In casual conversation, the words fetish and kink are often tossed around interchangeably to mean any sexual desire or proclivity that falls outside the mainstream appetite ― like bondage, for example.
But while the two terms may overlap in certain areas, sex experts say there are some key differences.
In general, a fetish is a sexual fixation on a specific object or act that is absolutely necessary to a person’s sexual gratification. Often, it’s something that may not be inherently sexual, like shoes, leather or sploshing.
When the fixation is on a particular body part ― feet, hands, butt or boobs, for example ― that’s referred to as “partialism.”
“With [partialism], one part of the whole body is isolated and sexually charged or objectified,” sex therapist David Ortmann, author of Sexual Outsiders: Understanding BDSM Sexualities and Communities, told HuffPost. “One can have a fetish for corsets or leather belts but, if one also is erotically obsessed with the slender, defined waist, that is a partialization.”
