What are the World’s Most Common Fetishes and kinks? [2023 Data]

We all have our fantasies. Nothing wrong with that! In this article, we will discuss the most common fetishes and popular kinks around the world. Read on:

Fetishes – we might not admit it, and we might not even know it yet, but most of us have one special thing that really gets us going in the bedroom.

Or, for some of us, it’s a few different things all at once.

From leather whips and ballgags to group sex and armpits, we’ll cover the most common fetishes around the world, and in the U.S. Our research explains where fetishes come from, how they vary by gender, when/if you should worry about them, and much more.    

If erotic statistics are your thing, check these data points out first:

• “Foot” is the most popular fetish term in 2022.
• Gen Y viewers (aged 25-34) are the highest viewers of feet content (higher by over 58% than other age groups).
• 53.8% of men and 46.2% of women from America and Canada indicated interest and engaged in a certain fetish.

• The most Googled fetish in Idaho is erotic electrostimulation. 
• Having a fetish for feet (or something related to feet)  is the most common fetish in the world. 
• Balloon fetishists – called “looners” – enjoy inflating and popping balloons for sexual pleasure. 
• About 1 in 50 Australians (1.8%) said they had engaged in BDSM activities in the past year, from 2001 to 2002.
• A Swedish study found that over 1 in 10 (10.8%) of respondents were aroused by either exhibitionistic or voyeuristic sexual behavior. 
• A study in Quebec found that more than half of men (53.5%) fantasize about being dominated. 
• According to one survey, 89% of people have fantasized about some form of group sex.
• Cross-dressing is not indicative of a fetishistic disorder. 

What Are Sexual Fetishes?

Fetish. In the past, society has given the word a nasty vibe… but what does it even mean?

It’s not as scary as it sounds. In layman’s terms, it’s just something that turns you on that isn’t biologically supposed to. These data points go into more detail:

A sexual fixation on an object or non-genital body part is called sexual or erotic fetishism.

A fetish is an object of an individual’s sexual fixation. A person with a fetish is called a fetishist.

Some fetishes are the feel of a certain material, such as rubber or leather.

Sources: Wikipedia, Very Well Mind, Web MD

Where Do Sexual Fetishes Come From?

For a long time, the psychological community was dead set on proving that fetishes were disorders bred from trauma. While that’s true in some cases, it’s not indicative of most fetishists. 

In reality, sexuality isn’t black and white. Here’s what some researchers have to say about the origins of fetishes: 

Source: Healthline

Kinks vs. Fetishes: Know the Difference

All right, we’re going to get a little bit technical here. Kinks and fetishes are close but different. 

Kinks are preferences, and fetishes are sort of like super-kinks. Here’s some psychological theory on the distinction between the two:

Many experts describe a fetish as a sexual need and a kink as a sexual preference.

How can you tell the difference?

• Someone who gets aroused by their partner wearing high heels during sex has a high-heel kink. 
• Someone who can’t get aroused without their partner wearing high heels has a high-heel fetish. 
• Some experts also describe fetishes as “erotic superchargers” that aren’t always necessary for sex but make it much more special and erotic. 

Source: Healthline

What Happens When a Person Has a Sexual Fetish?

If you discover that there’s nothing more erotic to you than seeing your partner in a polka-dot sundress, what’s next?

As long as he’s okay with wearing it during intercourse, you might as well embrace it. Here’s how individuals usually engage with their fetishes:   

• Many people with fetishes need to have their fetish object with them or fantasize about it to get aroused, get an erection, and achieve orgasm.
• A fetishist may masturbate while holding, smelling, rubbing, or tasting their fetish object. They may also ask their partner to wear or use it during sex.

Source: Web MD

The World’s Most Common Fetishes

While foot fetishes and BDSM may not surprise you, balloons and sports gear might. 

This list doesn’t indicate which fetishes are the most popular (that’s coming later), but it does show the world’s most common fetishes.

Sources: Psychology Today, Betches, Independent, Future Method, Sexologies, Mystery Vibe

Which Fetishes Are Most Popular?

