There’s a wide world of fetishes and kinks out there. Some you may have heard of, and others may be new to you. Here’s an overview of some of the most intriguing kinks and fetishes, including both common ones and some that may be lesser known. Read this list alone or with a partner and think about which kinks or fetishes you may want to try, which ones you might want to add to your sex bucket list, and which ones aren’t for you. Whether this a sexual fantasy you’ve held for a long time or something you’re just thinking about now, there are plenty of ways you can expand your sex life with fetishes and kinks.
Before we dive into this fetishes and kinks guide, let’s go over the basics.
Fetishes and Kinks: The Basics
What is a fetish?
A fetish, also known as a sexual fetish, is sexual excitement or arousal in response to an object or body part, often one that’s not usually considered sexual.
What is a kink?
A kink “is defined as a sexual activity that falls outside of sex that society traditionally considers ‘acceptable,’” according to Glamour.
And now, here are some popular fetishes and kinks.
Types of Fetishes and Kinks:
Adult Baby
Adult baby refers to a chronological adult who roleplays as a baby. This form of sexual roleplaying could mean wearing a diaper, using a pacifier and/or bottle, making baby noises, etc. Many who fit this fetish refer to themselves as ABDL, which stands for Adult Baby Diaper Lover.
Bondage
Bondage involves restraining or restricting the movement of a part of the body. This could mean being handcuffed or having one’s ankles tied together, being suspended from the ceiling, or having a body part such as the breasts tied up with rope. There’s a wide range of ways people can practice bondage. For more information, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Bondage.
Breath Play
Breath play is a form of BDSM that involves controlling your breath or having your breathing controlled. This can take the form of being choked by a partner/choking a partner or being “made” to hold your breath or otherwise restrict one’s breathing. Due to the delicate and sensitive nature of breath play, this should only be undertaken with the utmost care, with all parties aware of best practices for safety.
Cuckolding
Cuckolding is a form of open relationship where one party, usually a man who’s married to a woman, is aroused by his spouse or significant other having other sexual partners. The spouse may tell the cuckold who they’re sleeping with, or they may withhold the exact details of her outside affairs, leaving the cuckold to imagine what she’s been up to. With cuckolding, the cuckold generally doesn’t have any say in which partners the wife chooses. In another related fetish, hotwifing, the wife, known as a hotwife, may have her additional sexual partners chosen by her husband. Cuckolding may involve a level of consensual humiliation for the husband.
Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism involves being turned on by showing off. Exhibitionism can take many forms, from standing naked in front of your window or doing a striptease, to having sex in front of others or anything in between. Some exhibitionists enjoy showing off for voyeurs (see below) who like to watch, while others simply relish the thrill of possibly getting caught in a scenario such as public sex.
Foot Fetish
A foot fetish is exactly what it sounds like: A fetish related to feet. However, foot fetishists vary in their interests. Some foot fetishists enjoy carefully tended-to feet with painted toenails and jewelry, while others may be turned on by a particular foot shape, or feet encased within certain types of footwear (see shoe fetish below). Foot fetishes are among the most common types of fetishes.
Furries
Furries are people aroused by anthropomorphized animals, meaning animals who’ve taken on human characteristics. They may dress up in fur suits or furry costumes of their favorite animal characters, but not all furries dress up. Furries may also have a “fursona,” and, according to Vox, “Crafting a fursona involves picking an animal — real or mythical — to represent yourself as, or, less commonly, designing a new mythical animal for yourself.”
Hosiery
A hosiery fetish is a fetish for hosiery such as stockings or pantyhose. As with feet, hosiery fetishists may have very specific preferences as to style, color, design, etc. This may also be called a nylon fetish.
Hotwife
A hotwife is a married woman (usually married to a man) who’s given sexual freedom to take other lovers with her husband’s encouragement. The husband of a hotwife may select her partners for her, or be part of the process of choosing them. Some hotwives also engage in exhibitionism and have their husbands watch them have sex with other men and/or women, while other hotwives have sanctioned rendezvous with their outside partners and tell their husbands the details afterward.
Nipple Play
Nipple play can involve light touching, such as a kiss or stroke of the fingers, or more intense forms of nipple stimulation, such as pinching, biting, and/or the use of nipple clamps.
Praise Kink
Someone with a praise kink is aroused by being praised. The praise can be for performing sexual acts, or for other things, such as providing service.
Shoe Fetish
A person with a shoe fetish is turned on by certain types of shoes. A shoe fetishist may have a very specific fetish for a shoe, such as spiked heels, or for the act of seeing someone put on their preferred type of shoe.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is the corollary to exhibitionism and means being aroused by watching people in explicit scenarios. A voyeur may enjoy watching people who are specifically showing off (aka, engaging in exhibitionism), or by “peeping” someone who doesn’t know they’re being watched.
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