Fetish Indulgence
by Gideon, HSM team writer, with foreword by NorseGamer and photography by Olivia_Allin
Foreword:
Virtual reality is an interesting proposition. On one hand, you have tremendous freedom to express inner desires — how you see yourself as you’ve always wanted to be. Conversely, once you build a virtual society, how do you build a culture with agreed-upon boundaries of public conduct when everyone’s anonymous and there are few repercussions for personal indulgence?
At present, there’s a fascinating debate raging on the Sony forum about Mass Media’s Weird Wear. Does a developer have an ethical responsibility to not sell virtual commodities which are overly sexualized and can be interpreted as fetishistic? Does the community have a responsibility to not purchase such things and wear them in virtual public because it might offend others? Or is everyone taking this too seriously?
Are we, in fact, even interpreting the word “fetish” correctly?
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The world over, people have come to know the term “fetish” by its modern context: an object which brings sexual gratification. While the current connotations of the term do indeed remain true to its original meaning, it initially had less to do with the narcissistic desire of self-satisfaction and more to do with reverence and admiration. The term fetish was used to reference religious, spiritual or cultural icons which seemed of indescribable importance to individuals or a society. Often, these icons were believed to possess supernatural powers that would have a certain hold over the observer of the fetish. The icon would be revered and worshipped within the specific community which held the fetish, but those outside the culture would find the object of admiration of little value.
In today’s world, “fetish” has been misconstrued to the point of being one of the many, many words that is given the star treatment within PlayStation Home. It has become a word associated with socially unacceptable sexual deviations. Synonymous with paraphilias, fetishes are seen as psychosexual objectifications which drive a person to partake, sometimes discretely and shamefully, in sexual acts which fulfill their fantastic desires. Part devotion, part dependence, a fetish makes its subject both its slave and master, which in many ways, works out well for the fetish-afflicted.
If it makes you feel like THIS, you might just have a fetish.
Although the term fetish has evolved since its original use, primarily due to the sexually charged musings of Sigmund Freud, its inherent contextual meaning remains the same. Many of the nuances of the term fetish deal with an object which has a strong pull over someone emotionally or psychologically. This pull does not necessarily have to be of a sexual nature, just one that exists apart from reason or understanding.
It could be argued that everyone has some guilty pleasure which they either try to ignore and shy away from, or embrace and nurture. Although modern society accepts, and even reveres the idea of fetishes, the things that pull individuals are, many times, of a socially unacceptable nature. For this reason, they are commonly indulged in while in private or while enjoying anonymity. This combination of public acceptance and private indulgence is what makes PlayStation Home the synergistic equivalent of a natural environment for the fetishist.
When a person comes to the virtual pseudo-canvas of Home, they are free to make their avatar and their experience whatever they wish them to be. This creation can entertain any manner indulgences, including a wide variety of fetishes. The core of Home’s design can, itself, be the source of nourishment for an individual’s fetish. The very act of avatar creation allows a person to make their representative within Home reflect themselves. This does not have to be a reflection of the physical self, but can be a manifestation of the emotional and psychological self.
Staying true to the origins of what a fetish actually is, such indulgences can be misconstrued by other members of PlayStation Home. It is assumed, many times, that an individual who is parading around Home in some garish getup is trolling or being obnoxious. While this may be true at times, there might also be instances when that individual is simply expressing something they might not be able to within their own personal lives. Is there, in a virtual world, the requirement for a certain level of public decorum? Home can be an outlet which allows socially unacceptable behaviors to flourish, which can also be the cause of many of the grievances by the citizens of Home. This is because there are actual fetishes which depend upon the discomfort of others. Again, it should be stressed that a fetish does not necessarily refer to sexual gratification, but an act or object which is inexplicably satisfying to an individual. Many times a fetish can be something which a person finds irresistibly alluring but takes no actual sexual pleasure from.
How many bought these outfits out of a Balloon Fetish?
