Legitimately interested, can anyone explain the difference here? There might be, I just haven't really grasped it yet.
"Kink" is a broad term that refers to a wide variety of consensual, non-traditional sexual, sensual, and intimate behaviors.(
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Some examples of kinks include: BDSM, roleplay, group sex, voyeurism, use of sex toys. (
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A kink is anything that both falls outside of the typical boundaries of what society has deemed “normal” sexually and is arousing.
Because what qualifies as a kink is dependent on what your social sphere qualifies as normal, it’s highly dependent on a variety of factors, including:
"Fetish" is a more narrow term that describes people with an erotic or intimate interest in specific non-genital body parts, fabrics, smells, fluids, costumes and other non-human objects.(
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A fetish could be an inanimate object (high heels, leather, latex), a specific body part (breasts, feet), or a type of partner. A fetish is different compared to a kink in that a fetish must be present for gratification, where a kink isn’t necessarily required for satisfying sex. (
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The most widely cited definition of a fetish is that it’s anything that:
- falls outside of the typical boundaries of what society has deemed “normal” sexual activity
- is arousing
- must be present for someone to experience pleasure
Basically, this definition describes fetish as a sexual
need (while a kink is a sexual preference). (
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More from (
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): Basically, this definition describes fetish as a sexual
need (while a kink is a sexual preference).
“In the present, it’s less common for sex educators to define fetishes as things that MUST be part of sex,” says Queen. “Instead, a newer definition says that fetishes are things that are erotic superchargers.”
For example, someone with a redhead fetish may be able to have (and enjoy!) sex with someone who doesn’t have red hair, she says. “But red hair is still special and lets us experience eroticism in an especially powerful way than when it isn’t present,” she explains.
Even more from (
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): “Someone who finds wearing high heel shoes while having sex to be arousing has a high heel kink,” she says. “But someone who NEEDS high heels to be present during sex in order to experience arousal has a high heel fetish.”
Sometimes, the distinction is defined as the difference between being particularly aroused by a particular sex act, geographical location, or sexual dynamic (kink), and being particularly aroused by a certain object, material, or nongenital body part (fetish).
Some questions you might ask yourself if you’re trying to determine whether something is a kink or a fetish:
From me:
A layman's way to think of it - not exact, but gets the general idea across:
Kink involves action (verb) and Fetish involves object (noun)