voted as a man who has a handkerchief fetish, I am curious to know who the girls are on here that have a handkerchief fetish too x

I doubt most of the women who are into them will say anything, but I made the thread and I've been thinking about why this one is so much more embarrassing to articulate, so I'll just go ahead and say that one of them is me. I think I've probably implied it vaguely before but I've never outright said it.

Hiya Mint, Awwwwwww thankyou for having the courage to say, there is no need to be embarrassed at all, thankyou so much, Rob x

As HotHanky said. Well done and thanks from me (another handkerchief fetishist) for saying it.

I'm curious along with you though, Mint, as to why it's harder to say than, say, having a sneezing fetish. I understand that you haven't quite worked this out and I'm sure it's difficult for different individuals, but there seems to be something that goes to some extent across the board and transcends individual preferences and hangups.

I wonder if it's something to do with a handkerchief being a visible object that might give us away (it could be used as evidence in court!) whereas a sneeze is gone in a second. Furthermore, sneezing pretty much happens to everyone and could be regarded as 'normal" (Agh! That word again!) in a way that handkerchiefs might not, being regarded as unfashionable and probably unhygienic too. Sneezing doesn't generally have these attributions (well, yes, unhygienic, but that's ok so long as the sneezer does their best to control the spread of germs).

Top-of-the head theories, don't know if they're useful or not.

Take care

Rhino

Hi, I wonder if it's because it's having a desire for a physical object, with us that object being a hankerchief, rather than sneezing which is just a visual and hearing thing which happens out of your control. If you say to someone you have a hankerchief fetish or desire they find it hard to comprehend as how a cotton or silk hankerchief can be sexual. I have had to explain why I myself have that desire for hankerchiefs to a lot of girls over the years who looked confused initially but when I explained it to them they could then understand why I felt like I did and were accepting of it.

For all of us who have a hankerchief fetish the object we desire is the same but the origins and reasons why we have that desire will be completely different, as well as what we actually do with the hankerchiefs and ways they are used to turn us on.

[ICan'tThinkOfAnything]

Hmmm. Genderfluid, so I'll simply answer here.

I have a fetish/liking for everything listed except noses and handkerchiefs.

Nose blowing is more fetish-y,the rest are more of a basic liking with fetishistic qualities, if that makes any sense.

[sneffnie]

well im agirl *points out the obvious -as it says im female* im out and proud..so to speak, people tend to think im a bit odd so people dont put it pastme hah! however im not ashamed to proclaime my own lil kinks, fantacies and fetishes :-). i am a sneeze fetish, nose blowing doesnt do much for me but it does make me feel slightly concerned if it sounds like a lot. I love colds and denial in fact that is a delicious combination on a big burky man, to feel and be confinded in as they only break down to me about how awful they feel...now that is sexy! Granted im bisexual i do prefer girl sneezes to men in recordings but visual i prefer men....odd huh? i love to take care im a care giver and a bit if a person pleaser, i will go at any length to insure that they are happy, comfortable and smiling. I supose noses could be related to this fetish, no? well i adore noses small rounded nicely shaped noses :-) infact the nose is the 1st thing i notice on a person :-). I have more fetishes and kinks but i feel that will lead on to a different answer aswell as story ;-) x

[a_nonny_mouse]

Nonbinary, with moderate inclinations toward congestion, coughing and crying, and mild "narrative kinks" for h/c and fevers (like, I get something out of general sickfic but it'snnot always sexual per se.)

Nose blowing and handkerchiefs and noses don't really do it for me unless in context of congestion/sniffling/sneezing. Or I guess other kinks like my thing for frustration...