What are the fetishes. What are the types of fetish? Types of fetishes and their psychological significance

Fetishism is a multifaceted concept that must be considered from different angles. Most often, its sexual variety is heard. This is a form of heightened arousal when interacting with an object that is special to another person. It's a fetish. What are the types of fetishism, how to live with a fetishist and is it necessary to fight? So far there are more questions than answers. Let's take a closer look.

The meaning of the word "fetishism"

Fetishism with Portuguese means "magic". The word is used in two meanings:

• As a kind of religious act, the worship of an inanimate object. Such objects are called fetish. In this case, fetishism is an element of archaic beliefs and religion.
• The second meaning of fetishism is a kind of sexual perversion, which is characterized by sexual attraction to inanimate objects. By themselves, they have no erotic or exciting value. Usually, objects symbolize or belong to a sexual partner.

Some elements of fetishism are normal in people's sexual lives. However, objects that evoke a complex of erotic feelings are only a reminder of a real sexual partner.

But with perverted fetishism, an object (fetish) is an independent object of attraction that replaces sexual intercourse. In this case, the emotional connection between both partners is destroyed. The fetish triggers the mechanism for erotic fantasies.

Various manipulations are carried out with the fetish: olfactory, tactile and sexually playful.

Sometimes a fetish can be skin color, a shoe, an item of clothing, a scar, etc. However, in these cases, fetishism is combined with masochism.

Where did fetishism come from?

This term was first introduced by the French explorer Charles de Brosse in the 18th century. He described religious evolution with this concept. Then researchers from other fields of science paid attention to this interesting phenomenon.

Later, the phenomenon of "anti-fetishism" was discovered. It means certain items (clothing, the smell of a sexual partner) that block sexual arousal.

Fetishism is a sexual perversion. Most often found in men.

Many fetishes have emerged from random associations between an object (situation) and sexual satisfaction. It is impossible to say unequivocally when and under what circumstances this relationship will arise.

The essence of fetishism

The fetishist receives psychological, mental, sexual satisfaction when he takes possession of the object of attraction. He inhales his scent and gets excited.

Typical fetish objects:

• Underwear;
• shoes;
• body parts;
• aromas (most often this is the natural body odor of another person);
• inanimate objects (fur, uniform);
• photograph of an adored object;
• actions or conditions (pregnancy, physical deformities, breastfeeding, etc.).

In Japan, sexual fetishism is a real business. Any girl can donate used underwear to be sold in sex shops. Earnings are strange, but there is a place.

Fetishism - is it a norm or a pathology?

Many people are interested in this question. The difference between the norm and the disease is that the object must be used as a stimulus to achieve sexual satisfaction. But if the object is already the ultimate goal of sexual interest, then this is pathology.

Many doctors are of the opinion that fetishism is almost impossible to cure. Because this phenomenon is deeply embedded in the human psyche.

Causes of fetishism

Until the end, the causes of fetishism have not yet been studied. Almost every person has a stimulus to which he reacts strongly. Consequently, all people are predisposed to fetishism from birth. Many scientists and psychologists argue that fetishism as a disease begins to develop in early childhood. Of course, the reason lies in deep childhood experiences. Preceding the development of fetishism is a situation that is associated with great sexual arousal or satisfaction. Some researchers believe that the disease begins at a young age, when a teenager begins to actively masturbate.

Symptoms of fetishism

Fetishism is most often a deviation. Consider the general signs of this phenomenon:

• unusual obsessions that interfere with traditional sexual intercourse (for example, sexual intercourse should occur only in one position and after drinking a lot of alcohol);
• fetishists are not ready to try other ways of satisfaction. They are used to performing certain rituals. And the disorder does not allow you to fully enjoy intimacy;
• fetishists manipulate inanimate objects, showing erotic fantasies of a sexual nature.

No less interesting are the specific signs of fetishism:

• the use of devices that are designed for tactile stimulation of the genital organs (vibrators, sex toys);
• addiction to masturbate with his reflection in the mirror. In this case, the fetish is one's own body;
• the tendency to wear costumes of the same gender, but which correspond to a different culture, social class and time;
• sexual arousal from wearing the clothes of another person of the same sex;
• addiction to sexual games;
• fetishists are attracted to the deformations of the human body (to cripples, overweight people);
• sexual attraction to people who have a different skin color;
• fetishists get aroused by the smell of their sexual partner (a natural smell produced by the skin or a perfume scent);
• fondness for props or shoes made of leather.

The importance of the fetish increases with age. Gradually, fetishism becomes the main condition under which sexual satisfaction is achieved.

Types of fetishism

Few people know, but there are a huge number of types and options for fetishes:

Let's take a closer look at other types of fetishism:

Necrophilia, pedophilia, apothemnophilia (the desire to amputate one's own limbs in order to gain satisfaction) and other deviations require the immediate intervention of a psychiatrist.

strange attraction

Fetishism in sexology is a fairly common phenomenon. However, there are certain types of fetishism from which you will be shocked. The most unexpected fetishes:

And this is only a small part of the strangest attraction.

When should you contact a specialist?

Many sexologists believe that fetishism is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to cure. In some cases, this is even impossible.

Patients turn to a sexologist with one goal - to diversify intimate relationships with a partner. The other halves of fetishists are ready to accept their pathological feature. Many go to the doctor to get confirmation that there is nothing dangerous in the behavior of a fetish partner. When both partners accept the situation, then fetishism is not dangerous.

Psychology as a science says that if a partner obsessively conducts rituals, then this is already a problem. In this case, it is not worth treating the fetishist with love. It's useless. It is better to seek professional qualified help.

Treatment

Fetishists usually do not seek help from a specialist. They consider their rituals intimate and personal.

When dangerous forms of fetishism appear (necrophilia - attraction to corpses, coprophilia - sexual interest in feces, masochism), then the only way out is to see a doctor.

With this pathology, almost all types of psychotherapy are used, namely: behavioral, reorientation, psychoanalysis, aversion therapy.

Treatment of fetishism is most often ineffective. Since almost all patients do not want to change something in their lives and do not recognize the problem.

How to live with a fetishist?

If the guy is a fetishist and in a relationship this phenomenon is unacceptable, it is dangerous for others and illegal, then you need the help of a professional. Often this phenomenon is a form of manifestation of mental illness.

But if your partner does not do illegal things, then perceive his actions as part of his creative implementation. If you don't like it when your partner tries on your underwear or tramples on all your shoes, then go to a psychologist together.

However, many couples accept their partner's attraction and play along. There are no ideal people. Therefore, your indulgence is the only way to save the relationship.

Posypanova O. Economic psychology: psychological aspects consumer behavior

Chapter 6

Hermeneutics of commodity fetishism

Problem field of research

At the present stage of the socio-economic development of the country, consumerism, coupled with the instability of meaningful life orientations, leads to an increase in the importance of external paraphernalia of life, the emergence of goods endowed in the mind of the individual with supernatural properties, super-meanings - fetishes. And if in large cities money fetishism prevails (the attitude to money as a supervalue), then in the provinces it is commodity fetishism: personification, sacralization, the cult of selected things, endowing them with supersignificance and supermeanings. And the most “vulnerable” category of people in this matter are teenagers, since it is at this age that the peak of socialization, including consumer socialization, is observed. "Baubles", talismans, "happy" things like petty fetishes, a computer, mobile phone, some wardrobe items (if they are over-valued) as large fetishes - become an integral addition to the personality of a teenager.
The rapid development of business leads to the emergence of an important artifact: an ambiguous, even neurotic, attitude towards goods. The thing, instead of being a background, a means for human life, began to increasingly cause two extremes in its perception: ignoring the world of things (as a consequence of the socialist mentality) and commodity fetishism as a rebirth of a primitive religion, when a person revered certain stones, shells, figurines .
The psychological side of this issue is poorly represented in science today. The founders of the study of fetishism were K. Marx, Z. Freud and culturologists studying primitive religions, but each of them considered fetishism from different angles.
There is a social problem associated with commodity fetishism. In the socialist period of the development of Russia, the main social, ideological fetishes of adolescents (fetishism - the veneration of individual objects) were a pioneer tie and a Komsomol badge. Individual fetishes, as a rule, were stamps, candy wrappers, badges and other collectibles. For some young people, Beatles records, jeans, Marlboro cigarettes, and a Karpaty moped were fetishes. At the current stage of the socio-economic development of the country, and mainly its regions, the first of these fetishes have lost their relevance due to the disappearance of the mass teenage cult, and the second, individual ones, due to the hyperavailability of resources and, as a result, the loss of interest in them. But other fetishes have arisen, of completely different directions: for some it is a mobile phone that a person never parted with, for someone it is a T-shirt with the image of a musical idol ... From conversations with teachers in Kaluga schools, it was revealed that some teenagers constantly “hello” with a computer, others write only with a “happy pen” on the control, etc. Communication with the world of things for Kaluga teenagers has become as important as communication with the world of people. Supplementing, and sometimes replacing personal meanings with consumer ones, is becoming a frequent occurrence for adolescents. Many individuals, going through adolescence, pay excessive attention to objects, things, sometimes even humanizing them.
In science, depending on the field of application of fetishes, several types of fetishism are distinguished: commodity, erotic (sexual), religious, superstitious, monetary. We considered only commodity fetishism, that is, the personification of selected goods and giving them super-meanings. Since goods, according to K. Marx, are the main form of social ties in a capitalist society, there is nothing surprising in commodity fetishism in the modern province.
In modern science, there is a bias in the study of fetishism in two near-psychological areas: sexology (erotic fetishism) and parapsychology (talismans, amulets as fetishes). Here there is an echo of fetishism as a primitive syncretic religion. Meanwhile, both Z. Freud, and K. Marx, and culturologists, who stood at the origins of the study of fetishism and considered it from completely different angles, were by no means talking about such borderline cases.
The tendency of fetishism to be closed from science seems dangerous, since the replacement of social relations by commodity ones and the personification of things during the period of active socialization can lead to irreversible changes in the child's psyche. We will not see these consequences immediately, but in 10-15 years, when modern children, who grew up in the period of active development of capitalism, will enter adulthood. In a few years, we may have a generation that measures friendship, love, kindness, success, and other eternal values ​​through their material carriers.

