Used underwear fetish
Lingerie fetish is an attraction to underwear and the person wearing it. Bras, panties, stockings, suspenders, bodysuits and corsets can all be part of it. The clothing is part of the appeal, not simply something to remove.
Contents
What's the Attraction?
Some people like the whole outfit. Others have a particular thing for black lace, satin, sheer fabric or stockings with suspenders. An expensive label is not necessarily the attraction. A familiar garment can mean more than a brand-new matching set.
The interest can involve looking, touching the fabric, wearing it or having a consenting partner keep it on during intimacy. It can overlap with stocking, latex and leather interests.
Used Underwear and Scent
For some, freshly washed lingerie misses the point. A used-underwear fetish centres on garments worn by another consenting adult. Scent, texture and the connection to that person can all matter.
Some people smell or hold the garments during masturbation. Others enjoy lingerie without any interest in scent.
Olfactophilia means sexual interest in smells. It can overlap with foot fetishism and worn-clothing interests. Smelling a partner's clothing can also provide comfort without being sexual.
Keeping or using someone else's underwear requires their permission.
Research and Percentages
These figures concern broader interests and behaviours, not necessarily underwear sniffing.
- Germany - In a Berlin study of 367 male volunteers aged 40-79, 35.7% reported fetishistic arousal in fantasies, masturbation fantasies or actual behaviour. The definition included objects such as shoes and underwear.
- Switzerland - A survey of 1,236 adults aged 18-50 in the canton of Zurich found 10.7% endorsed its fetishism question at least rarely, and 2.8% frequently or always. The question concerned objects or materials being so important to arousal that becoming aroused without them was difficult or impossible.
- Quebec, Canada - A survey of 1,040 adults found several paraphilic interests exceeded the researchers' 15.9% threshold for being statistically unusual. This threshold was not the measured prevalence of underwear fetishism.
- Egypt - A study reported paraphilic behaviour experience among 21% of its participants, with higher reported prevalence among men.
- Brazil - A comparable figure remains to be established for this section.
For broader fetishistic interests among men in Western study samples, the proposed but unverified range is 15-35%. The studies and definitions need to match before this can serve as a meaningful comparison.
The proposed but unverified male-versus-female comparison is 2.8-35% for men and 0.4-5% for women. These figures would need to measure the same interests in comparable populations.
Smell and Foot Fetishism
A proposed but unverified figure for participants with a foot fetish who reported arousal from foot or sock odour is 45%. This would describe the particular study sample, not the general population or the prevalence of underwear smelling and sniffing.
Why an Exact Percentage Is Difficult
Curiosity, fantasy, past behaviour and a recurring fetish are different things. “Would you do it given the opportunity?” also asks about hypothetical behaviour rather than something a person has actually done.
Survey wording, willingness to disclose and recruitment methods can change the results. Forum polls cannot establish a population-wide percentage.
Used Underwear Markets
Used-underwear sales and online communities can demonstrate demand without revealing how many people share the fetish.
A proposed, unverified comparison identifies the United States, United Kingdom and Germany as major online used-underwear markets. Any ranking needs a defined measure, such as sales revenue, buyers or listings.
Australia and New Zealand also feature in discussions of online communities. Community activity and total market size are different measures.
Japan's Underwear Vending Machines
Stories about used-underwear vending machines in Japan have circulated for decades. Underwear machines have been photographed, but that does not prove their contents were worn.
Some products use a “used” theme as novelty marketing. Historical retail activity, modern novelty machines and online sales should not be treated as the same thing.
