Sexuality is socially constructed. Social constructions are informed by symbols of identities. Fetishes are a physical symbols that link social identity with sexual expression.

“Individuals and groups give meaning to bodily sensations and feelings and make erotic acts into sexual identities”

Types of Fetishes

• Media/Material - arousal from the type of material and its association. Leather is common, as are latex and rubber in some social contexts. Media fetishes can manifest in other elements of kink sexuality, such as bondage, if the material of restraint is of symbolic value (rope vs. chain, for example)

• Form/Object - arousal from the type of object. Sneakers, boots, football uniforms, etc. As suggested above, fetishes can be attached to the form of restraint (for form, the thickness of rope might matter)

Fetish objects are usually able to be linked back to a specific identity via association, but it is also possible that a fetish feeling may link through the emotion conveyed by an object.

• Aesthetics - a visual appreciation, whether through casual observation in the wild, images discovered (and stored) or an intent voyeuristic practice. The aesthetics can be attached to fantasy or can in themselves be arousing.

• Touch - touch creates a more personal connection with an object and makes it feel more real. In fetish feeling the object provides more familiarity with the materials and construction of the object but can also illuminate individual differences in an object, feeling where a guy's toes were in his boots or feeling creases in a pair of basketball shoes where they hugged the guy's foot. Thermal properties of touch can give a sense of life and recency to the object (warm hoodie off a basketball player)

• Smell - smells have various functions in fetish. Smelling a 'clean' object assures of its purity or allows for a direct enjoyment of the specific medium (leather boots). Smelling a 'live' item allows for an intimate exploration of the wearer

The attributes of fetish have been described above, including an assortment of forms and media as well as an abbreviated exhibition of basic sensory connections to fetish. The sensory connections describe the method by which the fetish object is experienced, but it does not describe how the symbol is acted upon. There are many ways to act upon the symbol, two common ones are objectification and role taking.

Role taking involves wearing the object and therefore taking on the identity associated with the object, projecting the identity or experimentally consuming components of it (jock confidence, military aggression). Role taking also enables symbolic manipulation of the identity through blending it with other identities (including your own). Role taking can range from simple emulation, which can be achieved just by wearing the object, to full role play in which you 'become' the identity either for the duration of a play session or permanently (intentional hyper-masculine performance by gay men, for example). Role taking is a social exercise of the fetish, but should not be confused for a lack of authenticity of presentation. An authentic identity can include fetish-based role taking.

Objectification can be done through ejaculating on the object or otherwise bringing the object into the sexual component of play. Obtaining an object that belongs/belonged to a guy who represents the fetishized identity and then wearing the item yourself can also be a form of objectification. Objectification closely aligns with DS themes and can be used in humiliation play. Objectification can range from an aesthetic appreciation for the object and using the image as the basis for your own arousal/orgasm to non-consensual rape of the object.

Role taking and objectification are active forms of practiced fetish. More passive or submissive fetish practices involve arousal from feeling the symbolic power of the fetish object exercised. Licking, kissing and smelling the object to experience the object can be considered objectification, but depending upon the frame of mind taken it can also be a massive experience of the fetish object, showing appreciation for the embodied identity. Other types of fetish play such as being the recipient of trampling by sneakers is a different form of passive play that is the exercise of the fetish by accepting subordination to the fetish object. It could be argued that these passive acts are also a form of 'role taking', except instead of enacting the identity the recipient is taking the role of being the subordinate to the fetishized identity, whether directly named in a binary (jock vs. nerd) or a generalized submissive identity.

Fetishes are fluid, constantly changing based on stimuli provided through the social context. In part, this is how we know that fetishes are social. Fluidity may be observed through either direct societal influence (ex. jocks are now wearing Air Max 97, making it 'appealing', despite its previous status) or they may move based on the consistency and evolution of a theme (ex. Air Max 270 followed an existing theme, therefore attraction may have evolved without need to observe them in the wild).