child_friendly International Fetish Day
Also known as
National Fetish Day (UK) (2008)
Observed
on September 4th (2008)
the third Friday in January (since 2009)
Dates
Hashtags
Sources
International Fetish Day originated in the United Kingdom as National Fetish Day, which was held in 2008. The following year it went international and began being observed on the third Friday of January. International Fetish Day is "a day belonging to everyone with a fetish" that increases awareness and support for the fetish and BDSM communities, opposes discrimination against these communities, encourages these communities to be more open about their sexuality, encourages everyone to be comfortable with their fetishes, and opposes a UK law that criminalized the possession of "extreme pornography," which made it illegal to possess images that show consenting adults participating in sexual acts that are legal. The first International Fetish Day was held on January 16, 2009, ten days before the UK law went into effect.
A fetish may be defined as "a sexual interest in an object or a part of the body apart from the sexual organs," or as "intense sexual interest in a specific object, activity, body part or scenario." Some common fetishes include bondage, spanking or other impact play, power play (being sexually dominant or submissive), cross-dressing, and foot fetishes. Most people have some sort of fetish, although there is a great range when it comes to fetishes. For example, a spanking fetish may range from enjoying a light spank with the hand to becoming enamored by spanking equipment. This demonstrates how a wide swath of people can feel at home with International Fetish Day.
How to Observe International Fetish Day
The following are some ways you could participate in the day:
- Wear purple. During the observance of National Fetish Day in 2008, many people wore purple as part of "Perverts Wear Purple." Many continued wearing purple in the following years to show their support for fetishism.
- Have some consensual fetish fun with your partner.
- Attend a kinky party or event.
- Buy some new adult toys or BDSM gear.
- Encourage openness about fetishes and show support for the fetish and BDSM communities.
- Donate to organizations such as Backlash.
- Join Fetlife, a kinky social networking site.
- Explore Loving BDSM, a podcast and website devoted to fetishes.
- Check out Kink Academy, a kinky instructional video and subscription site.
- Read a book such as Playing Well with Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Navigating and Exploring the Kink, Leather and BDSM Communities, The New Topping Book, The New Bottoming Book, and 50 Shades of Kink: An Introduction to BDSM.