According to the World Health Organization, fetishistic fantasies are common and should only be treated as a disorder when they impair normal functioning or cause distress. Goals of treatment can include elimination of criminal activity, reduction in reliance on the fetish for sexual satisfaction, improving relationship skills, or attempting to remove deviant arousal altogether. The evidence for treatment efficacy is limited and largely based on case studies, and no research on treatment for female fetishists exists.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is one popular approach. Cognitive behavioral therapists teach clients to identify and avoid antecedents to fetishistic behavior, and substitute non-fetishistic fantasies for ones involving the fetish. Aversion therapy can reduce fetishistic arousal in the short term, but is unlikely to have any permanent effect.

Antiandrogens and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be prescribed to lower sex drive. Cyproterone acetate is the most commonly used antiandrogen, except in the United States, where it may not be available. A large body of literature has shown that it reduces general sexual fantasies. Side effects may include osteoporosis, liver dysfunction, and feminization. Case studies have found that the antiandrogen medroxyprogesterone acetate is successful in reducing sexual interest, but can have side effects including osteoporosis, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, feminization, and weight gain. Some hospitals use leuprolide acetate and goserelin acetate to reduce libido, and while there is presently little evidence for their efficacy, they have fewer side effects than other antiandrogens. A number of studies support the use of SSRIs, which may be preferable over antiandrogens because of their relatively benign side effects. None of these drugs cure sexual fetishism, but they can make it easier to manage.

Relationship counselers may attempt to reduce dependence on the fetish and improve partner communication using techniques like sensate focusing. Partners may agree to incorporate the fetish into their activities in a controlled, time-limited manner, or set aside only certain days to practice the fetishism. If the fetishist cannot sustain an erection without the fetish object, the therapist might recommend orgasmic reconditioning or covert sensitization to increase arousal to normal stimuli (although the evidence base for these techniques is weak).

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are used, especially with exhibitionists, non-offending pedophiles, and compulsive masturbators. They are proposed to work by reducing sexual arousal, compulsivity, and depressive symptoms. However, supporting evidence for SSRIs is limited.

Pharmacological treatments can help people control their sexual behaviors, but do not change the content of the paraphilia. They are typically combined with cognitive behavioral therapy for best effect.

Psychosexual disorders can vary greatly in severity and treatability. Medical professionals and licensed therapists are necessary in diagnosis and treatment plans. Treatment can vary from therapy to prescription medication. Sex therapy, behavioral therapy, and group therapy may be helpful to those suffering distress from sexual dysfunction. More serious sexual perversions may be treated with androgen blockers or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to help restore hormonal and neurochemical balances.

Anesthesia fetish is considered edgeplay when realised outside the boundaries of fantasy, and may result in various degrees of harm, or death. Fantasies are elaborated by the viewing of images and reading of stories of anesthetic inductions. Edgeplay may involve obtaining and scening with various anesthesia-related paraphernalia—usually anesthesia masks for breathplay, the acquisition of anesthetics for anesthetizing others or being anesthetized oneself, and the occupation of a medical setting or environment for the same practice.

Some anesthesia fetishists who seek to be anesthetized may feign or induce medical conditions in an attempt to obtain general anesthesia from medical personnel. This is considered safer than playing with anesthetic agents outside of a medical setting, but may nevertheless be an abuse of all concerned.

Hand fetishism or hand partialism or also Quirofilia is the sexual fetish for hands. This may include the sexual attraction to a specific area such as the fingers, palm or nails, or the attraction to a specific action performed by the hands; which may otherwise be considered non-sexual—such as washing or drying dishes. This fetish may manifest itself as a desire to experience physical interaction, or as a source of sexual fantasy.

Hand fetishism is recognized by the porn industry; however, it is one of the least common fetishes, despite foot fetishism being the most common.

Hand fetishism is usually based in the biological indication that a partner is healthy and a good potential mate.

Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual fixation on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has "a fetish" for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regarded as a non-pathological aid to sexual excitement, or as a mental disorder if it causes significant psychosocial distress for the person or has detrimental effects on important areas of their life. Sexual arousal from a particular body part can be further classified as partialism.