General and special in the interpretation of commodity fetishism in psychology, religious studies, cultural studies

As part of the theoretical analysis, we have identified the general and the particular in the understanding of the term by different authors. This seems necessary, since there is no single interpretation of the term "fetishism" in science.
Unfortunately, the works devoted to modern commodity fetishism are mainly of a philosophical nature. Philosophers V.B. Holofast, V.S. Magun, A.Yu. Sogomonov, I.I. Travin, V.N. Toropov, considered the cult of things in Soviet society, offering several classifications of attitudes towards them. Philosophers of economic orientation J. Baudrillard, P. Bourdieu, M. Moss, M. Foucault studied the system of things in a market society. Religious scholars, culturologists, historians consider fetishism as a primitive religion, but in this study we are only interested in those of their developments that relate to the history of the emergence of the term and the subjectivity of relations to fetishes. A. and B. Strugatsky dedicated it to the cult of things from their works “Predatory things of the century”.
Abroad, commodity fetishism is considered extremely little, but nevertheless, this problem is indicated in psychology, and in healthcare practice, and in economics, and in art history. Some reduce fetishes only to talismans and consider their parapsychological role. Others consider only the extreme degree of commodity fetishism, and, along with sexual fetishism, consider it as a perversion. Still others equate fetishism with collecting. We believe that collecting is a form of fetishism. Much more significant are single fetishes.
In the West, commodity fetishism is presented from the standpoint of art history (David Hawkes and Judith Mayne), from the standpoint of clinical psychology in the USA (Malcolm Ashmore, Katie MacMillan, Steven D. Brown), in France (S. Dupont, L. Goldsztaub, Randy Martin), from the standpoint of economics (Christy Desmet, Nicolás Kosoy, Esteve Corbera. But there are no modern psychological studies on this issue both in Russia and abroad. Moreover, the problem of fetishism in adolescents is not presented at all.
The hermeneutics of fetishism seems to be significant for concretizing the term, so a comparative analysis of the definitions was needed. Historians, religious scholars and culturologists believe that a fetish in a primitive society is a natural or artificial material object endowed in the beliefs of believers with supernatural spiritual power and magical abilities that help its owner achieve goals and protect the owner from damage and disease. The cult of such objects - fetishism - was widespread among almost all primitive peoples. Idols and talismans were the most important fetishes in primitive religions.
The word "fetish" appeared in European languages ​​in the 15th century, originally in Holland they called the accessories of Catholic use - relics of saints, miraculous rosaries and similar religious shrines. After a trip to West Africa, Dutch travelers began to apply this term to all objects (pillars, pieces of wood, pebbles and large stones, claws, feathers, etc.), which the Negroes treated as deities, with faith in their miraculous power .
This word became a scientific term thanks to the Dutch traveler W. Bosman at the beginning of the 18th century. The French scholar Ch. de Brosse, in his work On the Cult of the Fetish Gods (1760; Russian translation On Fetishism, 1973), studied fetishism in the religions of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Prokhorov A.M. notes that he misunderstood the very nature of fetishism and gave it too broad a meaning. By fetish, de Brosse understood "everything that a person chooses as an object of worship, for example, a tree, a mountain, a sea, a piece of wood, a lion's tail, a pebble, a shell, salt, a plant, a fish, a flower, some animals, like cows, goats, elephants, sheep, etc.". O. Comte further expanded the term "fetishism", denoting by it the animistic view of primitive man on the objects of the material world and the entire primitive cult in general. Lippert, Basian P. Holbach, G. Hegel, J. Lebbon also interpreted fetishism too broadly - as an archaic form of religion associated with ignorance. As a result, the term has expanded so much that Jevons proposes to completely abolish it, as it is frightening with its vagueness.
But E.B. Taylor G. Spencer, narrow it down by insisting that fetishes are only material objects, containers of the spirit. In Bengal, carpenters worship the ax, saw, drill, barbers worship the razor, mirror, scissors, scribes worship their inkwell and quills, etc.
Prokhorov A.M. complements this information: any object that for some reason struck the imagination of a person could become a fetish. Features of fetishism have survived to our time in the form of amulets, amulets, talismans. Fetishism has survived in modern religions - the veneration of the black stone in Mexico (Islam), the cross and relics (Christianity).
Most compilers of explanatory dictionaries, philologists (for example, Efremova T.F., Ozhegov S.I.) agree that fetish in modern, figurative meaning It is an inanimate object endowed with supernatural properties. The most common fetishes are amulets, amulets, talismans. This basic definition differs slightly in explanatory dictionaries. In addition, most authors of dictionaries and encyclopedias, for example, Ushakov D.N., Ozhegov S.I., note that a fetish is something that is the subject of unconditional recognition, blind worship. (bookish, disapproving). Note that in our empirical study, it turned out that fetishes are not worshipped. They are honored, respected, adored, they feel bad without them. But this is not worship. This is over-importance.
IN AND. Dahl defines a fetish only as an idol, an idol. Indeed, fetishes are idols both in primitive society and now.
Fetishism is defined by most scientists as a special belief system, which is the worship of material objects, which are attributed supernatural properties. Note that for modern fetishism, the word “attributed” becomes important. It is also important that this broad definition is convenient both for considering fetishism as an early form of religion, and as a modern cult of things.
Judith Mayne, who explores feminism in America, Italy, France and other Western European countries, explored German movie star Marlene Dietrich's passion for Chinese dolls and spoke in terms of fetishism about the central role of one of the black dolls in the prosperity of the actress in the profession. "Dietrich, this icon of sophistication and glamour, was the proud owner of a black doll that she called her talisman and took it everywhere during her career." This doll even "starred" in four films. The actress believed that her dolls bring her good luck and ward off misfortunes. And in many photo shoots, she is captured with a Chinese doll.
For most people in modern society, fetishes are all kinds of things (cell phones, cars, clothes, etc.), where the price for the name of a fetish grows incomparably with the growth in the quality of this technique, but this thing is the subject of unconditional recognition in the social circle of this individual. Thus, we believe that modern fetishism can be considered an echo of primitive religion. But a fetish is not a return to primitive forms of thinking, but a return to human origins in stressful situations.
At the end of the 19th century, at about the same time, the theory of fetishism by K. Marx and Binet's work "On Fetishism in Love" appeared. Fetishism as a sexual deviation was first classified in 1887 in Binet's work "On Fetishism in Love". In psychoanalysis, the narrowest concept is used, denoting a fetish inanimate objects or body parts to which the fetishist's love is directed, or which are for him a symbol of love. The dynamics and unconscious aspects of fetishism are covered by Z. Freud in two monographs published in 1905 and 1927. He showed that a fetish is a specific form of unconscious fantasies that act as a defense against awareness of intersexual problems.
Studying the hermeneutics of fetishism, we found, for example, several quotations demonstrating the wide scope and topicality of the term in different years. Here are some of them: “Civilization is a fetish for them. But her idea is inaccessible to them. (Tyutchev F.I.) "For us, history is no longer a fetish, we are building it according to plan." (M. Gorky) “Science is called science because it does not recognize fetishes ... Are we really going to bow before an icon and make an icon out of it, a fetish?” (I. Stalin. Speech at the 1st All-Union Conference of Stakhanovites)

Commodity fetishism: idols of the market and modern idolatry

Karl Marx coined the term "commodity fetishism" to explain the basics of economics. He defines commodity fetishism as the reification of production relations between people in the conditions of commodity production, based on private property. And vice versa: commodity fetishism, in his opinion, also means the personification of things, economic categories.
A.P. Ogurtsov supplements this opinion: commodity fetishism is a process, characteristic of a commodity-capitalist society, of endowing the products of labor with supernatural properties (self-increasing value, etc.), due to the reification of social relations and the personification of things.
Mizhenskaya E.F., as well as Khandruev A.A., believe that commodity fetishism is giving goods a special, magical power, considering them as the main, determining regulator, a factor not only economic, but also all relations between people, replacing human relations between goods.
The semantic analysis of most definitions in economic dictionaries (we will not enumerate for monotony) is defined in a short version as commodity fetishism as endowing goods with supernatural, magical properties. It is interesting that the word "magical", once used by Marx only for persuasiveness, coupled with the interpretation of fetishism as a primitive religion, "migrated" into a huge number of economic dictionaries and jarred the meaning of the term. Endowing objects with magical properties, their sacralization, consecration are inherent not only in religious consciousness, but also various forms“secular” consciousness (alchemy, bourgeois political economy, especially in its vulgar form, etc.) ”- believed K. Marx.
The essence of commodity fetishism, according to A.A. Khandruev, is that the element public relations, dominating over people, outwardly appears in the form of domination over them by certain things. Hence the mystical attitude to the commodity as to a supernatural force, generated by the commodity form, which covers the dependence of commodity producers on the market.
Meanwhile, K. Marx noted that commodity fetishism is a historical phenomenon and is of an objective nature. It reaches its highest development under capitalism, where commodity-money relations become the absolute and universal form of economic activity. The reification of economic relations between people is determined by the peculiarities of the organization of social production, and not by the natural properties of the things themselves. K. Marx noted that "this fetishistic nature of the world of commodities is generated ... by the peculiar social nature of labor that produces commodities." Let us add: if the development of fetishism in Russian society, which has embarked on the path of a market economy, cannot be prevented, then it must at least be studied and directed in the right direction.
K. Marx notes that economic relations between people in the conditions of commodity production, based on private property, are necessarily clothed in the form of social relations between things. There is a so-called reification of production relations.
According to K. Marx, the basis of commodity fetishism is the spontaneous development of production, such a state of society when a person cannot master the social forces created by himself. As a result, not only things, but also relations between people, alienated from them and dominating them, acquire a commodity form.
K. Marx first analyzed fetishism as one of the early forms of religion, the “religion of sensual desires”, which is characterized by bondage to objects, the transformation of human ideas into the properties of the thing itself. Subsequently, with the development of his socio-economic theory, K. Marx considers fetishism as a structural element of the social consciousness of an antagonistic formation.
For K. Marx, fetishism is not only a general and constant element of religion, but also of a number of forms of consciousness that are far from religion in the proper sense of the word. In the religious world “... the products of the human brain are presented as independent beings, endowed with their own lives, standing in certain relationships with people and with each other. The same thing happens in the world of goods with the products of human hands. This is what I call fetishism ... ".
K. Marx, according to A.P. Ogurtsova connects fetishism with the fusion of the cultural and social functions of a thing with its material substrate. In this case, the fetish becomes a kind of magical means designed to ensure the achievement of the desired result, i.e., the product of the activity becomes a "sensual-supersensible thing."
The historian Kharchevnikov A.T. notes that K. Marx associated commodity fetishism with the reification of social entities, with the personification of things and the reification of persons, with the commodity-money impersonalization of people by things. The dominant value here is consumer things, mentally dissected into life meanings like a commodity, money. In itself, this value is completely neutral, but it is precisely as dominating all the values ​​of human existence that it acts as fetishism. “Fetishism”, of course, is a metaphor borrowed by Marx from the residual forms of the still arch-religious xenophobia.
Of course, "commodity fetishism" is already unconditionally post-religious. And if Marx spoke about the post-religious nature of fetishism, meaning that it is a continuation of the primitive religion of the same name, then Kharchevnikov A.T. notes another aspect of post-religiousness: for the constant support of the new cult, so to speak, idols, icons and temples are not needed, widespread advertising and shop windows are quite enough.
Therefore, adds N. Tyapkin, under socialism the goods remain, but commodity fetishism disappears. In a broader, although, of course, also metaphorical sense, “fetishism” is such a perverted ideologization of thinking, language, ideas, conditioned by dominant relations, which conscientiously and tautologically serves precisely these relations.
It is interesting that scientists of the USSR period had a sharply negative attitude towards fetishism: “Fetishism permeates all economic categories of capitalist society ... Under socialism, under the dominance of public ownership of the means of production, relations between people are not veiled by relations between things, but are of a planned nature, therefore commodity fetishism disappears” .
We consider commodity fetishism to be a bipolar, ambivalent phenomenon. The main negative meaning of this personification of things is going into the world of things to the detriment of relationships with other people, measuring the significance of another person through the prism of his things: clothes, car, etc. The main positive value is the psychotherapeutic value of fetishes (see the section "functions of fetishes")
The worship of hungry people to the Golden Calf described in the Old Testament is perhaps one of the first and clearest examples of commodity fetishism.
David D. and Jerry J. believe: "since commodities are the main form of social ties in a capitalist society, there is nothing surprising in the tendency to fetishism." This opinion complements and even somewhat contradicts the majority of domestic scientists, who consider the relic of early forms of religion to be the main idea of ​​the emergence of fetishism.