Surprise, surprise, it’s feet. Well, technically, it’s the category of feet and feet-related accessories that currently wears the crown as the world’s most popular fetish. 

Stockings and skirts aren’t far behind, though. Take a look at these numbers and see for yourself:

The word “foot” is the most popular fetish term in 2022 on Pornhub.

The feet category on Pornhub was viewed more than 38% times than the previous year—an increase of engagement for 10% for men and 145% for women.

Foot-related searches on Pornhub also grew by 31%. “Footjob” is the most common term.

Gen Y viewers (aged 25-34) on Pornhub viewed feet by 58% more than other age groups.

One study found that the following percentages of people with body part fetishes prefer the following fetishes:

Less popular groups fetishize navels, legs, body hair, mouth, nails, and other things. 

The following percentages of people with clothing fetishes prefer these fetishes:

Less popular fetishes are headwear, stethoscopes, wristwear, pacifiers, and diapers. 

In a study of 48 cases of clinical fetishism, the percentage breakdown is as follows:

Here are the statistics on the remaining fetish categories:

1.8% of sexually-active people (2.2% of men and 1.3% of women) reported that they had participated in BDSM in the past year.

A Swedish study found that over 10% of participants were aroused by either voyeurism or exhibitionism. Here are the numbers:

Sources: International Journal of Impotence Research, The British Journal of Psychiatry, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Pornhub

Roleplay, Sex, and the Global Rise of BDSM

BDSM – the fetish so nice we mentioned it twice. Eight times so far, actually, and we’re going to keep mentioning it because there’s so much to talk about. 

In terms of popularity, BDSM can be tough to pin down because it’s an umbrella term. Bondage, masochism, sadism, etc., each count as their own kinks/fetishes, and most studies record them that way. 

That being said, the following data points are all about BDSM:

About 20% of people report engaging in BDSM.

In Belgium, one study found that almost half of their population had engaged in BDSM at least once:

Submissiveness was slightly more common than dominance:

Paraphilic behavior is defined as atypical or unusual (many BDSM acts fall into this category), but one Quebec study found that almost half of its respondents had paraphilic interests:

One study surveyed women who were already active in the kink community and identified some interesting sexual trends:

Over 50% said that they had participated in at least one of the following activities for their sexual gratification:

• Verbal or physical humiliation 
• Exhibitionism 
• Sensory deprivation 
• Physical punishment 
• Obedience training 
• Breath play 
• Domestic service/submission activities 
• Forced activities

More than 87% took part in at least one of the following scenarios, ordered from most common to least common:

• Master/slave
• Fear play (e.g., kidnapping)
• Occupation (boss, teacher, etc.)
• Animal play
• Medical play
• Age repression
• Religion
• Incest 
• Age progression
• Necrophilia

Roughly 75% said they were aroused by an object in at least one of five fetish categories (clothing, body parts, fabrics, uniforms, bodily fluids).

A 2022 study on pup play reveals 50.75% out of 372 participants engaged in other fetishes during pup play like:

Sources: The Journal of Sex Research, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, The Journal of Sex Research, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Archives of Sexual Behavior

Most Common Fetishes in the U.S.A.

God bless America, the land of the kinks and the home of the bondage play. Here we break down the most popular fetishes by state and region in the U.S.

If you’re into BDSM, there are quite a few states with like-minded people. If you’re into erotic electrostimulation, there’s just Idaho.

Here are the most popular fetishes in the U.S. by state:

By region, these are the most searched fetishes on Google in the U.S.:

Source: Future Method

Do Men and Women Have Different Fetishes?

Fetishes do vary significantly between men and women, primarily between dominant and submissive roles. 

Even with the variance, though, a large percentage of each sex fantasizes about both. Here are the numbers:

One study found that men were generally more sadistic and women more masochistic:

Sources: Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, The Journal of Sex Research, Journal of Sex & Marital Theraphy

How Gender Affects Sexual Fetishes

As society becomes more open-minded, we learn more about gender and sexuality every day. 

These data points illustrate how sexual fetishes function across gender lines:

Non-binary people generally have similar sexual fantasies to cisgender people; however, they are far more likely to include non-normative genitals and less likely to refer to themselves as the object of desire.

Males are much more likely to have a fetish than females.

Many women within the kink community (women who actively engage in kink or fetish activity) report voyeuristic tendencies.

In a study of women in the kink community, 75.44% said they had been sexually aroused by at least one object in one of the five fetish categories. These are the percentages by category:

Oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation are common among both men and women; rimming is common for men but uncommon for women.

Sources: Sexual and Relationship Therapy, Psychology Today, ABC, Archives of Sexual Behavior

Is It Normal to Have a Sexual Fetish?

While it may feel taboo, many fetishes are so common that they’re statistically normal behavior – even if society doesn’t always view them that way. 

Consent and community are the most important factors that make a fetish healthy and normal.  

In a 2022 study, these are the percentages of men and women from America and Canada who revealed they are somehow aroused to a certain fetish and/or have engaged in it at least once in their lifetime:

Fetishes can be considered normal variations of sexual behavior so long as they don’t involve non-consensual force, children, public sex, or self-harm.

Unhealthy fetishes can impair social lives, occupational activities, and personal relationships. They often involve a great deal of secrecy and shame.

Some people embrace their fetishes and search for partners who accept and understand them. The internet helps these people feel less alone by providing online communities for fetishists.

Source: Greatist, Sexual Abuse

Do People Typically Have Multiple Fetishes?

One fetish, two fetish

Red fetish, blue fetish.

How many fetishes does the average fetishist have? It varies, but these data points give some insight:

One study of 48 clinical cases of fetishism found the following results on the number of fetishes per person:

Once they arrive, fetishes tend to last, and it’s normal for people to have more than one at the same time.

New fetishes won’t replace old fetishes, and for many people, they can be interrelated (like having fetishes for feet, shoes, and stockings at the same time). However, not all of an individual’s fetishes have an obvious connection.

Sources: The British Journal of Psychiatry, Shape

Can Fetishes Become a Problem?

Because sexuality is such an integral part of the human consciousness, it can cause issues similar to mental or physical health problems. 

These data points explain how and when the experts view fetishes as a problem: 

An intense sexual attraction to body parts or inanimate objects that aren’t traditionally viewed as sexual that causes or accompanies significant impairment or distress is called Fetishistic Disorder.

Fetishistic Disorder can be diagnosed by the following criteria:

• The person has consistent intense sexual fantasies, impulses, or behaviors involving inanimate objects, or a hyper-specific focus on nongenital body parts, for at least six months. 
• The fantasies, behaviors, or sexual urges lead to serious distress or impair social, occupational, or personal function. 
• The fetish objects are not pieces of clothing used in cross-dressing and are not designed for sexual pleasure/stimulation, such as a vibrator.  

Fetishistic Disorder can be treated in the following ways:

Sources: Psychology Today

Conclusion

Fetishes come in all forms, to all kinds of people, for all kinds of reasons. And let’s be honest, many of them are at least a bit weird. 

Being weird, though, is part of what it means to be human. The unique bits and pieces of our sexualities set us apart from others, but they also empower the relationships we forge with like-minded people. They make those relationships even more special. 

Fetishes of any kind and in any amount are normal and healthy, so long as they don’t harm others or yourself. The foundation of sexuality is pleasure, and pleasure can’t exist without consent. Fetish groups often build consensual online and in-person communities that allow individuals to explore and healthily engage with their fetishes. 

Fetishistic disorder, however, is a real problem that primarily targets men. A good litmus test for knowing whether or not a fetish is healthy is the idea of self-consent; if your fetish causes you to compulsively do things you don’t want to do or are unhealthy for you, it’s imperative to seek help as soon as possible. 

That’s no reason to shy away from a fetish, though. Many studies show that more people fantasize about certain kinks or fetishes than actually engage in them. Talk to your partner, join an online community, or find another way to experience your unique interest. There’s nothing to lose and a world of pleasure to gain.