So he has a strong sexual penchant for your feet. Or maybe he likes wearing your undies. Should you be jumpy about it? Is it even called a fetish? And will it maim your relationship eventually? The answers to these and more, right here.

Here are the important questions to ask yourself to figure whether his sexual kink is just harmless fun or is veering out of control:

Ask Yourself: Is it A Fetish or A Turn-On?
What is a Fetish?
In medical or psychoanalytic terminology, a fetish is a condition in which someone (called fetishist) is sexually fixated on an inanimate object or body part, or both. However, most of us laymen tend to use the term more loosely to mean any general turn-on (where in fact "sexual preference" is more apt).

Of course, many men - and women - have some degree of fetishistic arousal for various turn-ons such as sexy lingerie, but they don't become frigid without them. For example, if your partner has a sexual preference for stiletto heels, it does not necessarily mean that he can't get off without them - which is what differentiates mere sexual turn-ons from a full-fledged fetish.

Fetishism only becomes problematic when the behaviour is socially deviant or when sexual arousal becomes impossible without the fetish object. In strict, clinical sense, a fetishist can only become aroused or achieve sexual gratification if the fetish object is present (to smell, rub or handle) or by fantasizing about it.