The human mind is a very mysterious thing. It can cause many people to develop very strange fetishes and paraphilias as they grow older, and it’s not quite understood why. Usually psychologists look to the childhoods of those who suffer from very intense attractions to bizarre things to try and find a connection, but it can be extremely difficult in many instances. Regardless of why they exist, here are some of the strangest of these fetishes and paraphilias that people experience:
Abasiophilia
Fetishes involve a person being attracted to and sexually aroused by an object. This fetish is interesting because it doesn’t just involve an object, but the person wearing the object. Basically, it means an attraction to a crippled or injured person who has to use a brace, wheelchair, or other orthopedic appliance. This fetish was common with those who grew up when polio was causing many to be confined to wheelchairs or to wear leg braces. Perhaps children who grew up to be abasiophiliacs took note of the extra attention that was showered upon these disabled people and grew attracted to the idea of the braces and chairs, or perhaps to them these people became more attractive because of their seeming popularity with those trying to accommodate them.
Apotemnophelia
This paraphilia is similar to the one above in that it involves the apotemnopheliac being attracted to an injury, except in this case the attraction is to being injured themselves. Basically, it is the desire to become an amputee. It may seem extremely bizarre to the rest of us, but apotemnopheliacs really get aroused by the thought of becoming or being seen as an amputee, and will even attempt to amputate limbs themselves or injure themselves so that a limb will have to be amputated. I recently saw an episode of one of the medical shows on the Discovery channel where a man was in the hospital because he had cut off his hand due to his intense desire to become an amputee, and he was begging the doctors not to try to reattach it. So as horrible as this very painful, body-altering urge may seem, it really does exist.
Mucophilia
This strange fetish involves an intense attraction to mucus. It seems pretty disgusting, but children do grow up sometimes with a fascination with their bodily fluids. Perhaps in some of them this interest goes a little too far and doesn’t wane as they grow older. Mucus is also similar to the fluids that are produced during sex, so there also could be some kind of connection there. There is a plus side to this gross fetish, however: cold and flu season could actually be kind of fun.
Somnophilia
This paraphilia involves being aroused by seeing sleeping or unconscious people or awakening them with erotic caresses and touches (and sometimes intercourse). Perhaps this fetish is one of the many where someone’s desire to feel powerful and in control is awakened when they see someone appear vulnerable. It is probably a fetish many people experience who become anxious during sex because of the face-to-face interaction or simply due to performance anxiety. When someone is asleep or unconscious, the somnophiliac doesn’t have to worry about interacting with that person, so they become more relaxed and the thought of sex becomes more appealing to them.
Telephonicophilia
I know a few people who have been on the receiving end of the act of a telephonicophiliac in the middle of the night. It’s a somewhat common fetish that involves making obscene phone calls to strangers, usually with sexual talk and foul language. They probably make these calls because they desire to talk this way to a sexual partner, but they simply don’t have one to do the talking to. While most telephonicophiliacs are harmless and enjoy simply making these calls to random strangers, the receiver of them could be rather shaken up, fearful that they have a stalker or that the person calling is someone they know. So if you receive a lot of calls like this, don’t be afraid to report them to the authorities.
Crush fetish
This fetish can be harmless, or it can be very disturbing or alarming. Crush fetish films are beginning to become common on the Internet, and while some simply portray women crushing a toy car or food with her feet, others show living insects or other small animals being stepped on and killed. These types of films portray animal cruelty and are illegal. This is a very odd and disturbing fetish that actually seems to have gained in popularity, and it is one of many that involving harming living things. If you or anyone you know have a fetish like this, it is best to seek psychiatric help.
Nyotaimori
This Japanese fetish has really taken off in the U.S., although here the practice has become more of a novelty than a sex act. It is being aroused eating sushi off of the body of a naked woman, and it is one of many fetishes that involve sex and food. Many people enjoy combining these two parts of life because they are both very pleasurable, so you get double the enjoyment by putting them together. There are many restaurants in the U.S. who use naked models with strategically placed dishes or leaves to serve sushi off of; you just have to enjoy your sushi at body temperature.
Tamakeri
This is another Japanese fetish, but it is a lot stranger than the one above. It is the sexual arousal of a man by being kicked in groin by woman. There are many fetishes and paraphilias that involve pain along with sex, which often involve biting, whipping, or spanking, but this one takes deriving pleasure from pain to a whole new level. But it really is more popular as a form of masochistic pornography (rather than actually experiencing the kick) that men enjoy watching and fantasizing about, probably imagining that they have testicles of steel.
Autaganistophilia
This is another fetish that has grown in popularity, thanks to devices like small digital cameras and webcams. It is arousal from being on stage or on camera, and it most often involves performing a sexual act. A number of celebrities have displayed an interest in this paraphilia, as can be seen by the many celebrity sex tapes of recent years. The webcam has also made this paraphilia more popular with the public; they can perform sexual acts on camera live in front of millions of viewers online. Our society has put a lot of emphasis on fame, so perhaps this has contributed to the growing popularity of this paraphilia.
Autassassinophilia
An autassassinophiliac derives pleasure from planning or staging his or her own murder. It may seem like a strange thing to enjoy, but many people do strange things in an effort to draw attention to themselves. There are many conditions that involve people inflicting harm on themselves or threatening to do so to make others feel sorry for them and pay attention to them. Death by murder often gets more attention than other forms of death, so an autassassinophiliac probably likes to imagine how much of this attention their murder and death would get. It is a catch 22, however; being murdered would get them the attention they desire, but they wouldn’t get to enjoy it. So this is why they simply like to plan and stage their murder and not actually go through with it.
These fetishes and paraphilias may seem bizarre to those of us who don’t have any, but to those who do, they are no different than the urge to have sex that is a normal part of life to most of us. While some of these are harmless, there are many that do inflict harm upon animals, other people, and even the paraphiliacs themselves. For these forms of fetishes and paraphilias, it is probably best to seek psychiatric help instead of acting upon them or just trying to learn to live with them on your own.
SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatolophilia#Alphabetized_list
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/autassassinophilia/intro.htm
