Updated on Jan 20, 2012 @ 02:07:
See more trends and comments below. What is your forecast and why?
Updated on Mar 26, 2011 @ 02:05:
I completely forgot about this related article and discussion: The future of (self-)bondage-fetish-wear. Will it ever exist?
Posted on Mar 21, 2011 @ 0:44:
Yesterday, me and my wife have been to Demask in Amsterdam to repair my favourite pewter pearl sheen latex leotard (I discovered a 1cm hole in the armpit area). I love rubber shops. I love the smell of latex, love to touch or grab the sleeky springy oily material.. Oh, I begin to feel light-headed just by thinking of that…
But back to Demask (they opened a shop in Dortmund, BTW). My wife noticed, that the assortment is much poorer than several years ago. I walked through the shop again and confirmed. Indeed, extremely high prices, but no variety. Leather goods and shoes almost disappeared, rubber is everywhere, but .. you know … even no leotards…
I said:”I think that interest in fetish stuff has decreased, I wonder why…”.
She replied:”There is nothing new in this area. There must be something revolutionary, a completely new level or “quality jump” to bring the attention back.”
While I agree with her, because there’s indeed nothing new for decades, neither in fetish design not in bondage, one “parameter” is always fresh – people. The kids from yesterday have grown up and should’ve discovered the pleasure of spicing their daily life up, but it’s not happening.
Check, for example, the Google trend for searching for “fetish”:
See the declining interest? Have a look at the selfbondage trend. I checked the most obvious keywords like pantyhose, latex fetish, latex stockings, etc, and found out the same tendency.
Is it something what we dreamed about at the end of the last millennium? “Fetish in the mainstream media“? Yes, it has happened. My kids see latex on the TV and in the Internet (e.g. on Youtube) everyday several times a day. Latex has become just one of a bit unusual but still widespread materials like leather or PVC, but I can’t imagine that this popularity makes us “immune” to photos like the one on the right (see also “Black rubber high heeled beauty or your turn to think about the title“.
Fetish clothes and even bondage are very popular in musical videos, fashion shows, exhibitions, promotions and advertisement campaigns. See the graph at the bottom – the news reference volume. The amount of articles mentioning fetish is increasing. What should happen to get the interest “reignited”? And do we care? Is this what we actually wanted?
I agree that fetish trends are increasing more on TV and there are more common on famous artist that waars some latex leggins or something like that but I want to think that the people is more concerned about what the people think about them if they wear some bondage or latex stuff.
Maybe it’s not about making new things about latex or bondage because there are a lot of things, maybe something has to change in the people, for example, trying new things, forgetting what the people think. Sorry for the bad english
I agree that most fetishes have been ‘outted’, at least mild forms of them, through mainstream film (I think of Matrix and latex), and music videos. But that doesn’t stop me/us loving the outfits we see, on the contrary you would think that even MORE people would want to get into them – literally, because they get a chance to see them more.
I think physical shops selling fetish wear and/or porn have been in decline for decades, and the Internet is killing them. Physical shops are a double-sided coin; on the one hand it’s great to browse and smell, and touch; but on the other hand the variety and price of stock is hard to compete with online retailers; and there’s no associated ’embarrassment’ with online buying; and you can get online from anywhere, not just a few shops scattered around the world.
But, I think looking at Google search patterns may be a red herring. Many people (including me) hardly ever search for porn using Google, especially since they keep track of every search you make. Instead, I have favorite sites that I go to (e.g. Motherless.com), and either find what I want there, or follow links from there when I find something particularly juicy that day/visit.
What I would say though – at least for me – is that fetishes and porn are a bit like narcotics; we start off with soft stuff, and then work our way up to harder and harder levels to get the same ‘kick’.
I’ve been a fetishist since I was a young teen, and I’m still growing. It’s just that I’ve gotten smarter at finding what I like, and that can change from one day to the next, and then back again. Variety is the spice of life. *KISS*
“Bob Masters ” wrote:
I think, both can happen. The less you see something, the more “forbidden” it looks, And at the same time, the more you see latex everywhere, there are less objections not to try it on.
“Bob Masters ” wrote:
It’s just statistics 😉
“Bob Masters ” wrote:
Why not? 😉 And why did people search for fetish stuff in 2003 three time more often? The difference is 9 years. That means new generation shows less interest. They have to find “good sites” first, right?
I started to consider what exactly was meant by ‘fetish’ (specifically in a sexual sense – not the other sort) and I came across this definition on wiki:
‘Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object or from a specific situation’
So, simply enjoying wearing latex, nylon, rubber, plastic, wool, etc is not in itself a sexual fetish – just a personal preference. I like wearing cotton t-shirts, but I’m not a cotton t-shirt fetishist because they don’t turn me on! 🙂
Therefore surely the same must apply to ‘celebrities’ who wear fabrics because they make them look good or appeal to a market segment (cynical use of media manipulation?) and not necessarily because the clothes give them a sexual thrill?
So I would suggest that the proliferation of ‘fetish’ materials and images in the media does not in itself mean that fetish has gone mainstream, just that society (all be it managed through the media) has become more open to such imagery and the adoption of a wider range of materials to wear.
Would the decline in searches for ‘fetish’ related items on Google be simply down to the proliferation of such images making them more easily accessible to viewers? Also why should a shy fetishist search for ‘Latex dress’ when they can look for ‘Katy Perry’ and get the same images?