While it is true that not all paraphilias can be pandered to within Home, the range which can be expressed has grown significantly since the virtual world’s inception. A wide range of clothing, costumes, personal spaces and personal space items have been offered up for sale for users of Home to surround themselves with items to satisfy whatever their desires may be. There are, however, items that have actually taken on a more fetishistic nature as the variety of clothes and items has grown. Not only can the citizens of Home partake in gender bending and leather clothing but they can now actually indulge in whatever furry, balloon or adult baby fetish they might possess. This widening availability of more fetish-specific items speaks to the culturally acceptable nature of fetishes and Home’s reflection of that culture. This inevitably leads to the question: at what point does a fetish break past the isolationism of a fetish and become a legitimate part of society?
As you, the reader, look over the collection of images presented below, see if you can figure out what the object of each of the 42 fetishes are. Don’t be surprised if you find some of the images particularly alluring. If you are drawn to any of the subjects offered here, you may have discovered that you yourself have a fetish. While not all the fetishes listed below are able to be expressed fully within the virtual landscape of Home, the pseudo-reality is able to sate the desires of the purveyor of the fetish, at least in part. Also, this is not an all-inclusive list of all the fetishes which are accessible and thriving within Home. This collection is a sampling of how Home currently entertains the desires of its users in ways the real world cannot, and will likely continue to do so well into the future.
It’s perhaps too easy to point fingers at Home and say it shouldn’t offer things which could be defined as fetishistic. But just as one may look at a Rorschach test and see a salacious image, is it really the artist’s fault for how the work is interpreted?
After all, the use of a three-dimensional character within a virtual world could be considered a fetish, in and of itself.
 Acrotomophilia / Apotemnophilia |
 Biastophilia / Scatologia / Frotteurism |
 Autonepiophilia / Paraphilic infantilism |
 Aretifism / Retifism / Podophilia |
 Autagonistophilia |
 Agalmatophilia |
 Bondage / Domination / Sadism / Masochism |
 Exhibitionism / Peodeiktophilia / Liquidophilia |
 Mechanophilia / Technosexuality |
 Pygophilia |
 Plushophilia |
 Dendrophilia |
 Homeovestism |
 Mammaphilia |
 Morphophilia |
 Narratophilia |
 Nasophilia |
 Pyrophilia |
 Sthenolagnia |
 Stigmatophilia |
 Trichophilia |
 Vestiophilia |
 Xenophilia |
 Necrophilia / Mysophilia |
 Andromimetophilia / Gynandromorphophilia / Autoandrophilia / Autogynephilia / Transvestophilia |
A Special Thanks to Burbie52, Olivia_Allin & xx96791DEATHxx for all their help with these pictures; the article just wouldn’t have worked without you.
October 22nd, 2011 by Gideon | 4 comments
Gideon is a team writer for HomeStation Magazine and likes cheese in all its forms. Whether it be block, slice, cream, wheel, log, string or aerosol, Gideon cant resist the pungent bitter taste of good cheese. Heck, he'll even take mediocre cheese, as long as its slapped between two pieces of whole wheat bread with a little bit of mustard.
After that I have Gideonophilia! Well done my friend… now Im hitting the cold shower!
I have to say when you asked me to help with this I wasn’t sure what the direction of this article was going to take, but now that I see it I have to say job well done Gideon. I haven’t a clue what some of those fetishes are about but to each their own as long as no one is hurt in the process.
That is where I would draw the line. If someones indulgence causes another person pain, that is unacceptable in my book and that goes for things non fetish related as well.
Loved the pics Olivia and Gideon! It was fun doing them as well.
What I love about this article is that it showcases just how weird humanity is as a species, and how the veil of anonymity allows the full carnival of human spectacle to come to light. For some, it’s simply humorous; for others, it’s a chance to express or indulge in things that they wouldn’t dare to explore in the real world, for fear of social repercussions.
HearItWow had an interesting idea which, although it may be beyond the current technological limits of what Home can do, would make for a fascinating place: to allow for a greater level of more mature behavior in private estates (I would personally hold the line at “hard” PG-13 animations in order to avoid a PR meltdown), but to restrict what apparel selections could be worn in public. Granted, each space would have to be coded differently — what’s socially appropriate at a beach isn’t appropriate at Sully’s Bar — but I like the general idea.
In short, it would more closely reflect the real world: that people are free to do some wild, crazy stuff in private, but that a certain level of decorum be enforced in public.
I couldn’t stop laughing! Great article! LOL