Editing Sexual fetishism (section)

== Cause ==
[[File:1421 Sensory Homunculus.jpg|thumb|250x250px|The sensory regions for the feet and genitals lie next to each other, as shown in this [[cortical homunculus]].]]
Fetishism usually becomes evident during puberty, but may develop prior to that.<ref name="DSM-5" /> No single cause for fetishism has been conclusively established.<ref name="bancroft" />

Some explanations invoke [[classical conditioning]]. In several experiments, men have been conditioned to show arousal to stimuli like boots, geometric shapes or penny jars by pairing these cues with conventional erotica.<ref>{{cite book | author =  Darcangelo, S. | date= 2008 | title = Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition | url =  https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws | url-access =  limited | publisher = The Guilford Press | pages = [https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws/page/n126 112]–113 | chapter = Fetishism: Psychopathology and Theory | isbn= 9781593856052 | editor = Laws, D. R. |editor2=O'Donohue, W. T.}}</ref> According to [[John Bancroft (sexologist)|John Bancroft]], conditioning alone cannot explain fetishism, because it does not result in fetishism for most people. He suggests that conditioning combines with some other factor, such as an abnormality in the sexual learning process.<ref name="bancroft">{{cite book | author = Bancroft, John | year = 2009 | title = Human Sexuality and Its Problems | publisher = Elsevier Health Sciences | pages = 283–286}}</ref>

Theories of [[sexual imprinting]] propose that humans learn to recognize sexually desirable features and activities during childhood. Fetishism could result when a child is imprinted with an overly narrow or incorrect concept of a sex object.<ref>{{cite book | author =  Darcangelo, S. | date= 2008 | title = Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition | url =  https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws | url-access =  limited | publisher = The Guilford Press | page = [https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws/page/n128 114] | chapter = Fetishism: Psychopathology and Theory | isbn= 9781593856052 | editor = Laws, D. R. |editor2=O'Donohue, W. T.}}</ref> Imprinting seems to occur during the child's earliest experiences with arousal and desire, and is based on "an egocentric evaluation of salient reward- or pleasure-related characteristics that differ from one individual to another."<ref name="pfaus" />

Neurological differences may play a role in some cases. [[Vilayanur S. Ramachandran]] observed that the region processing sensory input from the feet lies immediately next to the region processing genital stimulation, and suggested an accidental link between these regions could explain the prevalence of [[foot fetishism]].<ref>{{cite journal | author = Ramachandran, V. S. | year = 1994 | title = Phantom limbs, neglect syndromes, repressed memories, and Freudian psychology | journal = International Review of Neurobiology | volume = 37 | pages = 291–333| doi = 10.1016/S0074-7742(08)60254-8 | pmid = 7883483 | isbn = 9780123668370 }}</ref> In one unusual case, an [[anterior temporal lobectomy]] relieved an epileptic man's fetish for safety pins.<ref>{{cite book | author =  Darcangelo, S. | date= 2008 | title = Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition | url =  https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws | url-access =  limited | publisher = The Guilford Press | page = [https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws/page/n126 112] | chapter = Fetishism: Psychopathology and Theory | isbn= 9781593856052 | editor = Laws, D. R. |editor2=O'Donohue, W. T.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Mitchell, W., Falconer, M., & Hill, D. | year = 1954 | title = Epilepsy with fetishism relieved by temporal lobectomy | journal = The Lancet | volume = 264 | issue = 6839 | pages = 626–630 | doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(54)90404-3| pmid = 13202455 }}</ref>

Various explanations have been put forth for the rarity of female fetishists. Most fetishes are visual in nature, and males are thought to be more sexually sensitive to visual stimuli.<ref name="darcprev">{{cite book|author=Darcangelo, S.|url=https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws|title=Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, 2nd edition|date=2008|publisher=The Guilford Press|editor=Laws, D. R.|page=[https://archive.org/details/sexualdevianceth00laws/page/n124 110]|chapter=Fetishism: Psychopathology and Theory|isbn=9781593856052 |editor2=O'Donohue, W. T.|url-access=limited}}</ref> [[Roy Baumeister]] suggests that male sexuality is unchangeable, except for a brief period in childhood during which fetishism could become established, while [[Sexual fluidity|female sexuality is fluid]] throughout life.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Baumeister, R. F. |year=2000 |title=Gender differences in erotic plasticity: the female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive. |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=347–74; discussion 385–9 |url=http://people.fmarion.edu/tbarbeau/Erotic%20Plasticity2000.pdf |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.347 |pmid=10825779 |s2cid=35777544 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105135128/http://people.fmarion.edu/tbarbeau/Erotic%20Plasticity2000.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2012 }}</ref>