While medical definitions restrict the term "sexual fetishism" to objects or body parts, "fetish" can also refer to sexual interest in specific activities in common discourse.

The Internet has enabled people with this relatively rare paraphilia to discuss the subject and exchange anesthesia-related multimedia.

Some people experience sexual excitement from the look or feel of articles made of silk or satin fabric. Such interest is usually directed towards the person wearing silk or satin, but it can also be directed towards the garment itself, or to the feel of the garment when worn.

The attraction can be to the physical properties of the garment, such as softness, smoothness, drape and shine, and to its association with elegance, glamour, romance and opulence.

The principal materials which are considered erotic are charmeuse silk (silk woven so that it has a sheen) and satins (such as acetate satin and rayon satin), but other materials with similar properties, such as spandex and polyester are also admired.

Some people experience sexual excitement from the look or feel of a women's bra. The attraction may be to the look or feel of the material, such as lace, or how it looks on a person. Some people get excitement from removing a bra.

Some rubber and plastic fetishists have an affinity for diapers and rubber pants. In the case of disposable diapers, this attraction would be to their crinkly plastic backing. In the case of cloth diapers, it would be towards the latex or pvc of the pants worn over them.

Transvestism is the practice of dressing and acting in a style or manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional or ceremonial reasons.

Diaper fetishism, nappy fetishism or diaperism, is a type of garment fetish or paraphilic infantilism. A person with a diaper fetish derives pleasure from the diaper and/or use of it. Being forced to wear diapers as a form of humiliation is sometimes a behavior encountered in sexual masochism.

It is important to note that the diaper fetish community actively opposes and condemns child molesters. Both men and women can practice diaper fetishes, both inside and outside a relationship. As of September 2015, Huffington Post Arts & Culture published an interview on diaper fetishes that was widely regarded as informative within the community. While this clothing fetish is obscure, diaper fetishists engage in the behavior privately or with a partner who shares a mutual interest in the fetish.

A fetish (derived from the French "fétiche"; which comes from the Portuguese "feitiço"; and this in turn from Latin "facticius", "artificial" and "facere", "to make") is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the emic attribution of inherent value or powers to an object.

Boot fetishism is a sexual fetish focused on boots. Boots have become the object of sexual attraction amounting to fetishism for some people and they have become a standard accessory in BDSM scenes (where leather, latex and PVC boots are favoured) and a fashion accessory in music videos. Boots are seen as perhaps the most fetishistic of all footwear and boots may be the most popular fetish clothing attire.

A hand fetish is a sexual attraction to the hands. This attraction is most commonly expressed with fingering, handjobs, sucking on the fingers and licking the palms. Fingering and Handjobs are an extremely common sexual act, so are not always linked to hand fetishism. However, fingering and handjobs play a major role in hand fetishism.

Fingernail fetishism, a sub-type of hand fetishism is often expressed with scratching with the fingernails and painting the fingernails.

Transvestic fetishism is a psychiatric diagnosis applied to those who are thought to have an excessive sexual or erotic interest in cross-dressing; this interest is often expressed in autoerotic behavior. It differs from cross-dressing for entertainment or other purposes that do not involve sexual arousal, and is categorized as a paraphilia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. (Sexual arousal in response to donning sex-typical clothing is homeovestism.)

Males with late onset gender dysphoria "frequently" display transvestic fetishism.

Some male transvestic fetishists collect women's clothing, e.g. panties, nightgowns, babydolls, bridal gowns, slips, brassieres, and other types of nightwear, lingerie, stockings, pantyhose, shoes, and boots, items of a distinct feminine look and feel. They may dress in these feminine garments and take photographs of themselves while living out their fantasies.

According to DSM-IV, this fetishism was limited to heterosexual men; however, DSM-5 does not have this restriction, and opens it to women and men with this interest, regardless of their sexual orientation.

There are two key criteria before a psychiatric diagnosis of "transvestic fetishism" is made:

1. Individuals must be sexually aroused by the act of cross-dressing.

2. Individuals must experience significant distress or impairment – socially or occupationally – because of their behavior.