Associated types of fetishism

Mizhenskaya E.F. other economists believe that one type of commodity fetishism is money fetishism. Raizberg B.A. distinguishes it as a separate type. Money, acting as a universal equivalent, a commodity of all goods in the world, becomes not only the embodiment of wealth, but also a sign of dominance over social relations, a symbol of the power of some people over others. The endowment of money with supernatural properties reflects the real process of the reification of social forces and the domination of these forces over society and over the individual.
Political scientist V. Martynenko also highlights currency fetishism. At the dawn of the last century, banking analyst A. Evtyushkin began to sound the alarm in connection with the ambiguous and complex attitude of people towards bank cards and the system of online payments via the Internet. It is fashionable to use plastic cards in mass quantities and he called it "technological fetishism."
Pitirim Sorokin singled out “verbal fetishism.” Analyzing the revolution back in 1917, he wrote: “Among many facts characterizing the mental life of savages, the fact of word fetishism is known - the belief in the identity of a word with the object denoted by it - belief in the magical effect of words, formulas and spells. Fosse says that for the ancient Assyro-Babylonians "the name and the object meant the same thing", "to mention the desired is to give birth to it, to speak of misfortune is to cause it." From here came prayers, conspiracies and spells. On the same side of primitive psychology are based such phenomena as the past disputes between the Nikonians and schismatics over the word Jesus or Jesus, as the recent revolt of the Athos "name-slavers" ... This fetishism of words runs like a red thread through the entire mental history of mankind ... and Apparently it hasn't disappeared to this day." P. Zorin also speaks about verbal fetishism.
Christy Desmet identifies “reading on the Internet as a fetish. N. Oblique and EE. Korberas (Nicolás Kosoy, Esteve Corbera) view ecosystems as a fetish.
French clinical psychologists S. Dupont and L. Goldstab (S. Dupont, L. Goldsztaub) are the only ones who have studied cases of fetishism in adolescents and their connection with phobias associated with their body. They consider fetishism a kind of neurosis. They found a structural continuity between phobic objects and fetishes at the level of psychopathology. The authors introduce such a concept as a "negative fetish" - a significant object or even an organ of one's body (associated with dysmorphophobia), which is perceived negatively. Or in other words, a hyper-significant and negatively-colored object. They introduced the term "fetishization of phobic symptoms" - when a teenager creates a cult of his illness. For example, with digestive disorders, which are possible due to the restructuring of the body in adolescents, he raises his stomach to the level of a fetish. And "fixed" on the problems of his digestion. The structure of phobic symptoms is mirrored, inversely related to fetishistic symptoms.
Interestingly, the types and subspecies of fetishism are created not by science, but by life. Thus, such a type of fetishism as "apple fetishism" appeared. This term has become entrenched among fans of the company "Apple", which produces digital equipment.
An analysis of Internet forums made it possible to single out such “folk” types of fetishism as (the names were invented by fetishists) telephone fetishism, fur fetishism, computer fetishism as the highest level of loyalty, commitment to a type of product or brand.
American zoologists call objects taken from the nests of crows and magpies fetishes.
Petr Zorin, a psychologist from St. Petersburg, gives the following interpretation: a fetish is an object or symbol behind which any idea, desires, knowledge or any events are implied. For example, a fetish might be the Star of David - or Magen David (shield of David), which is currently the symbol of Judaism and the emblem of the State of Israel, and is also known as the seal of Solomon. The symbol of Christianity is the Cross-crucifixion, which carries the idea of ​​the sacrifice that Jesus Christ brought for the salvation of mankind. Religious rituals are also a fetish, which used to be a kind of language for communicating with transcendent forces. In the future, this meaning was lost, and only the external form remained.
Since ancient times, fetishism has included all sorts of symbols denoting the difference between one people from another, one religion from another, and the position of a person on the social ladder, which has not lost its significance to this day. Hence the various flags, coats of arms, titles, awards.
Petr Zorin believes that a fetish connects a person with the beyond, however, such a connection becomes possible when the fetish is sufficiently “prayed”. For example, considers praying icons. When an icon has just come out from under the icon painter's brush, it is still only a drawing, and in order for it to become prayerful, it is necessary that it acquire a connection with a person and with those forces that a person addresses through an icon.
Thus, P. Zorin considers fetishes based only on their symbolic function. We believe that it is not logical to define “symbol” and “fetish” as synonyms, since a fetish is always a symbol of something, but a symbol is far from always a fetish. And the listed fetish resources can also include emotions, feelings and memories.
And in the Chinese philosophy "Tao-Te Ching", and in Japanese, and in Martin Heidegger, we find a sacred understanding of things. The thing of Chinese culture is alive and universal, spiritual and animated. Thus, the line between animate and inanimate nature in the category of “thing” is erased, and not in the direction of the reification of the living, but in the direction of the animation of the inanimate. This finds support in the European philosophy of the 20th century: Heidegger, rethinking Heraclitus, says: “By substantiating, a thing allows a collection of four to abide - earth and sky, deities and mortals - in the mono-complexity of their own single four.” Ancient Chinese philosophy, both Taoist and Confucian, not only included the word “thing” in its lexicon, but also built a “philosophy of the thing”, which, in short, consisted in the fact that every “thing”, from small to great, created by man, whether natural-cosmic, carries the Tao. The word "thing" (mono) for the Japanese is almost as comprehensive as the word "God" for the Christian world, for any man-made and non-man-made "thing" in traditional Japanese culture is a sensual, material or spiritual embodiment of the Tao absolute.
David Hawkes draws a parallel between idolatry in modern marketing society and in the Renaissance (1580-1680), believing that society has changed, so have idols: before it was religion, chivalry, and now goods and advertising. But the mechanism of idolatry then and now is the same. On our own behalf, we add: after all, the attributes of a pioneer organization, the attributes of business and the attributes of any of the religions largely coincide. They just look different. There are even saints in each of the three directions, only in the first and second versions - these are portraits of leaders and honor boards. But in fact - they are called to play the role of an iconostasis. You can continue indefinitely: a hymn and chants, a pioneer badge, the logo of the organization and a cross ...
Through a subtle and original way of reading Shakespeare, Herbert, Donne, Milton, Thraen, and anti-theatrical controversy, David Hawkes sheds light on early versions of idolatry, financial value, and trade. Hawkes argues that the Renaissance in England led to a reified, fetishistic state of consciousness that manifested itself in such phenomena as religious idolatry, commodity fetishism, and carnal sensuality.
Golofast V.B. based on the works of A.Yu. Sogomonova, I.I. Travina, J. Baudrillard, P. Bourdieu identifies three different types (modes) of people's attitudes towards things. In the industrial and early industrial society, things were in short supply, they were a collective value. People adapted to every thing. In the second mode, the attitude towards things becomes much more situational, they are considered as helpers, partners in social interaction. The thing turns into a functional component of the usual, routine human activity, their replacement becomes regular (up to a one-time use). Things rapidly "multiply", serve more private, special needs. Instead of the symbolism of status, biography, identity, there is a symbolism of rank, wealth. The “I can afford it” attitude becomes possible. Instead of reflecting factuality, history and reality, things begin to reflect the claims and capabilities of their owner. A new trend is emerging - the disintegration of life, in which the relationship between a person and a specific thing becomes insignificant.
The third stage (typological regime) is characterized by the fact that the consumer society is receding into the past. The very foundations of the former regime of man's relation to things have been undermined. Although the machine of mass production of mass things is still working on a global scale, and all new generations of familiar and previously unseen things continue to flood the market, but the stratification of things has already been shaken, the stratification of things has been destroyed - a situation where functional, or branded, categories of things exist as in a very simple, cheap , and in a very complex and expensive design (for example, what the utopians of the 19th century dreamed of - a bath of gold).
Golofast V.B. notes that in comparison with the Soviet period of life, consumer alienation is now observed, the desacralization of all aspects of the cultural status of things. We add that against this background, the sacred meaning of some selected things, in order to maintain psychological homeostasis, cannot but become hyperbolized, i.e. now, in the post-Soviet period, continuing the ideas of V. B. Golofast, we state: fetishism could not but arise.
Sexologist Valery Saltykov identifies the following types of non-sexual fetishism.
spiritual fetishism. A spiritual fetish is a specific visible object, devoid of spiritual content, and this spiritual content is filled by the fetishist himself, and what forms it will take depends on the gender, age, upbringing and even the degree of education of a particular individual. Women, as a rule, use various kinds of jewelry, amulets as fetishes, giving them the ability to bring good luck and even happiness. A man, as a more pragmatic man, needs a fetish only for identification either with a particular life situation, or for associations with a particular place, an object or a person. Take, for example, conversations with the monuments of loved ones in the cemetery, or how I talk to my car as to an object endowed with a soul. In childhood, toys are often used for this. Believers use icons or other objects of worship for this purpose, but the goal of any possible option is to give any object a spiritual content.
Religious fetishism. Many objects of religious worship are also initially not endowed with any properties, that is, they are not originally fetishes, but in the process they can become such. For example, holy water, up to a certain point it is just a liquid substance and nothing more, but on the announced day it becomes a carrier of a positive or negative mental field that can heal, disinfect and transfer information. This is what fetishism is in the highest phase of its development - collective.
Personal fetishism. A personal fetish is more like an idol, an idol, well, and fetishists of this kind are called fans. (For example, "Spartak is a champion!") Flags, scarves, pipes, flags, T-shirts with inscriptions. And they just pray for an autographed postcard. The same alignment is for actors, singers, athletes, well, for everyone who is in sight, regardless of the real essence of the people behind the acquired image. In order to worship and honor such personal fetishes, whole armies of fans gather, who not only try to collect things and images of their idol, but also try to be like him in everything. If belief in some idol could hold out longer, or someone with money would decide to support the idol, then under certain circumstances a new religion could be born, and personal fetishes would turn into religious ones.

Marx K. Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 23, p. 98, c.410.
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Marx K., Theories of surplus value (I volume of "Capital"),

Raizberg B. A., Lozovsky L. Sh., Starodubtseva E. B. Money fetishism //. Modern economic dictionary. 5th ed., revised. and additional — M.: INFRA-M, 2007. — 495 p.

Sorokin P. A. Sociocultural dynamics and evolutionism // American Sociological Thought / Ed. IN AND. Dobrenkov. M., 1996.
Sorokin Pitirim Notes of a sociologist. Verbal fetishism of the revolution // "The Will of the People", October, 1917, No. 136 (electronic version)

Desmet Christy Reading the Web as Fetish // Computers and Composition, Volume 18, Issue 1, 1st Quarter 2001, Pages 55-72

Kosoy Nicolás, Corbera Esteve Payments for ecosystem services as commodity fetishism // Ecological Economics, Volume 69, Issue 6, 1 April 2010, Pages 1228-1236

Dupont S., Goldsztaub L. Fetichisme phobile dans le rapport de l'adolescent a son corps: endroit et envers d'une meme symptomatology // Neuropsychiatrie de l "Enfance et de l" Adolescence, Volume 53, Issue 8, December 2005, Pages 437-446

Anarina NG Sacred corporality of the Japanese artistic thing \\In the book: Thing in Japanese culture. M.: Vost. lit., 2003, p. 185-201

Hawkes David Idols of the Marketplace: Idolatry and Commodity Fetishism in English Literature, 1580-1680 - NY, 2001

SEMANTIC FIELD OF COMMODITY FETISCHISM

In the empirical study, mainly qualitative, but not quantitative, diagnostic methods were used, since only such tools allow us to study the phenomenology of any concept.
Theoretical methods included the analysis and synthesis of psychological, economic and cultural literature on the topics of "commodity fetishism", "semantic space of personality", "consumer and economic aspects of the socialization of adolescents"
The diagnostic methods of this study included a questionnaire, an associative experiment, a narrative interview, a focused group interview, a conversation “What does my thing know about me?”, testing.
Results processing methods: content analysis, percentage analysis, Spearman rank correlation coefficient, cluster analysis.
Now let's present the results of the study.

