Is there a gene for fetishes?

[omnifeller]

What do you all think?
Do your parents or grandparents have tickle fetishes?

Personally, I'm not sure if my parents have a tickle fetish. I know my dad has a foot fetish, but that's it.

 

[:GothicTickles:]

I'm not sure about tickle fetishes, but I've heard that those with foot fetishes are people who as fetus's had their own feet too close to their genitals, and the attraction just came naturally. They say those who like breasts a lot were never breast fed. So, it all has to do with something early in childhood.

 

[GuldenVleugel]

They say those who like breasts a lot were never breast fed. So, it all has to do with something early in childhood.

I'm one of those who were never breast fed, and yes, I can be highly fixated on breasts. Doesn't proof anything of course.

 

[kingp]

My personal belief for what its worth

I don't think that there is a gene for a certain type of fetish, but I do believe there are certain genes that makes someone highly receptive to a fetish. I mean if you have the gene it doesn't mean you will get a fetish, but you probably will have a higher than average tendancy toward one.

 

[luv2tikl]

Freudian Theory

I actually kind of studied this in school this semester!

There's a theorist from a while back named Sigmund Freud, and he's came up with the best analysis of fetishism so far, at least I think so and so do most other people. But it actually derives psychologically. According to Freud, fetishism happens when a young boy realizes that his mother (or other female figure) doesn't have a penis (we're all adults here, lol), so he directs his attention somewhere else, such as a foot or something like tickling that he knows that both of them have in common.

I know it's not the most reliable source, but it matches what I learned in school, so here's what Wikipedia says, just search for the word Freud:
Sexual Fetishism

I gave this some thought, and then I remembered that when I was young, I was in constant denial that women didn't have penises... I simply wouldn't believe it! For some reason or another, it was shocking to me that they didn't. So, it makes a lot of sense to me and I think Freuds concept is at least somewhat true.

It doesn't comment on female fetishism, though...

So, in terms of the way we think, I think it is possible that there are genes that cause family members to think similarly, so, it's still quite possible that in some distant way, fetishism has a gene.

 

[Mostly Harmless]

I think there's almost nobody without some fetish; everyone has his own kinks.
But speaking exactly of tickling... no, looks like it's pure psychology. Childhood memories, something that had struck you in early ages...

 

[maniactickler]

I say no.

 

[ImNotDave]

Personaly, i think thing Freud was just a bit weird and had a sexual attraction to his OWN mother, and to make sure people didnt think he was odd, he made up all that bollocks about everybody's first sexual fixation is their parents...

 

[luv2tikl]

Personaly, i think thing Freud was just a bit weird and had a sexual attraction to his OWN mother, and to make sure people didnt think he was odd, he made up all that bollocks about everybody's first sexual fixation is their parents...

That's agreeable, he definitely was weird. Nonetheless, it still makes sense to me and a lot of others, while at the same time it doesn't to some people. Just like anyone else, you either agree with them or you don't.

 

[LindyHopper]

Personaly, i think thing Freud was just a bit weird and had a sexual attraction to his OWN mother, and to make sure people didnt think he was odd, he made up all that bollocks about everybody's first sexual fixation is their parents...

I might not have used the word "bollocks," but I pretty much agree. There is almost no scientific evidence that any of Freud's theories about psychosexual development are actually true.

Every young boy was sexually obsessed with his mother, wanted to kill and replace his father, and then repressed this knowledge so as an adult he wouldn't remember? Why this concept has such cultural staying power is a mystery to me.

 

[Coda]

I think it's possible, but my guess would be no because almost every fetish comes from the way you <I>think</I> about whatever thing you're fetishistic about, which can almost never be done without including an environment and a dynamic between people. A turn-on that requires this, seems like it has to be learned or taught or derived after birth.

(To support that, we all hear stories from people who can pinpoint the moment that "sparked" their fetish. For some it may not have been so instantaneous, but I'd say may still have been learned.)

 

[Redmage]

I doubt very much that there is a "fetish gene." There's no solid evidence of heritability that I know of. And in any case that's a remarkably complex set of behaviors to be coded genetically.

Now, it is possible that there is a biological or neurological basis for fetishes, but that's not the same thing as a genetic basis. A person's neurostructure gets most of its major elements in the womb and during the early years of childhood. That development is affected by a whole host of complex environmental factors, ranging from the mother's hormone levels during pregnancy to the child's early experiences and diet. The structures formed in this process affect that person's personality and behavior in significant ways later in life, including things like sexual orientation. However these things aren't genetic, and can't be passed to that person's children. To the extent that such effects are observed in multiple siblings it's most likely due to a consistent presence of the same environmental factors for each child in the family.

 

[nylonsnfeet]

Hmmmm...

I think it is perhaps a predisposition of sorts. Environment, & family life also. I received my "tickling conciousness" from T.V. when I was 4-5 yrs old. The woman in the scene was wearing nylons & growing up in the 60's-70's when the ladies wore dresses, painted toes, & nylons only helped further it along.