Partialism

Armpits, backs, breasts, buttocks, navels, hair, hands, feet, legs, and lips are common partialisms.

Partialism is a sexual fetish with an exclusive focus on a specific part of the body other than genitals.[1][2][3] Partialism is categorized as a fetishistic disorder in the DSM-5 of the American Psychiatric Association only if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. In the DSM-IV, it was considered a separate paraphilia (not otherwise specified), but was merged into fetishistic disorder by the DSM-5.[1] Individuals who exhibit partialism sometimes describe the anatomy of interest to them as having equal or greater erotic attraction for them as do the genitals.[4]

  1. ^ a b American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders American Psychiatric Association (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing. pp. 700–701. ISBN 978-0890425558.
  2. ^ Edlin, Gordon; Golanty, Eric (2011). Human Sexuality: The Basics. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 9780763736521. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. ^ Milner, J. S., & Dopke, C. A. (1997). Paraphilia Not Otherwise Specified: Psychopathology and theory. In D. R. Laws and W. O'Donohue (Eds.), Sexual deviance: Theory, assessment, and treatment. New York: Guilford.
  4. ^ Kunjukrishnan, R., Pawlak, A., & Varan, L R. (1988). The clinical and forensic psychiatric issues of retifism. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 33, 819–825.