Psychological definition of commodity fetishism

Based on the analysis and criticism of the definitions, as well as the empirical study, we give the following definition: a fetish is a material object endowed in the owner's mind with supernatural properties or to which a super-significant role is attributed in ensuring life. We concretize the definition: a fetish in our understanding is only a material object. A word, a smell, the Internet cannot be fetishes, since this determines the blurring of the term and will contradict Occam's razor. A fetish is endowed with supernatural properties only in the mind of the owner, and other people may well be indifferent to it. Supernatural properties are all those properties that are outside the scope of utilitarian functions. We do not focus on magical properties, as the authors of dictionaries do, so as not to go into religiosity, esotericism and parapsychology. For the same reason, we have excluded from the definition the “object of blind worship” often found by other authors - modern man does not worship a fetish, does not pray for it (just like most representatives of primitive religions do not pray), he honors it. Attributes a super-significant role in ensuring life: mystical (amulets), pragmatic (car), binder (a gift from a loved one) - all these functions are described in detail by us below. Moreover, he ascribes this role, attributes it, taking it on faith, and interprets any, even small, coincidence as confirmation.
We define commodity fetishism as a mechanism psychological protection, in which the significance of some things (fetishes) is higher than their utilitarian functions. Let's allow ourselves scientific courage and add one more to the 16 defense mechanisms identified by K. Plutchik, because sexual fetishism was also interpreted by S. Freud both as a disease and as a defense mechanism. Accordingly, we do not use the term "fetishist", since each person is a fetishist in one or another category of goods and to one degree or another.
Summarizing the results of the applied methods, we state: absolutely every teenager has fetishes, and usually there are several of them. Therefore, we consider fetishism not a perversion, as Z. Freud believed in his early works, but we consider it in the concept of K. Marx.
Communication with the world of things for teenagers has become as significant as communication with the world of people. The addition, and sometimes the replacement of personal meanings with consumer ones, becomes a frequent occurrence in the puberty period. Many individuals, going through adolescence, pay excessive attention to objects, things, sometimes even humanizing them.
Fetishism in small forms is an integral part of active commodity-money relations, it cannot be avoided with the active broadcast of advertising, inviting to realize existing needs and creating new forms of their implementation. Thus, we interpret fetishism as the norm of subject-object relations in an economically developed society. Normal, for sure, can be considered the presence of one to five fetishes. Pathology refers only to extreme forms of commodity fetishism, when goods (clothes, cars, apartments, accessories, etc.) become a layer in relations with other people, that is, a person, when communicating with another, first of all “scans” the level of his things, and only with a positive assessment begins to communicate with him.
It is important not to confuse fetishism - like a cult, attachment to one or more things, with the dominant thingism in the pubertal period - an increased interest in the world of things. With fetishism, a teenager feels some dissatisfaction, restlessness without a specific fetish (he returns home, forgetting his phone or always wears his favorite pendant around his neck). And with a fetish, he feels not strong joy and delight, that is, non-equilibrium positive states, but balanced states: calm, harmony, “quiet” joy. With materialism, he shows passion for all things. Girls are more likely to go for clothes, boys are more likely to go for digital goods. In other words, fetishism, unlike materialism, does not bring strong positive emotions - it eliminates negative ones.
Of course, fetishism in modern society, having a post-religious character, does not carry complex meanings. But the basic feature of fetishism - syncretism - also takes place in the minds of a modern teenager: he cannot explain why he wears only a “happy shirt” for the exam, writes with a “pen of luck”, etc., but uses these fetishes again and again with trepidation , time after time attributing help to them in difficult cases. In this regard, we highlight the important role of attribution in fetishism.

Causes of commodity fetishism

Based on the results of summarizing the protocols of the narrative interview, causes of commodity fetishism: market, religious and personal, stress. Fetishism has two seemingly polar beginnings: market and religious. The marketing reason lies in the fact that this is a trend in the development of a market economy. The rapid development of the market gives rise to more and more goods, technical and fashion innovations, creating a cult of consumption and a cult of things. The market is also impossible without the dominance of advertising, calling to feel, try, feel ... So the market gives rise to new idols, new "gods". That is, commodity fetishism is a new market religion, with its idols, promoted in every possible way by marketers.
But, on the other hand, focusing on the world of things is a return to the origins of all religions, to nature, to the harmony of communication not only with a person, but also with things. Imitation of things, learning from things can be traced in ancient Chinese, and in ancient Japanese philosophy and religion, and among primitive peoples. The leitmotif, for example, of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism is "the materiality of Tao and the Tao of materiality." Therefore, today, with the active development of the market, with an acute desire to believe in something of its own, non-mass, fetishism is experiencing a “second birth”.
The basic personal reason is a feeling of insecurity, a “disliked syndrome”, in which a teenager hides behind a fetish, seeks help and protection from him in the same way as another child seeks protection from parents, relatives, relatives, friends. The more psychologically healthy a person is (calm, satisfied with life), the less fetishes he has. Conversely, children living in an unfavorable family environment, in the absence of trust and the opportunity to tell their relatives and friends about their problems, develop a number of fetishes. The personal conditions of fetishism include the desire to keep up with others, or to overtake and overtake. Against the background of "unfashionable" intellectuality ("nerds", "cramming"), a teenager asserts himself at the expense of things - fashionable, expensive, or simply new.
The stressful reason is that stress is not only “jammed”, “washed down”, but also covered with things - happy notebooks, jewelry, inherited, talismans, amulets. Insufficient attention to the problems of adolescents causes and provokes a sharp increase in stress factors in social and individual life and, therefore, social, mental maladaptation of individuals and groups. If close attention is paid to a preschooler and a younger student at the level of educational programs, then the main focus of the teacher's attention to a teenager is reduced to educational tasks, in particular, to systematic preparation for the exam. Inattention to the psychological problems of adolescents, coupled with a stressful period associated with school exams, causes a teenager to turn to the world of things: gambling, Internet addiction, shopping mania. Commodity fetishism becomes the central place of these neurotic formations and a frequent occurrence among adolescents.

patterns of commodity fetishism

The semantic analysis of the survey results made it possible to identify the main teen fetish groups. In addition to traditional student fetishes - “happy pens, pencils (4%, hereinafter, all the indicated fetishes are taken as 100%, regardless of the number named by each respondent), happy notebooks, notepads (2%), wardrobe items (19%) , more interesting ones also appear: jewelry - pendants, rings (14%), crafts and paraphernalia from summer camps (6%), commemorative trinkets (9%). For some schoolchildren, a mobile phone (13%), a computer (7%) become fetishes. Things that symbolize the teenager's belonging to a certain group, as a rule, personifying his hobby (6%), are clearly manifested: a flash drive for a computer lover, a keychain with pointe shoes for a dancer, etc. One of the fetishes is a pectoral cross (8%), a soft toy (9%), a toy made of early childhood(3%), other (1%). Interestingly, no Soviet fetishes - books - were found.
Age dynamics of teenage fetishism lies in the fact that with age there are more fetishes, they become more diverse and the attitude towards them is more meaningful. In early adolescence, the strength of fetishism and the number of fetishes are significantly less than in student age. Early adolescence is characterized by monotonous fetishes: these are mainly chains with pendants of various shapes. Interestingly, for schoolchildren who often go to summer camps, even small pieces of paper with scribbles can be fetishes. This type of fetishes are often reminiscent of events associated with creative activity. By the age of 14-15, the range of pendants expands, amulets from various religions appear, and the teenager does not always know which religion this amulet belongs to and what it means. Mobile phones by the senior school age from technical means turn into technical fetishes. There are many fetishes that personify hobbies. In late puberty, fetishes are more diverse.
Supplementing, and sometimes replacing personal meanings with consumer ones, is becoming a frequent occurrence for adolescents. Many individuals, going through adolescence, pay too much attention to things, animating, and sometimes even humanizing them.

Meanings and super-meanings of fetishes

During the conversation and associative series, sacred meanings and super-meanings that teenagers attribute to their fetishes. The fundamental rule of fetishism is causal and social attribution. A person ascribes, thinks out the meanings of the supernatural, supersignificance and sometimes mysticism of his fetishes. So, the most common attributed sacred meanings of fetishes are “gives strength”, “helps”, “protects”, “protects”, “emphasizes my importance”, “attracts attention to me”, “attracts good luck”, “makes me successful”, "I'm lucky." And these meanings, perhaps, are associated with hierotopy, but are not associated with numinosity (an intense experience of the mysterious and frightening divine presence). Otherworldliness is also not attributed. Of the super-meanings, “memorable”, “cherished”, “healing”, “holy”, “sacred” are attributed. Sometimes fetishes are associated with rituals, ceremonial behavior: they are put on or folded slowly, in a certain sequence, and stored carefully. But the basic feature of primitive fetishism - syncretism - also takes place in modern society. To some extent, commodity fetishism can be considered modern urban magic, as opposed to rural magic with its incantations and rituals.
Interestingly, the sacred meanings of fetishes, as opposed to the profane, appear as they grow older. In younger adolescents, there is a dominance of profane meanings: “this is a memory of ...”, “that is a symbol of friendship ...”
4 semantic mechanisms of fetishism have been identified: compensation, resource, projection and affiliation with a reference group, a person. Compensation as a defense mechanism according to R. Plutchik - an intensive attempt to correct or find a suitable replacement for real or imaginary, physical or psychological failure. The compensatory meaning is that the fetish allegedly compensates for the missing character trait, the inferiority complex. For example, for a short girl, shoes with huge heels become fetishes - they compensate for her small stature. A boy with an asthenic physique can wear, almost without taking off, brutal leather trousers. In addition to personal compensation, the variant of social compensation is also interesting, that is, the realization of the need for leadership and the status of a “star” through a fetish. It occurs when a person cannot achieve leadership or adoration due to personal characteristics, character, so he buys expensive, branded things, thereby trying to buy status.
Fetish resource sense - providing psychological calmness and self-confidence in a stressful situation - in everyday language is described in numerous popular literature about worldly magic and talismans. It is carried out through self-hypnosis and faith. A person himself programs himself for good luck through these things.
Affiliation - identification with a reference group or person: here it manifests itself as a demonstration of belonging to a certain social group, desired or actual, through a fetish: stickers with a photo of your favorite musical group on T-shirts, bags, notebooks, trinkets as a symbol of love. Such fetishes, which have become a symbol of belonging to a group or closeness to a person, we called fetishes-symbols.
Projection - demonstration of one's "I" through a fetish. The thing here is used as a mirror of one's I-character, a hobby: a pendant with a guitar for a musician, a T-shirt with a favorite dog for an animal lover, etc.

As we can see, two semantic mechanisms - projection and compensation - are protection mechanisms. The defense mechanism "fantasy" is manifested for any super-fetish - an escape in the imagination in order to avoid real problems or to avoid conflicts - the teenager comes up with the idea that rituals and fetish will deprive him of many problems. The "replacement" defense mechanism is also found in fetishes, and is detailed in the description of the functions. So, out of 16 defense mechanisms identified by R. Plutchik, four are clearly manifested in a focused in-depth interview with respect to fetishes.

E.S. Romanova, L.R. Grebennikov Psychological defense mechanisms: genesis, functioning, diagnostics - Mytishchi, Talant Publishing House, 1996 - 144 p.

TYPES OF FETISHES AND THEIR PSYCHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The Importance of Fetishes in Teen Life

The main positive value of fetishes is that it is a simple and effective form of spontaneous autopsychotherapy. Talismans (at least even a classic patch under the heel) have been used by schoolchildren and students for centuries and have a psychotherapeutic effect: they relieve fear, reduce anxiety and stress, and give confidence during the exam. Fetishes, proven over the years, have a placebo effect, give psychological resources to the owner. A souvenir given by a dear person creates a positive emotional background, a trendy phone makes you feel successful, etc. Also, fetishism is largely the construction of one's own identity through things
The main negative meaning of fetishes is that excessive attachment to things sometimes replaces attitudes towards people: a computer, TV become more interesting than friends. At the same time, these items become more than just things for this teenager. Tech fetishes are a danger to the teenage psyche. A modern teenager began to talk not only on the phone, but also with a phone, with a computer, with a refrigerator, with a TV. That is, fetishism in large doses is a withdrawal into the world of things, the replacement of spiritual values ​​with material ones.
It is ambiguous for evaluating the role of fetishism that a fetish is a new, modern version of psychological protection, in which a child “hides” behind a thing, for example, behind a beautiful jacket, an expensive mobile phone, etc. They become either a continuation of it, or a kind of shield from society. In stressful situations, a fetish as a psychological barrier saves, but in everyday life such barriers lead to the fact that a layer appears in interpersonal relations, a shield of things, which sooner or later leads to the reification of social relations: a person “scans” clothes, accessories, etc. P. interlocutor and continues to communicate with him only with a positive assessment.

Criteria for fetish and over-fetish

Were singled out fetish thing criteria:

1. This thing is more than just a thing: excessive significance, memories of important, pleasant events or people are “glued” to it, attributed to it. So, a computer for one person is just a technical necessity, and for another - an extension of the hand. Without it, it is impossible for him to live, the computer is like air - a person does not realize when he is, but suffocates when he is not. Then it's a fetish.
2. This thing causes strong positive emotions. All fetishes have one thing in common - excessive, unreflexed adoration.
3. This thing becomes a resource for the owner: through the "placebo effect" and positive feelings, it gives strength, confidence in difficult situations. The resource function of fetishes correlates both with the basics of the resource approach in psychology and with parapsychological tendencies. After all, the magic of talismans is carried out primarily due to self-hypnosis and faith in the help of a fetish.
4. This thing becomes an integral addition to the personality - one cannot imagine life without it.
5. This thing, as a rule, is carried everywhere with you, or it is stored at home in the visibility zone, carefully and neatly.
6. Fetish is a sign of internal conflict in this area. For self-sufficient, self-realized people, the number of fetishes and attachment to them are minimal!
7. The attitude to the fetish is syncretic - a person does not realize that for others such a thing is less significant, just as he does not realize that it is too significant for him, he considers his attitude to be absolutely normal.

Such things play a psychotherapeutic role: they relieve stress, provide psychological resources or provide relaxation, psychologically protect against problems.
Over-fetish Criteria:

1. A person cannot part with a thing: he will not leave the house without it; or ready to pay a price ten times higher than the real value of the item.
2. These fetishes are strongly associated with rituals - the owner needs to examine the thing for a long time, tell it something ...
3. Humanization of a thing, its animation (talks not only on the phone, but also with a phone, with a computer).
4. Hyperattachment to things.

Such a fetish is no longer self-psychotherapy, but a psychiatric problem.

Author's classifications of fetishes

Based on the results of the focus groups, types of fetishes by meaning in the life of the owner.
The first type: situational fetishes - significant only in a certain, as a rule, stressful situation - a patch under the heel for an exam, a red pompom for a dog for an exhibition. Sometimes they are directly called talismans, sometimes not. It is this fetish that is associated with ritual actions, modern rituals. Kaluga gymnasts have a tradition before going to the carpet to kiss their favorite plush toy, hung with awards and badges, and then give it to the coach.
The second type: fetishes as an extension of oneself - things with which a person is related. He does not even perceive this thing as a fetish, as a separate thing. She is an extension of himself. For many of us, this is a pectoral cross, a wedding ring. “You will be most upset if someone steals from you ...” - this question was answered about the most intimate fetishes.
The third type: multiple fetishes are a certain type of thing - jewelry of a certain kind, pink teddy bears ... A survey launched on the Internet revealed that there is a rare type of fur as a commodity fetish, an orange color of a certain shade as a fetish, crocodile skin bags, jewelry with topaz etc.
The fourth type: collections as fetishes. Collecting is a separate kind of fetishism.
Fifth type: fetish dream. This type is especially pronounced among younger adolescents: not being able to purchase the desired product, they collect postcards, store photographs with its image. For boys, these are expensive cars of a certain brand, for girls, for example, postcards with views of Paris, posters with their favorite singer / actress. This group of fetishes is the smallest.
Based on the results of the conversation “What can my thing tell about me?”, a narrative interview and an associative experiment, the following were identified types of commodity fetishes by direction (listed in order of predominance in adolescence). It is interesting that stories about fetishes are presented in a highly exaggerated, fairy-tale form, acquiring new details in the process of telling, but it was this property of exaggerating the value and role of a fetish in one's life that interested us.
Fetish Symbols - items that symbolize belonging to a certain social group, or in other words demonstrate their passion to others: a pendant with a guitar for a musician, a T-shirt with a favorite dog for an animal lover, a trinket as a symbol of love, a T-shirt with a special pattern - involvement in a subculture, etc. .
Talisman fetishes (magic fetishes) , which can be of two types, the first of which is talisman fetish associated with certain events: an exam, a date, a competition (for example, a five-ruble coin in a shoe before an exam, “happy” items that are very common among teenagers: “happy dress ”,“ a shirt that brings success”). The second type is often used fetish talismans: amulets, amulets, "baubles", some jewelry. In undergrowth, they usually include things bought on a whim, by chance. Teenagers do not really delve into the meaning of this or that talisman, they do not even quite understand what religion it belongs to, taking its action on faith. In this group of fetishes, the placebo effect is most pronounced.
I am fetishes - goods perceived as an integral extension of oneself or as a best friend. For example, a mobile phone for some teenagers has become not an accessory, but an extension of themselves, for others, a computer is a fetish. The criteria for assigning a product to this group is the hyper-significance of this thing and the attitude towards it as a friend. They talk to such things as they would to people: “Well, why are you loading for so long?”, “Dear computer”. A person cannot imagine himself without this product. The most common type of self-fetishes are technical fetishes, i.e. all kinds of gadgets. The meaning of these fetishes is the replacement of friends with goods, the realization of the need for communication.
fetish anchors - things related to the memory of a pleasant event or person. It can be little things donated by a loved one, things reminiscent of an important event. Moreover, teenagers bring many anchor fetishes from summer camps: these are ribbons, emblems, and ties painted with wishes.
Fetish Attributes - goods designed to attribute (attribute), for example, high income, style: clothes from a famous couturier as an attribute of a “beautiful life”, glasses as an attribute of intelligence or diamonds as an attribute of wealth. Note that here we are not talking about those glasses that are necessary for the state of vision, but about those with ordinary lenses that students put on for the exam; about diamonds when going to university and about expensive clothes bought with the last money. All these things are united by one thing - the desire to "splurge". As a rule, the possession of such fetishes correlates with conspicuous consumption. T. Veblen understood conspicuous consumption as "the use of consumption to prove the possession of wealth", "as a means of maintaining reputation." Having synthesized the understanding of conspicuous consumption by K. Marx, M. Weber, T. Parsons, we denote that conspicuous consumption is the purchase of a product and its use, to a certain extent motivated by the desire to demonstrate to other people the characteristic features of a lifestyle or one's position in the social hierarchy.
Fetish Brands - goods of a certain brand, to which the individual attributes super-meanings and super-possibilities (products with the emblem of the f/c "Zenith"). This type of fetishism is closely related to over-loyalty to the firm. A person not only highly appreciates the products of a certain brand, but almost worships them. For example, Apple marketers are working to promote "apple fetishism" - young people's commitment to phones, computers, laptops of this particular company, whose name translates as "apple". Interestingly, with such fetishism, the cognitive component of the relationship disappears, and the affective component begins to dominate, bringing a person to a state of delight from this product. At the same time, a person buys both high-quality goods of this company and low-quality ones, trusting the company a priori. The main meaning of these fetishes is the realization of the need for leadership and the status of a "star". There is a quintessential market religion here. A person for his fetish - an iPod or an expensive car - is ready to give not only money, but also honor, conscience, joy of life, exchange it for friends. It should be noted that adherents of brand fetishes are characterized by narcissism.
Fetish toys . An insufficiently realized need for play activity with the dominance of educational activity leads to the appearance of soft toys, dolls, cars, which become fetishes.
religious fetishes - Significant objects for any religion (pectoral cross, etc.)
During the interviews, there were clear three components of fetishism: cognitive (awareness of the product as super-necessary, super-assistant), conative (the desire to always have this fetish), affective (increased positive emotions directed at the thing).
The severity of the components is distributed as follows: affective is the most significant, then conative, and only in third place is cognitive.
The conative component is interesting: a teenager either hides his fetish and reluctantly talks about it (“It’s just mine, it’s not necessary for others to know”), or is ready to talk about it for hours, and in this speech there is mainly an emotional part, and a cognitive, semantic part is practically absent . Detailed adequate information about the fetish is practically excluded. A regularity has been noticed: the majority of respondents are not ready to give a fetish into the hands of others.

Fetish stages

Based on the results of the analysis of the narrative interview protocols, stages of fetishization - becoming a fetish of this or that thing. The first stage is anchoring: the imposition of any psychological resources on a thing. For example, it was presented in a solemn atmosphere by a loved one. Then the thing “anchored” (according to NLP) a solemn mood, a sense of celebration, love, attention of others and a particular person. And, thus, it has become a dual stimulus (in the terminology of behaviorism), an anchor (in the terminology of NLP and Ericksonian hypnosis), a resource (in the terminology of the resource approach)
The second stage - we called it "vacuum". There are times when there is a severe lack of positive emotions, either due to situational stress, anxiety, or long-term obstacles in life. Then, in this vacuum, the psyche is looking for a "magic wand", "Macropulus remedy", a shield from adversity. Someone finds him in an alcoholic or drug oblivion, someone is looking for thrills, skydiving. But many people fill this vacuum with fetishes - things, looking at which wake up memories of pleasant events and people, of luck and success. This stage can be skipped.
The third stage is resource - the use of resources associated in the mind of the perceiver with the thing. Taking with him one, or surrounding himself with several fetishes, a person through a fetish, as through an intermediary, with the help of some kind of self-deception, draws from the depths of his psyche resources-memories or resources-additions to himself, or resources-signals to others, etc.

PSYCHOLOGICAL Functions of fetishes

Based on the results of a focused in-depth interview and an associative experiment, three basic functions fetishes. Usually, each specific fetish performs one main and two or three additional functions below. Moreover, they are not inherent in fetishes initially, but are attributed to them.
The most common was protective (adaptive) function -fetish psychologically protects, protects the owner. It creates a "placebo effect", is used on the principle of household magic, thereby adapting the storekeeper to stressful situations. This function is predominant in fetish mascots - amulets, a five-ruble coin in a shoe before an exam, a "shirt that brings success." The protective function is provided by two semantic mechanisms: compensation (hypercompensation in Freud's terminology) and the creation of a resource.
Symbolic function is that fetishes symbolize belonging to a certain social group or express inner world, "I" of the carrier. Dominates in fetishes-symbols, fetishes-anchors and fetishes-attributes. This group of functions is also provided by two semantic mechanisms: affiliation and projection.
Sign (signal) function is that fetishes are a sign, a signal for other people. “The fisherman sees the fisherman from afar”, “You and I are of the same blood” - these are the mottos of many fetishes. If the meaning of the symbolic function is self-expression, for oneself, and not for others, then the symbolic function is precisely a signal to others, an attempt to find and unite with like-minded people, or to dominate others. Thanks to the iconic function of many fetishes, psychologists can diagnose the complexes and needs of the wearer. That is, the fetish can be used almost like a projective test.
anchoring in the interpretation of NLP, it also manifests itself in a fetish, i.e. an object through memories of a positively colored event, a person, increases the tone and mood of a person, gives him strength. Teenagers bring many anchor fetishes from summer camps.
replacement function - replacement of friends with goods, realization of the need for communication, when the goods become a substitute, a substitute for friends, especially in a difficult situation.
hedonic function or the function of psychological discharge manifests itself for different types toys. Hedonism is the desire for pleasure, enjoyment.
Linking function - providing a psychological connection with the donor. It is especially important for girls. “He (beloved person) seems to be always with me”, “I am not alone” - frequent judgments in focus groups. This is an important function of fetishes that have become talismans. It is activated in stressful situations or in emotionally colored pleasant situations. The memory of the dead who died at this age is extremely rare. But for orphans, their parents' little things become super-fetishes.
Goal-setting function, or stimulating , is typical for adolescents in the period of choosing a profession or goal. So, for some, a gold medal received at school or at competitions becomes a fetish - as an incentive to move further in this direction. For others - a photo of the car, which he will certainly acquire with this approach.
Undoubtedly, the protective, binding, stimulating functions, anchoring have a positive meaning for a person, they play a psychotherapeutic role - they give strength and resources to implement their ideas, close from fears. Symbolic, symbolic, hedonistic functions have a neutral meaning, they are important only in certain situations, a little - for self-knowledge and socialization. The replacement function plays an obviously negative role.
Based on the results of the survey, the following patterns were revealed: There is no connection between fetishism and education, income level. The most powerful relationship (according to self-assessment) with the level of anxiety (positive), with the level of stress (positive), with stress tolerance (negative)
Table 5
The psychological field of commodity fetishism

personality traits of fetish consumers

Degrees of addiction to fetishes

Cluster analysis of the survey results made it possible to identify three groups of individuals - dependent on fetishes, helping themselves with fetishes, independent of fetishes (author's names), and comparing these data with the results of a focused in-depth interview made it possible to compile their psychological portraits based on self-reports.
"Fetish Addicts" (20%), are characterized by a high level of social conformism and are too anxious, with a low degree of stress resistance. They have a lot of fetishes for all occasions: from a cross and a Buddhist amulet to a tie from a pioneer camp and a dried chamomile, which He gave on a second date. They are overly reflective, often use intellectualization - if in a difficult situation they were dressed in certain clothes and won, they will now wear it in all such cases, if they won the competition with a certain accessory, they will always use it in all competitions. They believe in mysticism, the evil eye, spoilage and can immediately tell a few worldly "horror stories" about needles in the wall and bent crosses. They love esoteric literature and similar TV programs, films.
"Self Helping Fetishes" (75%) is the largest group. Fetish is perceived as a background, often not realizing its role. They can hardly name them, because they do not separate themselves from fetishes, perceiving them as an extension of themselves, and not as a separate thing. More often, their fetishes are jewelry, phones, players, photos of a loved one, etc. They are not interested in trinkets, preferring functional things.
Finally, category "independent of fetishes" turned out to be the smallest, about 5% of them are internal, self-sufficient, self-confident, with positive thinking.

The relationship of the self-image and the image of the fetish

To identify the relationship of the self-image with the image of a fetish and its associative series, groups of fetishes dependent and helping fetishes were offered the method of M. Kuhn "Who am I". Then a modified version was offered - the subjects were asked to identify their most important fetish, that is, the thing that is more for them than the thing without which they feel uncomfortable. Then the associative experiment was carried out. The results were processed using content analysis. Then the obtained contents were marked with numbers and processed using cluster analysis. Let's mark only the significant points. It is interesting that the associative series and the results of Kuhn's methodology have gender relationships (the associative series in girls is richer than in boys) and age (the older the teenager, the more complete the picture can be obtained). Three clusters were received.
The first cluster (39%) is characterized by a strong coincidence of self-perception and perception of one's main fetish, that is, here the fetish acts as a projection of oneself, as an extension of oneself. Hereinafter, omitting the obvious definitions of gender (“girl”), social status (“schoolboy”, 9th grade student), social network (“friend”), and focusing on character traits, social interaction and social roles, we got in general positive self-perception of the teenager and positive perception of the fetish. Coincidence was identified by sign (positive, negative or neutral assessment of oneself or a fetish) and focus on oneself, others, and business. So, in this group, a noticeable part notes in themselves the features that provide a positive self-image (“excellent student”, “well done”, “handsome”), maintaining friendly social networks(“I am responsive”, “caring”, “attentive to loved ones”), and self-identify themselves through the concept of “friend”, “daughter”, “son”. Their fetishes are characterized, in addition to the descriptive concepts "beautiful", "green", "fluffy" and emotional ("beloved"), and effective ("memorable", "fulfills wishes"). There are many coincidences in the adjectives “I am beautiful, the object is beautiful; I am kind, the subject is kind. Perhaps this is due not only to the “reflection” in the fetish of oneself, but also to the narrow thesaurus of a teenager. The sub-hypothesis that things consonant with a person become fetishes was confirmed in this group - the projection mechanism is statistically justified.
The second cluster (12%) reflects aspects of the hobby: a volleyball player has a fetish - a keychain in the form of a ball, a dancer - pointe shoes, etc. The associative series of these fetishes is associated with the event in which this fetish appeared, with the time of day, with the place, with the people around at that moment. Thus, the sub-hypothesis about the affiliative mechanism of fetishes is also statistically confirmed.
The third cluster (24%) is characterized by a complex picture - about half of the definitions of self and fetish in it coincide. And more often these are emotional, empty definitions (“toy”, “beautiful, wonderful”). The other half diverges in the emotional aspect. A teenager talks about himself with a slight negative connotation “I come home late”, “I can’t learn history”, “I got a C today”, and about a fetish - with a positive sign, even exaggerating its value “priceless”, “great”, “expensive” , “magical”, “long-awaited”, or with a negative sign, but which is perceived as salvation: “evil” (for a weak girl who could not stand up for herself), “talkative” (for a shy one), “roaring” (about a toy with a loud melody at the quiet one). “He will come and soak” (from the offended). If you pay attention to the types of these fetishes, they are grotesque, hyperbolic: a transformer robot that is always worn in a briefcase (the main dream associated with it is revenge on offending peers), a dozen badges with pictures of beauties (the main idea is the dream of being beautiful) , a letter from the boy she broke up with (the main idea is suffering). The associative series of these fetishes is grotesque: there are few calm associations in them. There are a lot of "baubles" and means of protection - amulets, valuables donated by parents with the words "it will protect you." And if in the fetishes of the first cluster, where the projective function dominates, the underlying idea of ​​fetishes is communication, socialization, friendship, love, then here it is suffering and “sticking patches” on problems. Interestingly, this cluster has the fewest definitions of "loving" and "beloved". If we exclude social and “empty” definitions, then we find that the fetish is an addition to a person, as if covering his weak points - there is a feedback between the image of the fetish and the I-image. The hypothesis about the compensatory mechanism of fetishes was statistically confirmed.
The fourth cluster (14%) - adolescents are ambitious, strong-willed, assertive, striving for a goal or shy and worried. They are characterized by fetish-resources: jewelry donated by someone close / loved, or inherited (often rings and pendants), toys from childhood or with an emotional facial expression, swimming cap, shoulder straps, weapons. Here we have the resource function of the fetish, the fetish as self-complacency.
The fifth cluster (11%) - those adolescents who failed to identify either a direct or inverse relationship between self-esteem and the perception of a fetish. Note that this group contains the most definitions related to the “abilities” group - “smart”, “reached level 7 in game X”. If we add to this group also fetish-independents who did not take part in this part of the study, then they can be designated as the most psychologically healthy, able to solve their problems without additional involvement of goods.
So, here the hypothesis was statistically confirmed, but another semantic mechanism of the fetish was discovered - resourcefulness.

Personal characteristics of adolescents suffering from fetishism

Let us designate the personality traits that distinguish teenagers with a high level of technical fetishism (they talk with technology as with a person). Technical fetishism among the majority of respondents is associated with Internet addiction. It is easier for them to communicate with people indirectly than personally: by phone, icq, via the Internet. In personal communication, they have difficulty formulating thoughts. Interestingly, some in self-reflection found that they needed a large physical distance when communicating - about a meter. And talking at close range causes discomfort. It is important that the presence of technical fetishism is not associated with the level of communicative competence and intelligence.
Personal characteristics of adolescents who have a high level of fetish talismans (have two or more mascots that they never part with): people describe themselves as highly anxious, more creative than their peers, ambitious.
Brand fetish lovers (followers of a certain brand of clothing, technology) have demonstrativeness, high leadership potential, which cannot be realized. Attracting attention through brands is a kind of compensation for unrealized leadership or the social status of a “star”.
Personal characteristics associated with other types of fetishes were not identified at this stage.

