Fetishism- A Paraphilia A fetish is a recurring fantasy or sexual desire or manner involving sexual arousal directed toward or acted upon a nonliving or inanimate object or a body part. These fantasies, desires, or manner eventually cause problems in the performance of daily life. To understand Fetishism it is important to understand the concept and definition of paraphilias. A paraphilia is the modern day psychiatric term for perversion. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, paraphilias refer to intense repetitive sexual urges, fantasies or behaviors where the sexual goal is an unusual situation, activity or object. The