Vorarephilia (often shortened to vore) is a paraphilia characterized by the erotic desire to be consumed by, or sometimes to personally consume, another person or creature, or an erotic attraction to the process of eating in general. Since vorarephilic fantasies cannot usually be acted out in reality, they are often expressed in stories or drawings shared on the Internet. The word "vorarephilia" is derived from the Latin "vorare" (to "swallow" or "devour"), and Ancient Greek φιλία ("philía", "love").

The fantasy usually involves the victim being swallowed whole, though occasionally the victims are chewed up, and digestion may or may not be included. Vore fantasies are separated from sexual cannibalism because the living victim is normally swallowed whole. Sometimes the consumers are human, but anthropormorphized animals, dragons, and enormous snakes also appear frequently in these fantasies. After consumption, the enlarged belly of the consumer is often described with great care. Vorarephiles sometimes prefer to differentiate between "soft vore" and "hard vore"; soft vore means the victim is swallowed whole and alive, and may possibly come back out in the case of a "non-fatal" scenario, while in hard vore the victim goes through a more gruesome, realistic digestion process, often getting chewed up beforehand.

Vore is most often enjoyed through pictures, stories, videos, and video games, and it can appear in mainstream media. In some cases, vorarephilia may be described as a variation of macrophilia and may combine with other paraphilias. Apart from macrophilia, vore fantasies often have themes of BDSM, microphilia, pregnancy fetishism, furry fetishism, "unbirthing" (a desire to be swallowed whole into the vagina and returned to the uterus), and sexual cannibalism.

One case study analysis connected the fantasy with sexual masochism, and suggested that it could be motivated by a desire to merge with a powerful other or permanently escape loneliness. With "no known treatment" for vorarephiles who feel ill at ease with their sexuality, psychologists at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have recommended trying to "adjust to, rather than change or suppress" the sexual interest. Medication for sex drive reduction could be used if deemed necessary.

In order to determine the relative prevalences of different types of fetishes, scientists obtained a sample of at least 5000 individuals worldwide from 381 Internet discussion groups. The relative prevalences were estimated based on (a) the number of groups devoted to a particular fetish, (b) the number of individuals participating in the groups and (c) the number of messages exchanged. Using these measures, feet and shoes were found to be the most common target of preferences. This is consistent with an analysis of millions of search queries by users from the USA that were accidentally released during the AOL search data scandal. Sixty-four (64) percent of the sampled population that had a preference for an object associated with the body had a preference for shoes, boots, and other footwear.

Salirophilia is a sexual fetish or paraphilia that involves deriving erotic pleasure from soiling or disheveling the object of one's desire, usually an attractive person. It may involve tearing or damaging their clothing, covering them in mud or filth, or messing their hair or makeup. The fetish does not involve harming or injuring the subject, only their appearance.

It is related to wet and messy fetishism, bukkake, omorashi, mysophilia, urolagnia and coprophilia, but extends to other areas such as forcing the partner to wear torn or poorly fitting clothing and other actions which would render them normally unattractive.

The fetish sometimes manifests itself in the defacing of statues or pictures of attractive people, especially celebrities or fictional characters. It is common to refer to the practice involving ejaculating on a photo as "facepainting". The fetishist finds this sexually exciting, rather than mere vandalism. They sometimes form collections of defaced art for future enjoyment. A video of the fetishist ejaculating on a picture of someone or a photo depicting the result is known colloquially as a "tribute".

The term comes from the French for soiling, "salir". In cases where the fetish is obsessive it is called saliromania. It is frequently confused with salophilia, an attraction to salt or salty things (especially body sweat) that derives from the Latin for salt, "sal".

Foot fetishism has been defined as a pronounced sexual interest in feet. Extensions of this fetish include shoes and tickling. Sigmund Freud considered foot binding as a form of fetishism. For a foot fetishist, points of attraction include the shape and size of feet and toes (e.g., long toes, short toes, painted toenails, high arches, soles etc.), jewelry (e.g., toe rings, anklets, etc.), treatments (such as massaging, washing partner's feet or painting partner's toenails), state of dress (barefoot, flip flops, sandals, high heels, hosiery, socked feet, etc.), odor and/or sensory interaction (e.g., rubbing the foot, tickling, smelling, kissing, biting, licking, sucking toes, rubbing genitals on foot, etc.).

Latex fetish is the fetishistic attraction to latex clothing or garments and sometimes called rubber fetishism as latex is a type of rubber. Latex or rubber fetishists may refer to themselves as "Rubberists". Varieties of latex fetishism include body inflation and attraction to transparent rubber. Latex fetishism includes wearing clothing made from latex, observing it worn by others, and enjoyment of erotic fantasies featuring latex garments, catsuits, hoods, divers or industrial protective clothing. A common latex fetish icon is the dominatrix wearing a skin-tight glossy black latex or PVC catsuit.

PVC fetishism is often closely associated with latex fetishism even though the two materials are very different. PVC fetishism involves an erotic attraction to shiny plastic clothes made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurathane or similar man made materials. PVC may be mistaken for shiny patent leather. PVC fetishism also includes an erotic attraction to clothing such as clear plastic raincoats, slipcovers, custom clothing made out of clear PVC or inflatable items.

Nylon fetishism includes the wearing of shiny raincoats, jackets and trousers. In the case of heterosexuals, special preferences often include nylon clothing items designed for or belonging to the other sex.

Mysophilia relates to soiled or dirty material or people. Mysophiliacs may find dirt, soiled underwear, feces, or vomit to be sexually arousing.

It is possible for people with mysophilia to be aroused by unclean locales, such as an alleyway, or a dirty room/bathroom; wearing the same clothing for many days at a time; or not bathing, from mere days to several weeks.

By its enthusiasts, robot fetishism is more commonly referred to by the initials "ASFR". This initialism stems from the now-defunct Usenet newsgroup "alt.sex.fetish.robots". Many devotees of this fetish refer to themselves as technosexual, or as "ASFRians". ASFR can be divided into two distinct but sometimes overlapping types of fantasies.

The first of these is simply a desire to have a ready-made android partner. This partner can be desired for sex, companionship, or any combination of the two. The main distinguishing feature of this fantasy is that the android is a completely artificial construct, often manufactured solely to fulfil the wishes of its owner. This type of fantasy or situation is referred to as "built".

The second type of fantasy prevalent within ASFR is referred to as "transformation". This involves a human who has been either willingly or unwillingly turned into an android. That person can be either oneself or one's partner, or both. It is usually the process of transformation (through whatever means it is achieved) that is the focus of this fantasy.

Many people in the ASFR community prefer either one or the other. In some cases this preference is very strong, and people can be as equally repelled by one type as they are attracted to the other. In other cases, there is as much appreciation for built as there is for transformation. A recent informal survey of ASFR community members found that two thirds prefer built while the remainder prefer transformation or some combination of both.

The aspects of this fetish that are most appreciated by members of the ASFR community are greatly varied. For some, things like robotic appearance, motion, or sound are important for arousal. For others, these are not, and a completely lifelike android that appears to be human is desired. This holds true for other aspects, such as sentience or self-awareness. The ability of the android to remove parts of its skin or other bodily appendages in order to reveal its circuitry is quite pleasing to some, but distasteful to others. There is a further divide between those who prefer an android to appear human-like and those who would prefer a more mechanical looking robot, i.e. with a metallic surface.

As realistic androids and humanoid robots do not currently exist in a form readily available to the consumer, this fetish can only be acted upon in a limited number of ways. Primarily this is done through fantasy, involving either self stimulation or sexual roleplaying with a partner. ASFR art is therefore important to aid in the reinforcement of imagination.

Art with ASFR content includes but is not limited to science fiction movies, music videos, television shows, novels, short stories, illustrations, manipulated photographs, songs and even television commercials. Such works are sought after by technosexuals since economically viable androids are not yet available. Realistic sex dolls such as the RealDoll may provide a way to explore this fetish with existing technology. Recent developments in robotics and artificial intelligence, such as those seen in the Actroid or EveR-1 may lead to the production of more advanced synthetic partners.

It is also worth noting that some ASFRians do not wish to use synthetic partners at all, and instead would prefer human partners to participate in forms of fantasy play.