Now, if the mainstream media started to show more images of people gaining sexual pleasure in ‘fetish’ scenes that would be a different thing altogether.
Bob’s point about a fetish being like a drug is very interesting – do those of us with real sexual fetishes progress over time to ‘harder’ or more extreme levels to satisfy our desire?
Personally I know I have 🙂 Originally it was only the feel of nylon tights against my body, then the wearing of them, then wearing with mild bondage, next came wearing them on my head and hands, followed by full encasement with stringent bondage. Now I’m up to full encasement (and I mean 100% coverage) in multiple layers plus some (for me) harsh bondage, gags, mummification, etc.. If I start to include all the other delights I’ve discovered on my journey through life, I’ve really become a hardened ‘user’…. Oh, how I love it!
MJ
“Madjack ” wrote:
Not quite, right? 😉
Also, check other keywords. For example, “bondage”
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=bondage
and compare it with “sex”
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=sex
Another interesting thing. Just change the language. Let’s check the trend for “фетиш” (Russian for “fetish”)
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%88
… and you will see where you can find a potential market 😉
I think that yes, there is a decline, but the stats shown don’t tell a complete story (no matter what search term is used). Why? Because in 2004 the internet as we now know it was still very young, people were still becoming “new” to the net, so would search more often. Plus… so many sites are bookmarked, or shared via many many ways these days. And even on search engines, you can usually click to show “more sites like this” and they are shown.
People say stats can prove things… but stats can also be used in many other ways… stats without context and looking at the matter from various angles don’t mean too much (75% of all people know that! 😛 lol)
I think, we must stop relying on search trends for analysis. Early, internet was full of disconnected people – for everyone there was only you and Google, one-on-one comunication. Nowadays, all had gone social, we have Facebook, and many other networks. Google has gone social, too. And today to do proper statistics, we must know search trends from inside social networks.
“Vanessa ” wrote:
“DeWired ” wrote:
I disagree. You can not rely on one trend. You can not think in absolute values. You can not directly compare the amount of “searches”.
But comparing the trends with each other, with news and your own experience does give you something to think about.
You can explain declining “fetish” and “bondage” graphs with switching to “other sites”, but how do you explain “increasing interest” in “sex” and “fetish” in Russian? I do not believe that there are less “sex” related sites than “fetish” or “bondage” ones, or that Russians (unlike Germans or English) do not know how to find fetish sites.
No… These trend do show tendency… Also, look at the average age of “fetishists” – 20-40 in Russia, 35-60 in Germany, Netherlands, UK.
Sex is always popular. The graph will raise with every new generation. Probably, there are new interests, new perversions, new deviations.
For example, “cosplay”:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=cosplay
The typical age of cosplayers is 12-30. I clearly see a correlation here.
Or compare the popularity of “mp3” vs “CD” 😉
Reason: Russia is still emerging from communism, not everyone can afford a computer, so when they can, gee, they search 😉
Cosplay – because well that is something that even people in the FETISH AND BDSM scene do not fully understand lol.
Try stats for “asexual” and I will pretty much guarantee the stats are high. Do it in 10 years time, it will be lower. Why? NOT because of “lack of interest”, but because it is more widely known, there will be more sites on it, more information, more people telling their friends, etc etc etc.
I can tell you that fetish, BDSM, etc is still quite popular in REAL LIFE. How? I see it in person. I do not rely solely on the net. I am a board member of an organization that helps educate, and I can attest that fetish events are pretty well attended, our workshops and groups are increasing in fact in attendance, and exposure is not solely reliant on the internet. Just this past weekend we ran the dungeon at the Montreal version of the “Everything To Do With Sex Show” and there were far more people asking questions this year and way more wanting to try than last year. And this with LESS attendance overall than last year for the whole show! 😛
Again… stats not used in context mean nada.
“Vanessa ” wrote:
My point exactly. There’s always a reason behind trends. Or rather reasons.
“Vanessa ” wrote:
Yes indeed, and the general trend is raising:
http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=asexual
“Vanessa ” wrote:
“Asexuality” is in fashion. Lady Gaga is one of the examples. Fashion shows is another. I would still say “lack of interest”.
“Vanessa ” wrote:
What can you say about the average age?
Whoah…. saying asexuality “in fashion”??? Dude… those who are asexual will not like that. It’s because it’s a term that is emerging more, not a “fashion”. People who never KNEW the term are researching it, and in 10 years, the numbers will be down NOT because of “fashion” ala Gaga, but because of KNOWLEDGE. Woah. Gonna keep my asexual friends away from this post lol
Age… varies if you’re talking EVENT and WHO is holding it. Some events have varying ages, some more the younger than older. The workshops and groups actually have quite a mix, both younger and older, with more younger attending since as we teach, for instance, how to bind or flog etc, the attendees move on to another to learn.
Again, has interest gone down overall especially on the internet? Perhaps a bit, but not what you are trying to say via stats *alone without contexts*. In person, in real life, I’d say it’s perhaps either the same or perhaps a touch higher.
And one thing to consider – with regards to sites, especially pay sites. Those have gone down for many reasons, and other places have increased. Why? One being paying for only what they want. Why pay $30US a month and not always want everything, when you can go to say clips4sale or kinkyclips and buy what you want for less or if spending even more in a shot, still getting all you want? AND… those sites also have their *own* search that is internal…