Krafft-Ebbing Case Study

Register to read the introduction… However, accuse me of being a Marxist defined ‘Commodity Fetishist’ on some level, and I will be lying if I don’t agree. As an avid shoe lover and collector, I do attach a somewhat silly importance to my shoe collection. I fetishize my shoes, meaning that I elevate them to a level above food, shelter and clothing, to put it mildly. Owning a pair of towering Blahnik’s (even a good ol’ high street brand will suffice on my budget!!) makes me feel invincible, like the sexiest, most desirable woman on earth. Nevertheless, this raises the question of where comes the difference between sexual and commodity fetishism? Today’s fashion industry only seems to boost the occurrence of putting commodities, especially branded ones, up on a pedestal. For me, commodity fetishism is only an offshoot of sexual fetishism. I can argue that a sexual fetishist, with a special love for corsets or lacy, racy underwear, will often be attracted to only those who wear these types of garments, and in the case of a female, often wear this herself. These items will be upgraded to a near reverential status in her eyes, and will make …show more content…
Steele later went on to describe levels of fetishism, with Level 1 being the lowest with a slight preference for certain objects or partners, and Level 4 being the highest, where specific stimuli take the actual place of a sex partner. Celebrated psychologist Sigmund Freud later developed Ebbing’s definition further, by extending the term ‘fetishism’ to include what he described as ‘castration anxiety’. Castration anxiety describes the terror felt by the male sex when they discover that the women in their life, starting with their mothers, do not have a penis. Freud argues that boys are born thinking that everyone has a penis, females included, but when they realise that females don’t have one, they assume it has been cut off, and therefore, theirs would be cut off too. This leads to a phenomenon know as ‘castration anxiety’. For Freud, this is the birth point of any kind of fetishism. He claims that most fetishized objects have a certain ‘phallic’ symbolism, and that’s why most fetishists are men, who fantasize over some article of women’s attire. Taking shoes as an example, the stiletto heel of a shoe embodies the ‘phallic’ symbol, which is not exactly emblematic of a …show more content…
Fetish fashion often incorporates aspects of dominatrix gear, and therefore can be perceived as a ‘wicked’ offshoot of power dressing. The ‘bad girl’ image, a rebellious, open minded, care-a-damn woman appeals to most of us. Designer Betsey Johnson was a pivotal player in spear heading this image, showcasing a fashion show in the 80’s at the Mudd Club, featuring ‘bad girls’ dressed in leather behind