I believe that it's natural for people to look down on fetishes initially. It's considered the norm, to my experience, to only be attracted to coitus and other forms of foreplay. When anything else comes into play, whether that is tickling, foot fetishism, BDSM or anything, people are hesitant. It's not what's been drilled to them. You don't learn about fetishes in sex ed when you're 12. And because fetishes change from person to person, even those within the same fetish. it becomes difficult for people to relate to one another. And of course, and perhaps this is the most important point, people are afraid to be labeled "weird," especially by those who they care about. I've noticed that people who are forward about their fetish, or their orientation, they have an easier time than those who hide it and hint at it.
And that's my explanation on why people, myself included, are closed about their fetish.
Why do I have a fetish for tickling? I think I've had it as a child. It's how God wired my brain. Ever since I was a child, I would notice how funny I would feel if I watched someone on TV (April O'Neill, anyone?) get tickled. I would get the strangest tingling feeling, and being that I was only nine, I had no idea what it was. At the same time, I was terrified of being tickled until I was in my teens. Maybe it was my brain trying to repress it; maybe it was because my sexuality was peaking out of my little body and I certainly was too young to interpret it. Who knows? As I've said in other forums, I spent a good amount of time thinking I was "sick" and "fucked up." I think that's because I didn't understand it. Now I embrace it, which is why I responded to this post in the first place.
So, through all that garbage, what did I actually say? Fetishes are not genetic. Fetishes happen to people and there may be some Freudian explanation for it, but does it really matter? If you enjoy it, then you enjoy it. I understand the embarrassment. But think about it: if everyone had a tickling fetish, would you be shy about it? Probably not. it's because it's not widely accepted as a norm that we question why we have it and why we hide it. Screw that. I say enjoy it.