Stigmatophilia

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About: I'm sensually and sexually fascinated and have been for as long as I can remember. I haven't been able to find a prefix that fits my sexuality yet so I simply refer to myself as sexual. A cubicle dweller by day, and artist, writer, cook, and avid reader the rest of the time. I have an affinity for short skirts, Elvis Presley, cupcakes, hand-written letters, good erotica, my sewing machine, and anything with polka dots or cherries all over it. If I had it my way, I would be a pin-up girl sprawled across the hood of a 1956 Bel Air and best friends with Marilyn Monroe. Instead I'm a 28 year-old Jersey girl that hasn't figured out what she wants to be when she grows up yet, and I'm alright with that too.See Authors Posts (10)

Stigmatophilia. If you think anything like me, your first thought might be that this is a rather zealous sexual appreciation for crucifixion. Or the Catholic church. Or even that Patricia Arquette movie where her palms kept spewing blood on the subway. However we’d all be wrong.

In actuality, stigmatophilia is a fetish involving those with body piercings, tattoos, branding, or other body modifications and adornments. Like most fetishes, it does technically include those who are very much aroused by simplistic skin accessories, but in most cases requires either a large amount of body work done or the truly unusual, alternative, and pretty much freaky side of body art be present. This particular fetish also includes the appearance of the person possessing the fetish. Unlike say a foot fetish, where it’s rather unusual for the person to be aroused at the sight of their own feet, people with stigmatophilia can be dependent on their own piercings and markings – and the act of having them done- to reach orgasm as well as the appearance of their partner.

This might seem to be a very common affliction at first thought, but what we need to remember is what qualifies as a fetish. I personally love my partners to be tattooed and pierced. The more ink, the better, in my book. It is very much a factor in initial physical attraction to me and a continuous turn-on throughout the relationship. This does not qualify as stigmatophilia. I am still more than capable of being in a fully satisfying relationship with someone with completely virgin skin, and have been on several occasions – it’s not so much a necessity, just a nice plus. In order to meet the definition of the abnormality, one actually needs to see and possibly feel the extreme body modifications of a partner to be able to reach sexual climax and often even arousal. Dating and/or having sex with a person with no skin art or in a lot of cases, even a small lower back inked-on flower or a belly ring simply wouldn’t be a viable option for someone with this particular fetish.

Since body modifications, specifically piercings, can be a part of the male and female genital regions, there are also stigmatophiliacs that require not only body scarring, but that it be on the penis or vagina of their mate. This means that in some cases, you could have every orifice from the waist up chock full of hoops, barbells, and sparkly little micro-dermal implants, and be able to set off an airport metal detector from a half mile away, and still not be quite enough for someone with this issue.

While stigmatophilia is considered one of the more rare and unusual paraphilias, it is still included on most lists of recognized fetishes by research and medical associations. There doesn’t seem to be much historical research on when this particular fetish was officially recognized or when it may have peaked in society, but one would guess that for as long as people have been decorating their bodies, there’s been someone around who is sexually drawn to it in an almost inexplicable manner.

This fetish is treatable, but not always considered necessary to treat. In cases where it is doing no harm to the personal life of the stigmatophiliac, the condition is usually left alone and it is possible for this individual to simply form a relationship where the fetish is fulfilled. In cases where the fetish becomes more and more extreme over time and requires more and more stimulation, there are several options for treatment. Psychoanalysis, prescription drugs, and behavioral therapy, and the very scary sounding orgasmic reconditioning are all valid choices.