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Tickling fetishism is a sexual fetish related to gaining a specific sexual thrill from either tickling a sex partner or being subjected to tickling themselves, usually to the point of helpless laughter. Also, usually there is some form of restraint to prevent escape and/or accidentally hurting the tickler. Thus this fetish may coincide with various BDSM fetishes.
The feet, underarms and torso (particularly the navel) are the most usual tickling spots, although less frequent ones like the neck, legs or knees are also observable. A person's favourite place for tickling sometimes arises from a fetish connected with that body part. For example, someone who loves tickling feet is often a foot fetishist.
Often ticklees report that they like the "rush" when being tickled! This "rush" is both horrible and wonderful, like being punished and given a present at the same time. Tickling is all about control issues. Ticklers love the feelings of control when tickling someone to distraction and the ticklees love giving up all control to the helpless uncontrollable laughter racing through their bodies. The ticklees often thrash around in wild ticklish abandon and often the ticklers are laughing as much as the ticklee!
At first tickling is erotic and playful, but continued tickling isnt erotic or playful at all.
Tickling involves submission, often the victim submits willingly at first and may even encourage the tickling. But after the first caresses the victim is not a willing victim at all. He or she is helpless with uncontrollable laughter. Frantic struggles ensue to escape the tickling. The humiliation of not being able to stop laughing is intense.
Besides being actively involved as the tickler or ticklee, this fetish can also involve excitement from watching others being tickled. This can also be expanded into the realm of child tickling which, in some prolonged cases, can be considered molestation.
Safe Words
As with many BDSM activities, participants in a tickling scene often agree upon safewords --- words which, if uttered, bring an attenuation of or immediate halt to the scene. Tickling presents special difficulties with safeword use, as particularly heavy tickling may leave the tickleee unable to breathe deeply enough to utter a safeword.
Three People Scenes
One such scene is to have three people (with roughly equally ticklish feet) sit in a triangle with their legs bound togther, so that each person has one of the other's ticklish feet within reach. The problem is if one of the participant's feet are not that ticklish, then the other two usually end up in helpless hysterics.
Another scene is with two people who are related, friends, or lovers, and with a third person as tickler. One of the "friends" is restrained and the other "friend" is only partially restrained so that they can still tickle their "friend". The other "friend" must tickle their "friend" or the third person will tickle them, until they start tickling their "friend" again. Then the "friend" roles could be reversed. Afterwards, it would be better if both "friends" talked about the experience to avoid any hard feelings.
Fiction
Courtois, Wayne. My Name is Rand. Suspect Thoughts Press, 2004. (ISBN 097108467X)
- A novel; major themes include tickling and bondage among gay men.
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