Sexual deviancy expert reveals his weirdest fetishes

Even for experts, the weird world of sex can be confusing.

Dr. Mark Griffiths is a social psychologist who studies paraphilias, a sexual trait commonly known as fetishism. In a new article for The Conversation, Griffiths, professor of behavioral addictions at Nottingham Trent University, reveals five of the most shocking sexual obsessions he has encountered in his research.

“[Paraphilias] Often accompanied by intense sexual arousal to non-conventional or non-sexual stimuli such as enemas (klismaphilia), statuary (agalmatophilia), teeth (odontophilia) and vomiting (emetophilia),” writes Griffiths, author of his new book Sexual Perversions and Paraphilia: A Kind of AZ” are now available for pre-order.

“To many people, paraphilia may seem strange or socially unacceptable, and it represents the extreme end of the sexual continuum – in some cases such as zoophilia (sex with animals) and Necrophilia (sex with dead people) may be illegal.”

Despite taboos, sexual fantasies, no matter how bizarre, are “fundamental” to human experience and more research into fetishes is “urgently needed”.

“Research on paraphilias, even the most objectionable or criminal ones, is vital to help protect vulnerable people,” said Griffiths. “Research can also help minimize cases of unusual sexual interests. people face discrimination and help ensure they have access to sexual health and psychological support that may be lacking.”

According to Griffith, the 5 weirdest fetishes are:

Bulimia

Perhaps one of the most high-profile examples of gluttony to date involves actor Armie Hammer, who was accused by her ex-girlfriend in 2021 of harboring cannibalistic fantasies. However, according to Griffiths, comparisons were made with the real-life Walla fetishists Armin Meiwes and Bernd Jürgen Brandes from Germany. Rumors of the “Call Me By Your Name” star’s meanest tendencies pale into insignificance.

Meiwes posted about 60 online ads looking for men willing to be eaten before meeting Bernd Jürgen Brandes in March 2002, who allowed Meiwes to bite off the tip of his penis so the two could kill Brandes before stabbing him to death. Eating meat together – they videotaped it all. Meiwes was convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence.

anal fetish

Griffith claims to have published the first case study of patients with bloating. The 22-year-old American from Illinois recalled his obsession with a girl who farted at school, telling Griffiths, “It blew my mind” [I] From a simple biological standpoint, girls fart, but hearing that the girls I’d been fawning over also farted gave me a strange fascination. “

As a teenager, he learned that his attraction to farts wasn’t limited to women, after he and a male friend agreed to settle regular bets by allowing the winner to fart in the loser’s face. “He lost one of these bets every few weeks for about two years,” Griffith wrote.

amputeephilia

Both real and imagined amputations are associated with acronymia. Some apotemophiles simply fantasize about being amputated or having sex with an amputee. However, Griffith said some people even try to trick surgeons into amputating limbs.

“This may seem like a form of masochism, but the case studies show that there is no eroticization of pain – only the healing amputated stump.”

Dacryophila

A lachrymophile becomes sexually aroused by tears. Griffith discovered three types of people who were obsessed with crying. Compassionate types are motivated by empathy; dominant/submissive types may trigger or experience crying during power plays; and “curled lip” tearers, whose focus is specifically on the subject’s protruding lower lip.

Halobacteria

Dirt and filth are the goals of halophiles, who are turned on by the sight of a dirty and untidy bed partner.

Griffiths wrote about a case study of a 58-year-old Australian man who, as a teenager, frequently masturbated in dusty or dirty places, such as a garage or under furniture. As he grew older, his obsession with filth also translated into companionship, although he found it “difficult to find like-minded women.”

His fetishes aren’t limited to strictly sexual contexts, he admits he’s also aroused by the disgusting reality competition show Fear Factor, in which contestants perform disgusting stunts for money. “I just find it erotic to defile an attractive woman’s body,” he told Griffith.