Comparison of modern fetishism with primitive religion

The question arises - commodity fetishism as excessive immersion in the world of things, their personification - is this not the cost of flourishing commodity-money relations, a market economy? Correlating the data of the “What my thing can tell about me” methodology, stories about fetishes with data on primitive fetishism, analysis of Chinese and Japanese philosophy led to the conclusion that, perhaps, the opposite is true: deleting things from the field of significance in the Soviet period is a problem the zone that provided the reverse push of the pendulum is an excessive cult of things. Respectful attitude to things, care, significance of things - this is the norm of subject-object relations throughout the history of mankind.
It seems productive to fix attention primarily on the differences in the perception of a thing by ancient and modern man, on the changes (mental, social, religious) that have occurred since the time when the thing and the person were separated and ceased to be recognized as parts of a single whole. Doesn't the fetishist have a sharper perception of things in comparison with ordinary, "healthy" people? Doesn't he keep the ability lost by the majority to feel the thing and its owner as a whole?
Comparison of the data obtained with the main features of fetishism as an archaic religion made it possible to identify the common features of modern and primitive fetishism.
First, these are common semantic roots. Fetishism as a primitive religion is the worship of idols, since either a deity "lived" in them, or the idol had a connection with a deity. A similar mechanism occurs with the fetish today. A person “settles” a sacred, magical meaning in it, settles in it, or “glues” to it the possibility of help, protection, amulets. And now fetishism is not just a worship of things - rags, metals, as inanimate objects, but it is inventing magical, supernatural powers or just a great role, a mission in my life “I am without a phone, as if without hands - I have to return home for it if you forgot. Commodity fetishism is not an eccentricity, not a deviation, but a “breath of time”.
Secondly, the reasons for becoming a thing a fetish. The thing was considered to have supernatural power and was considered as a fetish in four cases: if the thing came from afar, from the land of "strangers". And today presents from other cities become fetishes - magnets, gifts. If a thing was made by a shaman from materials consecrated by tradition and giving it strength, then it represented a guardian spirit. And today, teenagers use Buddhist, Taoist signs, without even understanding their meaning. In primitive religion, a thing that originally belonged to the family and, being the ancestor, a totem, became a fetish. Today, many of the fetishes are gifts from parents, relatives, inherited values. A stone, a piece of wood, simply attracted or reminiscent of some event, a person, could become a fetish. And now many fetishes are “connecting threads” between people: gifts, trinkets, reminiscent of loved ones and friends, or just little things that are pleasing to the eye. Therefore, the trinket industry is always thriving.
Thirdly, fetishes were designed to protect against enemies, diseases, various diseases, to help in battle or hunting, and if he did not fulfill his functions, the owner could even punish him. And now a fetish is, first of all, a defense - whether it is Orthodox fetishes, or a “happy pen” on the control. Fetishes that do not fulfill the functions assigned to them, invented by them, are now not punished, but are thrown out as unnecessary.
Fourthly, the perception of a thing in a traditional society is included in the totemic worldview: a person is aware of the nature-totem-collective as a single indivisible whole, and is able to see this whole in a thing. The thing-as-one-whole in certain threshold situations is called upon to remind of the integrity of the world. In primitive fetishism, it is not the thing that is important, but the spirit that lives in it or with which it is connected. And today, for a teenager, it is not a plush bunny given by a friend that is significant, but the love that she put into this gift. And a sense of wholeness, not-loneliness. Thus, American clinical psychologists Malcolm Ashmore, Katie MacMillan, Steven D. Brown created a method of memory recovery by working with fetishes.
Fifthly, the fetish is always associated with traditions, rituals, rituals, ceremonial behavior. The rites of prayer in the archaic religion and the rituals of packing a five-ruble coin before an exam, tying a pioneer tie upon initiation into pioneers (scouts, eagles) are similar in their algorithmic and simplicity.
Further, the fetish is not the same or perceived as unique. This feature was discovered by Jean Baudrillard. He described the astonishment of blacks when they saw two identical books for the first time. For a modern teenager, a replicated thing will rarely become a fetish. Even T-shirts, bags, posters with your favorite music bands are decorated to make them unique.
In addition, the phenomenon of a functional shift, characteristic of primitive culture, is associated with the phenomenon of fetishization - the transformation of the useful into the sacred, tools of labor into objects of worship. And today, most fetishes do not carry a utilitarian load.
Both before and now, people value the fetish so much that, without hesitation, they give real values ​​for it, money, even their conscience and life. The size of the looting of museums, according to art historians, is comparable to the losses from wars. Collectors are ready to pay any money for a fetish.
Thus, both today and many centuries ago, both in civilization and in the uncultivated tribes of Africa, fetishism is an everyday unconscious magic. Fetishism is an attempt to protect oneself from trouble. Fetishism is an attempt to get what you want not by your own efforts. A fetish is both closeness to human origins, and at the same time servility to things. Thus, we can conclude that market fetishism and primitive fetishism have the same semantic roots.
It can be seen from the above that fetishism is the substitution of unrealized needs, that is, their realization through a product, if they cannot be realized in the traditional way. A technical fetish is a replacement for the need for communication, a fetish talisman is a need for self-confidence, a brand fetish is for leadership and the status of a “star”, a fetish symbol and an anchor fetish are for psychological resources, fortitude.
Unfortunately, psychologists, teachers and parents cannot destroy and even reduce the power of fetishism. Moreover, with the development of the level of market economy, it will only develop. Therefore, adults should know the fetishes of children and manage them. Here you need to take the following steps:
1. Understand what this fetish is a substitute for, a substitute for.
2. Try to give the child what he replaces with a fetish. A fetish is a kind of patch that closes actual, but unfulfilled needs. This is a drug that a teenager invented for himself to drown out the feelings that arise from the inability to meet these needs in a direct way.
The substitution of relationships with people for relationships with things is serious for psychological health, so the task of adults is to enhance the psychotherapeutic effect of fetishism.

RESULTS OF THE STUDY OF COMMODITY FETISHISM. CONCLUSIONS

Four semantic mechanisms of fetishes have been identified: compensation, resourcefulness, projection, and affiliation with a reference group or person. So, in addition to the three stated in the hypothesis, a fourth semantic mechanism was discovered - resourcefulness.
1. Based on the results of an empirical study and agreement of the results with the data of other researchers, we give the following definition: commodity fetish (French fetiche, from Portuguese feitico - witchcraft, magic, amulet)- an inanimate object, endowed in the ideas of the owner with supernatural properties, or to which a super-significant role in ensuring life is attributed.
We define commodity fetishism as a psychological defense mechanism in which the significance of some things (fetishes) is higher than their utilitarian functions. We do not consider it necessary to use the term "commodity fetishist", since each person is such in relation to certain goods, to one degree or another.
2. The following types of commodity fetishism have been discovered (classification and author's names). The most common are technical fetishism (worship of some technical innovations: a player, telephone, TV, laptop), fan fetishism (worship of the paraphernalia of an idol - fan ammunition, autographed leaflets), magical fetishism (attributing a mystical role to things, especially transmitted in the family from generation to generation, belief in talismans, amulets), religious fetishism (each of us wears a cross, refers to icons. We consider religious fetishism to be part of the commodity). The most common is commemorative fetishism (ballet equipment "impregnated with the stage", paraphernalia from summer camps)
3. The main positive role of fetishism is that it is a simple and effective form of autopsychotherapy. Fetishes have a placebo effect, give psychological resources to the owner. The main negative meaning of fetishes is that excessive attachment to things sometimes replaces relationships with people: a person measures friendship, love and other relationships with people through their material carriers. The ambivalent meaning is that a fetish is a variant of psychological defense in which a child “hides” behind a thing, but we attribute this feature to the ambiguous meaning of fetishes. In stressful situations, a fetish as a psychological barrier saves, but in everyday life such barriers lead to the fact that a layer appears in interpersonal relations, a shield of things, which sooner or later leads to the reification of social relations.
4. There are fetishes and over-fetishes. If fetishes (things to which one is not strongly attached) play a psychotherapeutic role: they relieve stress, provide psychological resources or provide relaxation, psychologically protect against problems, then super-fetishes (things that are significant to the point of mania) are no longer self-psychotherapy, but psychiatric problem.
5. Types of fetishes were found according to their meaning in the life of the owner: the first type, situational fetishes - significant only in a certain, as a rule, stressful situation (a patch under the heel for an exam). The second type is fetishes as an extension of oneself. A person does not even perceive this thing as a fetish, as a separate thing (pectoral cross, wedding ring). The third type - multiple fetishes - is a certain type of things (jewelry of a certain type, pink teddy bears). The fourth type - collections as fetishes. Collecting is a separate kind of fetishism. The fifth type is the fetish dream. This type is especially pronounced among younger adolescents: not being able to purchase the desired product, they collect postcards, store photographs with its image.
6. In addition, types of fetishes were found according to their orientation: fetishes-symbols (a trinket as a symbol of love, a T-shirt with a special pattern - involvement in a subculture), fetishes-talismans (amulets, some jewelry), I-fetishes, technical fetishes (phone, player ), fetishes-anchors (associated with pleasant memories of an event or a person), fetishes-attributes (designed to ascribe, attribute, for example, high income, “splurge”), fetish brands (Apple products, products with the f / to "Zenith"), fetishes-toys, religious fetishes.
7. Sacred meanings and super-meanings, which teenagers attribute to their fetishes, have been studied. A person ascribes, thinks out the meanings of the supernatural, supersignificance and sometimes mysticism of his fetishes. So, the most common attributed sacred meanings of fetishes are “gives strength”, “helps”, “protects”, “protects”, “emphasizes my importance”, “attracts attention to me”, “attracts good luck”, “makes me successful”, "I'm lucky." And these meanings, perhaps, are associated with hierotopy, but are not associated with numinosity (an intense experience of the mysterious and frightening divine presence). Otherworldliness is also not attributed. Of the super-meanings, “memorable”, “cherished”, “healing”, “holy”, “sacred” are attributed. Sometimes fetishes are associated with rituals, ceremonial behavior: they are put on or folded slowly, in a certain sequence, and stored carefully. To some extent, commodity fetishism can be considered modern urban magic, as opposed to rural magic with its incantations and rituals.
Interestingly, the sacred meanings of fetishes, as opposed to the profane, appear as they grow older. In younger adolescents, there is a dominance of profane meanings: “this is the memory of ...”, “that is a symbol of friendship ...” But the basic feature of primitive fetishism - syncretism - also takes place in modern society.
8. The basic functions of fetishes in adolescents have been discovered and described: protective (adaptive), symbolic, sign (signal, semiotic). Additional functions of fetishes are also highlighted: anchoring function, substitutive, hedonistic (psychological discharge function), linking, goal-setting function (stimulating)
9. Three components of the attitude to the fetish are presented: cognitive (comprehension of the product as super-necessary, super-helper), conative (the desire to always have this fetish), affective (increased positive emotions directed at the thing; the fetish is either desperately adored, or creates a calm positive attitude). The severity of the components is distributed as follows: affective is the most significant, then conative, and only in third place is cognitive.
10. The reasons for the formation of a fetishized thing are determined: market, religious and personal, stress. The rapid development of the market gives rise to more and more products, technical and fashion innovations, creating a cult of consumption and a cult of things - this is the market reason. The religious reason lies in the fact that imitation of a thing, learning from things can be traced in ancient Chinese, and in ancient Japanese philosophy and religion, and among primitive peoples. The basic personal reason is a feeling of insecurity, a “disliked syndrome”, in which a teenager hides behind a fetish, seeks help from him, protection in the same way that another child seeks protection from parents, relatives, relatives, friends. The more psychologically healthy a person is (calm, satisfied with life), the less fetishes he has. The stressful reason is that stress is not only “jammed”, “washed down”, but also covered with things - happy notebooks, jewelry, inherited, talismans, amulets.
11. The stages of fetishization are indicated: anchoring - "vacuum" - resourcefulness.

12. Gender, age, social and economic differences in the semantics of commodity fetishism are revealed. The age aspect of fetishism is as follows: there is a positive dynamics in the number and strength and diversity of fetishes. The gender aspect of fetishism implies that girls have more fetishes than boys. There is no connection between fetishism and education, income level. The more unbalanced a person and in a socially unfavorable environment he lives, the stronger degree his fetishism. A psychologically healthy person has almost no fetishes.

Prokhorov A.M. Fetishism // Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary, Moscow, "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1987.
Frantsov G.P., At the origins of religion and free thought, M. - L., 1959;

Razumova I.A. Family heirlooms: Woman and the material world of culture among the peoples of Europe and Russia // Sat. Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. XLVII. St. Petersburg, 1999.

Ashmore Malcolm, MacMillan Katie, Brown Steven It's a stream: professional hearing and tape fetishism // Journal of Pragmatics, Volume 36, Issue 2, February 2004, Pages 349-374

Fetish types are many and varied. But whatever they are, they have something in common. This is the presence of a certain object, around which a certain fetish “grows”. It could be any part human body, item of clothing, environment, gait, features of behavior and appearance. Anything, in general. It is difficult to list all varieties of a fetish, but attention should be paid to some.

attraction to feet

This is one of the most common directions in fetishism, so it is logical to start with it. The attraction may be the sight and touch of the feet, the smell of their skin and the taste, the temperature, the movement of the fingers. If we talk about the types of foot fetish, it is worth noting that it is often combined with an increased interest in tights, shoes and stockings.

Also, foot lovers may like to see their partner barefoot, but in jeans. Or, for example, in slippers, sandals, open shoes or high heels. To enhance his feelings, the fetishist often decorates the partner's toes with rings, and the ankle with chains and bracelets.

It is important to note that people who experience such attraction have their own special taste for the feet. They pay attention to their size, to the shape and length of the fingers, to the pedicure. And here, as in everything else, there are no average tastes. Everyone's preferences are individual.

BDSM element

Continuing the theme of foot fetish types, I would like to note that certain BDSM practices are associated with attraction to feet. For example, bastinado. This is a very popular practice involving foot spanking. In addition, foot fetishists often diversify their act by influencing their partner's legs with low and high temperatures, tickling or sharp objects.

Many more practice trampling (body trampling) or pressing the feet of the face of the one who acts as a liability in a pair. And of course, various kinds of coercion in foot fetishism also occur.

In general, in sex, several techniques were formed related to the attraction to the feet, which were given names. In addition to the mentioned trampling, these are FeetLicking (tongue caresses), ToeSucking and ToeLicking (a more in-depth and frank version of the notorious oral caresses), FeetSniffing (smell inhalation), FootJob (stimulation with the soles), and also Foot Massage (massage). The latter is most often an element of preliminary play before sexual intercourse.

By the way, in addition to the above, there is also a “bottom view” foot fetish. It implies a person's observation of a naked object of adoration walking on a transparent surface. On a glass table, for example. When the view from below opens, a certain peeping effect is created. As a result - a splash of a certain proportion of adrenaline, which affects the excitement.

Craving for linen

It is impossible not to note her attention, talking about the types of fetish. The craving for underwear is characterized by sexual arousal experienced by articles of clothing, as well as his satisfaction with them. Very often craving for lingerie is associated with the so-called fetishistic transvestism. This is a type of sexual behavior in which the satisfaction of arousal is achieved or enhanced by dressing in clothes of the opposite sex.

People who are particularly into this type of fetish usually try to make themselves visually similar to members of the opposite sex. To do this, they use cosmetics, tightenings, various kinds of enlargers, etc.

It is also worth noting the attention of cisvestism. This is the name of the craving to wear clothes that do not correspond to one's age or social status. A vivid example is role-playing games, where a completely adult girl transforms into a schoolgirl.

And then there is the concept of homewestism. This is the satisfaction of one's arousal by putting on clothes of one's own gender, but belonging to another person (most often an object of desire or an idol).

Physical preferences

Listing the types of fetish, I would like to talk about those whose object is something related to physical characteristics person.

Apotemnophilia. The concept is combined with masochism, since the subject of a fetish is physical deformity. For example, the absence of a limb.

One more thing follows from this concept - acrotomophilia. This is the name of the craving for people with amputated limbs. It is considered a sexual deviation (deviation).

There is also heterochromophilia. It is an attraction experienced by people of a different skin color.

Passion for pornography

There are many other types of sex fetishes worth talking about. Pornography is common. This is the name of the pathological passion for videos, films and photographs of erotic content. From people who periodically watch something similar, pornographomaniacs differ radically. Indeed, for them, content with erotic content is the only incentive to achieve excitement and satisfaction.

This also includes the craving for a detailed examination of erotic videos / photos, attraction to close-ups, as well as the need to observe an intimate relationship from the outside. For many people with these fetishes, all of the above is the only form of sexual release. Often, pornographers and voyeurs simply cannot feel the excitement of the upcoming act or the sight of a naked partner.

"selfish" preferences

Another fairly common phenomenon is narcissism. In this case, this is not a character trait, but to your body and yourself. Another "related" fetish is automonosexuality. This is a more complex concept. It refers to attraction to one's body while identifying it with another person. It occurs quite rarely.

The famous German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld gave a clear definition and characterization of automonosexuality. This is a type of narcissism in which a man is aroused by imagining himself in a woman's body, and vice versa. To satisfy their desires, automonosexuals can change into clothes of the opposite sex in front of a mirror, making their fantasies more realistic.

Strange dispositions

Talking about what types of fetish are, I would like to pay attention to three of them, which can be called the most strange.

Pygmalionism. People with such a fetish are attracted to a still image of a person's body. They satisfy themselves by touching him. Also, such fetishists are able to experience the pleasure of owning this object (a mannequin, for example).

Kleptolagnia. People with this fetish are aroused by the thought of being robbed. The fear they feel when they steal, and the adrenaline rush that comes with it, gives them incredible pleasure. And it is better if it is also accompanied by BDSM elements (immobilization, pressing against the wall, etc.).

Crash fetish. Occurs rarely. A person with a crash fetish is aroused by watching his partner crush and break objects with his feet.

Attraction to mechanisms

Above, it was briefly described about what types of fetish are. Many of them are unusual, but understandable. Now it is worth touching on a much stranger kind of fetish. And this is mechanophilia. This is the name of the attraction to cars, as well as to motorcycles, helicopters, trucks, airplanes and other mechanisms.

It is not very common, but in 2008 a man named Edward Smith became known to the world - the one who had sex with a thousand cars! He was interviewed by many media outlets. Edward himself does not consider his love for cars to be something abnormal and assures that cars excite him much more than women, although he was in a relationship with ladies. Smith's first "love", by the way, was the Corvette Stingray, an American sports concept car.

Special "love" for the elements

Considering the different types of sexual fetishes, it is also worth talking about aquaphilia. People who are prone to it prefer sex in or under water, as well as on the seashore, lakes, rivers, in a pool, bathhouse, etc. If we talk about pornographic content, then they like underwater erotica the most. In the 90s there was even such a magazine - Aquaphiles Journal.

There is also the so-called pyrolagnia. It's a fire fetish. People with pyrolagnia experience excitement when contemplating a flame. It can be both a fire and a fire, and a candle, or even a match. This fetish has a more serious form called pyromania. This is not just a pathological need experienced by a person to watch the fire, but also a craving for arson. Pyromania is fraught with consequences, can harm other people, environment and someone else's property, so it needs to be treated.

Sexual symbolism

This topic cannot be ignored when it comes to the most popular types of fetish. Sexual symbolism is most often identified with retifism. This is the name of the attraction experienced by many people in relation to products made from a certain material.

Most often, retifists are “drawn” to latex and leather. Or rather, gloves, belts, belts, shoes, corsets, pants and other peculiar wardrobe items made from them. Retifiists prefer that their partner does not remove the product that excites them. In the process of the act, they touch him, stroke him - in general, they perceive him as an integral part of the object of passion.

Retifism is mainly characteristic of men. Those who are not averse to the fact that the girl, wearing high-heeled shoes, even briefly tried on the role of a dominant and used her exciting shoes in foreplay.

Other types of fetishes

Much has been said above about very popular sexual preferences. But this is not all types of fetish. The list is calculated not only in tens or hundreds of items. There are preferences that seem quite normal. And there are those that go beyond the framework of universal human values ​​and even the Criminal Code. However, I would like to note a few fetishes in the end.

Formicophilia. It is unlikely that many have heard of this fetish. Because it is characteristic of people who are aroused by spiders or other insects crawling over them.

Plushophilia. It even sounds cute and funny. If you do not remember that this concept means sexual attraction to plush toys.

Forniphilia. This is the name of a fetish belonging to one of the traditions of BDSM. In fact, it is an attraction to people posing as ... furniture.

In addition, there are fetishes that are not defined by one term. For example, the desire to have sex in places that are in principle public, and unwanted "eyes" may appear there. Beach, roof, elevator, mountain plateau, entrance, cinema - there can be many options. The bottom line is that lovers of intimacy in such places pick up the moment so that no one is there. But the fact that they can be seen adds adrenaline. Some are so passionate about this type of extreme that ordinary sex no longer brings them so much pleasure - there is no that “spark”.

In general, to summarize, we can say the following: a fetish is not something bad and shameful, as many people think because of the stereotypes existing in society. But still in this you need to know the measure and control yourself when necessary.

In our time, when open sexual desire is no longer something reprehensible, it is difficult to imagine that we do not know something about sex and its manifestations. And about such a kind of sexual behavior as fetishism, it has been known since time immemorial. By definition, a fetish is an object, action, or body part whose real or imagined use is necessary to satisfy sexual desires.

Well, who hasn't heard about the irresistible attraction to women's legs or shoes, some underwear and just uniforms? We decided to collect such sexual fetishes, the existence of which you did not even suspect.

Balloons

People with a passion for balloons experience sexual pleasure from touching them, and some experience an orgasm the moment the balloon explodes. By the way, perhaps this is due to the fact that a person produces adrenaline as soon as he hears the sound of a bursting balloon, and together with the agonizing expectation, this brings double pleasure.

Forniphilia

Have you ever wanted to act like a piece of furniture? Fornifils want. Some, on the contrary, like to have someone depict furniture for them. This fetish is one of the traditions of the BDSM subculture. It became especially popular in the 1970s after an exhibition by artist Allen Jones dedicated to "furniture made from people."

plushophilia

Probably the cutest and funniest fetish ever. If only we forget that such people are sexually attracted to soft toys ...

Formicophilia

A kind of bestiality, only formicophiles are excited by the fact that something vile, such as insects, crawls over them.

Hierophilia

Hierophiles are aroused by any interaction with or even contemplation of religious objects.

Pygmalionism

Remember the myth about Pygmalion's love for the statue of Galatea he made? So these people are attracted to any still image of the human body, and they get sexual satisfaction from the possession of this object and touching it.

crash fetish

A type of sexual pleasure in which arousal occurs when a person of the opposite sex crushes any objects, food, or even small animals with their feet (and this already goes beyond the boundaries of a funny sexual addiction). This also applies to watching so-called crash videos.

Kleptolagnia

Have you ever been excited by the thought of being robbed? Then you definitely don't have a fetish called kleptolagnia. People are excited by fear and adrenaline jumping at theft, and if they are also pressed against the wall and their hands are somehow fixed, then they will be even more pleasant.

Mascalania

Sexual attraction to the armpit, in which a person experiences pleasure from touching this part of the body, fantasizing about it and smelling it.

Symphorophilia

But this is, perhaps, a dangerous attraction - a person with symphorophilia experiences sexual satisfaction from watching the tragedy or from its direct staging. Moreover, this concept covers such examples as a traffic accident, fires, the destruction of a bridge, and even a tsunami.

Mechanophilia

Everyone loves cars, especially men, but some love them too much. Mechanophilia includes attraction not only to cars, but also to motorcycles, trucks, helicopters, and even airplanes. A certain Edward Smith once confessed to having sex with more than a hundred machines. We don't even want to know what that means...

Forniphilia is the sexual attraction to people who represent furniture, or the desire to act as furniture yourself. This fetish, which has become part of the BDSM culture, will not surprise anyone now, but it is still strange!

Trichophilia

Trichophilia is a sexual attraction to hair. Many men like long and thick women's hair, but it's not normal to collect strands of hair of their mistresses (and not necessarily from the head) and get excited from combing and washing your hair.

Olafactophilia

This is the name of the attraction caused by body odors, for example, the smell of sweat. Some scientists believe that the smell of the sweat of a genetically suitable partner should be attractive. But lactophiles not only like it, but cause an irresistible sexual attraction.

Hierophilia

This is excitement from the elements of religious paraphernalia - holy books, icons, reading prayers, even just being in temples. Perhaps it is this fetish that explains the popularity of the image of the "sexy nun".

Pyrolagnia

People who are obsessed with pyrolagnia are excited by the contemplation of the flame. Some of these fetishists become arsonists, while others simply enjoy the spectacle of a burning fire or candle.

Pygmalionism

Pygmalionism, as you might guess, is named after the mythological sculptor who fell in love with his creation. Such fetishists are attracted to any image of the human body - sculpture, photography, portrait. If a pygmalionist cannot possess a work of art, he may decide to destroy it.

feederism

There is nothing wrong with healthy fatness, but there are fetishists who are aroused by breastfeeding a sexual partner. Feeders specially buy high-calorie food for their ladies and rejoice at every kilogram gained.

Apothemnophilia and acrotomophilia

We combined these two fetishes into one item, because in the first version, the person dreams of amputation, and in the second, he is attracted to amputees. Apothemnophiles might even try to get doctors to cut off their limbs.

scatolalia

Many of us in our childhood amused ourselves with petty telephone hooliganism like "Hello, is this a laundry?" Refuses, some adults get sexual pleasure, infuriating the interlocutor with phone calls.