What's the difference between a fetish, a kink, and just really liking something? Where do fetishes come from? Niki Davis-Fainbloom’s entire job is to help people make peace with their fetish. She holds a masters in psychology, studied sex therapy at the Kinsey Institute & has been working with clients for 8 years. She’s also the author of Fetish: smash taboos & celebrate what turns you on. In this episode, you’ll hear about some of the more unusual fetishes, where fetishes come from, where we draw the line in ethical fetishes (Race? Disability? Yikes!), the difference between a kink & a fetish, why people hide what turns them on (& what happens when they don’t). If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 286: WHAT IS MEDICALLY ASSISTED SEX [REMASTERED]? Guest: https://a.co/d/0165o2Qg https://www.instagram.com/missbloomsexeducator/ https://www.facebook.com/niki.davis.7 https://www.nikidavisf.com/about-niki https://x.com/nikidavisf?lang=en Sponsors: https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/ 00:00:56 — What Actually Makes Something a Fetish (vs. Just Being a Preference) 00:03:50 — Fetish vs. Kink: What's the Difference? 00:04:27 — Unusual Fetishes: Vore, Macrophilia, and the Wet Floor Sign Guy 00:08:46 — Balloon Fetishes, Online Communities, and SizeCon 00:09:57 — Where Do Fetishes Come From? The Conditioning Theory 00:12:34 — The Baby Fetish, Pregnancy Kink, and Stress as a Factor 00:15:23 — Culture, Decades, and How Your Childhood TV Shapes Your Desires 00:17:02 — Japan's Panty Vending Machines: Normalization and the Fetish Question 00:19:47 — The Most Common Fetishes by Volume 00:21:21 — Sneezing Fetishes, Feet Everywhere, and the Can't-Unsee Phenomenon 00:25:15 — The Neuroscience of Foot Fetishes: Somatosensory Cortex and Amputation Studies 00:27:38 — Is There a Genetic Component? Dopamine, Novelty-Seeking, and Risk 00:30:11 — Disgust, Arousal, and Why Evolution Had to Make a Compromise 00:32:45 — Fetishes and Trauma: Separating Myth from Reality 00:34:28 — Rape Kink, Survivors, and Reclaiming Control 00:35:38 — Is Shame Part of What Makes a Fetish Work? 00:37:50 — Grindr at the RNC, Anti-Gay Preachers, and the Forbidden Fruit Effect 00:40:08 — Tools for Working Through Shame: Postponing Worry, Self-Compassion Letters 00:43:42 — How and When to Disclose Your Fetish to a Partner 00:50:51 — The Ethics of Fetishes: Race, Disability, and Objectification 00:55:21 — DSM Paraphilias, Non-Consent, and Where People Can Get Help 00:57:31 — AI Romantic Partners, Dirty Talk Experiments, and the Capitalism Interruption 01:02:32 — Niki's Documentary, the Book, and Where to Find Her Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/ Follow me in all the places: https://www.meredithforreal.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/ meredith@meredithforreal.com https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert
