Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

SEXUAL DEVIATIONtempt to amalgamate masochism and foot-fetichism. In thebroad sense in which erotic symbolismis here understood,both masochism and foot-fetichism may be coordinatedas symbolisms; for the masochist his self-humiliating impulsesare the symbol of ecstatic adoration; for the footfetichisthis mistress's foot or shoe is the concentratedsymbol of all that is most beautiful and elegant and femininein her personality. But if in this sense they are coordinated,they often remain entirely distinct. Masochism,indeed, merely simulates foot-fetichism; for the masochistthe boot is not strictly a symbol, it is only an instrumentwhich enables him to carry out his impulse; the truesexual symbol for him is not the boot, but the emotionof self-subjection. For the foot-fetichist, on the other hand,the foot or the shoe is not a mere instrument, but a truesymbol, the focus of his worship, an idealized object whichhe is content to contemplate or reverently touch. He himselfusually has no impulse to any self-degrading action,nor the slightest emotion of subjection. It be notedmaythat in the typical case of foot-fetichism which is presentedto us in the person of Restif de la Bretonne hethe woman for whomrepeatedly speaks of "subjugating"he feels this fetichistic adoration, and mentions that evenwhen still a child he especially admired a delicate andbecause she seemed to himfairy-like girl in this respecteasier to subdue. His attitude throughout life was activeand masculine, not masochistic.In determining whether we are concerned with a caseof fetichism or of masochism, it is necessary to take thesubject's whole mental and emotional attitude into consideration.The same act may have a different significancein different persons. Krafft-Ebing believed that the desireto be trodden on is absolutely symptomatic of masochism.That is not the case. The desire to be trodden on may be