fetishism

American  

[fet-i-shiz-uhm, fee-ti-] / ˈfɛt ɪˌʃɪz əm, ˈfi tɪ- /

Or fetichism

noun

1. belief in or use of fetishes.

2. Psychiatry. the compulsive use of some object, or part of the body, as a stimulus in the course of attaining sexual gratification, as a shoe, a lock of hair, or underclothes.

3. blind devotion.

   a fetishism of sacrifice to one's children.

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fetishism British  

/ ˈfɛtɪˌʃɪzəm, ˈfiː- /

noun

1. a condition in which the handling of an inanimate object or a specific part of the body other than the sexual organs is a source of sexual satisfaction

2. belief in or recourse to a fetish for magical purposes

3. excessive attention or attachment to something

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Other Word Forms

• fetishist noun
• fetishistic adjective
• fetishistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of fetishism

First recorded in 1795–1805; fetish + -ism

Example Sentences

For all its brutality, the series retains the original’s romance without sliding into its predecessor’s cultural fetishism.

From Salon

I have called this approach “methodological fetishism,” when scientists fixate on a preferred methodology and dismiss studies that don't follow it.

From Scientific American

But as Jeremy O. Harris’ stage hit “Slave Play” has reminded us in recent years, heated arguments about fetishism, assimilation and otherness aren’t at all abstract when it comes to dating interracially.

From Los Angeles Times

Crammed with unseen materials and photographs — Unkrich estimates that 75% of the featured images, excluding film stills, will be new even to serious enthusiasts — this collector’s dream sets a new high bar for Kubrick fetishism.

From Los Angeles Times

"We need to be pragmatic and guided by observed data, including underlying inflation, without fetishism for increases that are too mechanical," he added.

From Reuters