The word fetish originally meant "charm", and it originates from the 15th century Portuguese word feitico, which means false power, object or charm. For example, when the Portuguese explored West Africa and encountered native religions, they called whatever talisman (totems, carvings, beads) they revered, a fetish.
To the Portuguese in those days, the fetishists were those who worshipped the unusual. Later on, however, the implication of the word took on a whole different meaning.
First, a fetish involves the transfer of power from an original source onto a substitute. Second, a fetishist is someone who operates outside the circle of what is characteristically considered normal. Yeah right, what is normal nowadays?
There are many diverse kinds of fetishes, depending on the object being fetishized. Inanimate fetishes come in two varieties -- media and form.
In a media fetish, material is what is obsessed over. Media fetishes include rubber, leather, latex, and silk.
With a form fetish, it's the shape of the object that has great significance. Stiletto heels, knee-high boots and panties fall into this category.
Feet, hair, butts, breasts, and all that good stuff are also considered fetishes, but since these objects are human, they're called "animate" fetishes.
People can turn anything into a fetish. There are different degrees of fetishism: from mild to extreme. Shakespeare once said, "There is no right or worng, only thinking makes it so."
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