Food Play, Fantasy and Human Sexuality

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God.”- 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. I am a huge fan of detective television series. Among my favourite television series is CSI New York. Recently, I watched an episode which opened my eyes a bit more to the world of sexual fetishes. I am very much aware that many folks have fetishes, most of which are tabooed. On this particular episode of CSI New York the detectives investigated the deaths of a number of individuals who attended the same party. At first the detectives thought the murders were random acts, however as the plot unfolded we were in for a treat. Nonetheless, the more the detectives investigated and put the pieces of the puzzle together they realized the common thread. This episode of CSI dealt with the phenomena called sploshing. Many of you must now be wondering where this is going. From time immemorial humans have always engaged in various fetishes. Many of us frown on those who engage in such activities, while we hide and do likewise. I am always reminded of the Bible verse which says, judge not lest ye be judged- St. Matthew 7:1. Some will argue that there is nothing sinful in indulging in a fetish in the context of a marriage relationship between a man and woman. Is it wrong to identify a particular part of the body especially attractive? There is a thin line between a fetish and an obsession; once this line is crossed this can become problem. The participants can then become so obsessed that they elevate this fetish to a spiritual experience. The Bible tells us that we are made in the image of God and that the marriage relationship is one in which husband and wife is intended to enjoy one another's intimacy. Intimacy does not exclude fetishism. Origin of Fetishism Alan Bass states that psychoanalytic concepts often take their names from words than can a have complex history of their own. He adds that this is particularly true of the terms fetish and fetishism. It is not usual for us to think of fetishism in sexual terms, however, the word has been used for centuries before it became a psychoanalytic topic. Sigmund Freud made a reference to background of the word in his Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality. Freud was aware that fetishism had been given a sexualized meaning by Alfred Binet in 1888. The word fetish was coined in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese explorers of West Africa to describe the religious veneration of thing they found there. These so called European explorers were slave traders and would enslave and engage in the Transatlantic Slave Trade for over 300 years. Fetishism as a mental condition may be defined as the necessity to use a nongenital object in order to achieve sexual gratification. The object may be some other body part, an article of clothing, or, less frequently, some more impersonal object. The condition occurs almost exclusively among men, and most of the objects used relate to the female body or female clothing. Long hair or the foot may be the primary object of sexual attention; cases in which a certain hair colour or type of body blemish is required for sexual stimulation are also generally classified as fetishism. We live in a cultural permissive society in which many individuals get pleasure and satisfaction from pushing the boundaries regarding accepted norms and values. It is said that in some cultures a fetish is an object, especially a carved object which is considered to have religious or magical powers. The Appeal Sploshing parties based on research are invitation only get together. It seems these parties attract a specific type of individual who is more sexually expressive and receptive to other areas of sexuality based on their educational attainment and cultural exposure. A fetish is sexual excitement in response to an object or body part that’s not typically sexual, such as shoes or feet. In psychology fetishism is a form of sexual deviance involving erotic attachment to an inanimate object or an ordinarily asexual part of the human body. Zachary Zane in an article for Men’s Health states sploshing, at its most basic level, refers to the act of incorporating food into your sex life. The sexual kink or fetish can take many forms, but in general, it happens when a person gets aroused by seeing and playing with copious amounts of food in a sexual setting. Sploshing is a subset of the "wet and messy" fetish (WAM), which also includes messy non-bodily substances like shaving cream, slime, paint and lotion. “Some people may enjoy being covered in these substances, while others may enjoy covering others or watching overs get covered by them,” explains Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute. They’re more common in men. There are also online dating sites which specializes in sploshing. Pop Culture In this episode of CSI New York, the party goers all had an erotic attachment to food. Yes, you read correctly. Sploshing is defined as a sexual/sensual to food. Oftentimes these sploshing parties are designed to give participants sexual pleasure. At these sploshing parties participants cover each other in foods of different tastes, textures, and temperatures. Eating the food off each other is optional. Metro News describes sploshing as when a person gets sexual pleasure from being wet and messy. They are aroused when substances are rubbed or poured on to their bare skin or clothes. It can be done with food, mud, or even paint. Can you imagine having a Black Forest, Rum and Raisin cake or your favourite pie being rubbed in your face and all over your body, followed by some rather messy sex? There is even a name for those who attend these food sex parties, yes you guessed right splosher. There are entrepreneurs who host these parties and of course one has to pay a fee to enter. Human beings are hedonistic by nature so one should not be totally surprised about sploshing parties. Perhaps they are not as well known in small societies such as out, however, in the United States of America and in Europe sploshing parties are known. Like any sexual interest, the appeal can vary from person to person. Most of us might have heard of BDSM. BDSM is a term used to describe aspects of sex that involve dominance, submission, and control. The practice typically involves one partner taking on a more dominant role during sex, while the other is more submissive. Some people might enjoy it as a form of BDSM play, in which there is a submissive or masochistic element (like humiliation) involved in getting covered by a messy substance, says Lehmiller. “Others may just enjoy the physical or tactile sensation of these substances,” he adds. Whether we admit to it or not, we have all been exposed to sploshing through pop culture. Usually these tabooed subject matters are introduced to us in a comical manner in order for us to let our guard down while an alien value system is being introduced. Do you recall American Pie? In this hugely popular teen movie the pie was sexualized by the character played by Jason Biggs. Human Sexuality is also evolving. The spectrum of human sexuality appears never ending and humans continue to explore sexual boundaries. The emergence of social media and the frequency with which were able to travel have also spread and facilitated an acceptance of alien cultures in many once conservative societies. In the words of Rick Castro, fetish is the exploration of sex as art, and the refinement of one’s personal desires. Anything can be fetishised. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo #sploshing #fetish #popculture ©