THE HISTORY OF FETISH

since i do own the only fetish art gallery in the world, (ANTEBELLUM) many people ask me to explain fetish. i thought the best way to approach this~ a topic of vast definition and impossible to fully explain since the concept of fetish changes with society~ was to go directly to the sources that created the first theories of fetish.

it's no coincidence that fetish is becoming mainstream in the 21st century. the time is finally right. what was once vastly misunderstood and deviant is now part of contemporary culture. i like to think that i've had a lot to do with this acceptance within art, ( my photography and antebellum gallery) film, (hustler white, plushies & furries) & fashion, (rickcastro,com) . here's how our historians previously defined fetish-

from websters dictionary-
FETISH- (from the French fétiche; which comes from the Portuguese feitiço; and this in turn from Latin facticius, "artificial" and facere, "to make") is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.

Initially, the concept of fetishism was used by the Portuguese to refer to the objects used in religious cults by the West African natives.
The concept was made known in Europe by Charles de Brosses circa 1757, while comparing West African religion to the magical aspects of Ancient Egyptian religion. Later, Auguste Comte used the concept to apply an evolution theory to religion. In Comte's theory of the evolution of religion, he proposed that fetishism is the earliest (most primitive) stage.
In some forms of Christianity, which is a monotheistic religion, the Holy Cross and consecrated host are examples of fetishism.
In the 19th-20th century, Tylor and McLennan held that the concept of fetishism allowed historians of religion to shift attention from the relationship between people and God to the relationship between people and material objects.

(west african fetish)

alfred binet theory-
Alfred Binet proposed that fetishes be classified as either "spiritual love" or "plastic love". "Spiritual love" occupied the devotion for specific mental phenomena, such as attitudes, social class, or occupational roles; while "plastic love" referred to the devotion exhibited towards material objects such as body parts, textures or shoes.

(alfred binet)

sigmund freud theory-
First described by Sigmund Freud in 1887, sexual fetishism is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object.
A fetish is when a person is sexually aroused by a specific object or objects. What makes a fetish "fetishism" by definition is that it interferes with your life. It's not just something you like to do, or you want to do, but something you have to do. It’s as if there is a compulsion.

(freud's infamous~ therapy couch)

karl marx theory-
"Fetishism" in this context refers to symbolic attribution of power to an object to the point where people believe and act as though the fetish object really has that power, and this power is even regarded as being intrinsic to the object. In reality, that power is not an intrinsic characteristic of the object at all. However, in terms of social behavior, if a sufficient proportion of people act as though the object has the power, then the object can function as if it had that power.
For thousands of years, people already knew or believed that particular objects or activities could cause harm, and that others could have good effects, even although they did not really know why in a "scientific" sense. Consequently these "primitive" people were apt to regard such objects as being ruled by good and evil spirits, or endowed them with magical or supernatural powers, and they devised rules for their appropriate use. Some objects were then treated as sacred or taboo, meaning they could not be touched or used, or that they could be used only under specific conditions, or by authorized people.

(karl marx)

Marx argued that a similar sort of perception arises in market trade, where special powers are attributed to the traded objects and their relationships, to the extent that people believe and act as though those powers are the natural, inherent characteristic of the traded objects and theorize about them in that way. Since social relationships are expressed as the relationships between the things being traded, it begins to look like social characteristics, such as value and exchangeability, are the natural, intrinsic characteristic of the things being exchanged.

(marx's market trade fetish)


(freud's foot fetish)


(binet's material fetish)


(modern day fetish~ combines all theories)

to learn all about the wonderful world of fetish~ visit ANTEBELLUM gallery wednesday thru saturday~ 1~ 7pm, and check out our website~ www.antebellum.us.ms