Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes

Doublelist Team

March 24, 2023 9 minutes read
Connect with straight, gay, bi and curious!


Did you know that over a third of Americans have some sort of sexual fetish or kink? Whether you indulge or not, feeling turned on by taboo sensations or fantasies is more common than you think. Even outside this percentage, you’ve probably heard about kinky sexual behavior from TV, movies, books, or the news. So it’s no wonder many people want to learn more about the top 10 most popular fetishes.

You’ve come to the right place if you’re one of those people. We’ve picked out the top 10 most common fetishes worth knowing. Whether you’re a certified freak in the sheets or a curious first-timer, keep scrolling for DoubleList’s ultimate fetish guide. First, let’s define fetish and kink.

What Is a Fetish?

tied banana

A fetish is an intense sexual arousal or attraction brought on by a non-typical object or subject. A fetishist can only reach sexual excitement by thinking about, experiencing, or contacting the subject of their fetish.

What do we mean by non-typical? Anything that falls outside of sex organs or conventional stimuli. For example, kissing someone and feeling excited isn’t a fetish. Or if you were undressing your partner and saw their naked body, that would be typical sexual stimuli.

However, if you felt aroused by a balloon popping or feeling pantyhose against your skin, that would be unusual. Furthermore, you’d have a full-blown fetish if you needed to hear a balloon popping or wear pantyhose to climax.

What Is a Kink?

Choosing1

A Kink is any sexual inclination. It’s something you like to do by yourself or with a partner that turns you on. These things tend to be out of the sexual norm. This is why you might have heard someone call a partner “kinky” if they were particularly wild in the bedroom.

Before going into the top 10 most popular fetishes, we wanted to explain kink and fetishes. Why? Because folks often use them interchangeably. In fact, at this point, kink and fetish might sound fairly similar to you. However, what sets these terms apart is someone with a fetish cannot experience sexual pleasure without their fetish. But folks with kinks can. A person with a leather kink may prefer to have sex with someone wearing leather, but it’s not a requirement.

Think about these the way you would about a square and a rectangle. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. All fetishists have a kink, but not all kinks are fetishes.

Now that we’ve straightened that out let’s dive into our top ten list.

1. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Foot Fetish

We’re starting our top 10 most popular fetishes count down with debatably the most popular: the foot fetish. On the surface, a foot fetish might seem hard to grasp. After all, we walk on them all day, and they can be sweaty, smelly, and even carry fungi. But a surprisingly large part of the US population has a thing for tootsies. According to Insider, 1 in 7 people have some sort of foot-related kink, fantasy, or fetish.

As with many things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or in the foot. People with this fetish (podophilia) don’t all find the same thing attractive. Some like well-kept, manicured trotters. Others like them dirty. Some want feet fully involved in their sexual activity. Others find pleasure in kissing or licking their partner’s feet. One thing’s for sure: go to any fetish website and type “feet,” and you’ll see millions of results.

2. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Bondage

Another of the 10 most popular fetishes is tying up or restraining a sexual partner, bondage. Bondage falls under BDSM activities, which we’ll touch on later. Essentially, the sexual partners involved feel pleasure from binding their partner or being bound.

You can practice bondage with materials ranging from ropes to cloth to handcuffs and spread bars. That said, adequately practiced bondage (or any kink and fetish) includes consent. If you’re new to bondage, check in with your partner, use safe words, and set rules.

3. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Dominance and Submission

Necktie

While we’re on the subject of BDSM activities, let’s talk about Dominance and Submission. Dom/sub relationships play on that same power dynamic found in bondage. Many doms and subs have unique dynamics and rules. But the basic foundation is that one party is the dominant partner, and the other is submissive. The Dom is in charge. They decide what goes down and when. They’re also responsible for the submissive. The sub must do whatever the Dom tells them.

If you know anything about 50 Shades of Grey, you’ll know that’s an example of a D/s relationship. However, not all Doms are into heavy punishment like Christian Grey in the books and movies. Some Dominant partners function as caregivers for their subs. Additionally, some D/s relationships only stay as sexual fetishes while others use these roles in all aspects of their lives.

4. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Breath Play

Next on our list of the top 10 most popular fetishes: is breath play. Unlike some of the other consensual fetishes on this list, this one is dangerous no matter what. Why? Because breath play refers to cutting off your breathing during sexual acts as a turn-on.

From how often choking appears in porn, it’s easy to see why this is one of many people’s favorite fetishes. But it’s essential to keep in mind that Breath play, or erotic asphyxiation, can have fatal results. Many people have died from this, including the once-famous action star Davide Carradine.

To experiment with breath play, you must understand neck and respiratory anatomy. On top of that, always check in with your partner if you’re doing this with someone else.

5. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Impact Play

Before we exit the BDSM fetishes categories, we have to cover impact play. This is the community term for feeling arousal from hitting or spanking. You can either enjoy being the spanker or the spankee. In BDSM relationships, this might be one of the punishments the Dom enacts on the sub. However, you don’t have to be in a full-blown D/s arrangement to like impact play.

To use impact play, you can use your hand or an object like a paddle or whip. Ensure you have a safe word so whoever receives the impact can let you know when they’ve had enough. Additionally, some body parts are better for hitting or spanking than others, depending on how much pain you like.

6. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Role Play

Hetero couple riding a unicorn

Moving out of the BDSM fetishes category, it’s time to look into role play. Of the top 10 most popular fetishes, you’ve probably heard of this one the most. You might not even have thought it was a fetish because of how common it is.

If you’re unfamiliar, role play is the adult version of playing pretend. You and your partner(s) play other people or characters. You might use costumes to take this to the next level. Or, if your fantasies are super specific, you could even dabble in adult cosplay sex.

7. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Cuckolding

If you’ve ever heard the term “cuck” and wondered where it came from, it’s from the cuckolding fetish. Cuckolding involves watching your partner have sex with someone else. Anyone can be a cuck (the watcher), a bull (the pleasurer), or a partner; most people associate it with heterosexuality. In this case, a man is watching another man having sex with his female partner.

Sometimes, people with this fetish enjoy seeing their partner feeling pleasure. But overall, cuckolding is a form of sexual humiliation. The cuck experiences the embarrassment and “emasculation” of seeing another person have their way with the cuck’s partner.

8. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Humiliation

Going off of cuckolding, there’s the broader sexual fetish category of humiliation. A person gets hot and bothered by degradation, humiliation, embarrassment, and insults. This is part of the latter half of the BDSM umbrella: Masochism. (Okay, we know we said we finished with the BDSM talk, but it’s a massive sector of the kink world.)

Someone with a humiliation fetish may like verbal humiliation, such as their partner making fun of them during sexual activities. Or, they may prefer physical humiliation like cock and ball torture (CBT). And, of course, many like both.

9. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Consensual Non-consent

Before wrapping up the top 10 most popular fetishes, we must mention CNC or consensual non-consent kink. Of the controversial fetishes out there, this is high on the list. Confused by the title? In short, CNC fetishists love roleplaying non-consensual sex with a consenting partner.

You can have a CNC kink if you like pretending you’re forcing your partner into sex or vice versa. Feelings about this kink vary from person to person. To spell it out, many people disagree with this kink because it glamorizes, glorifies, or even downplays sexual assault.

However, some people who enjoy CNC use it to work through past trauma or regain their power. As the name implies, all parties must consent. Remember: 100% consensual fetishes are the only ones you should pursue.

10. Top 10 Most Popular Fetishes: Exhibitionism

Last but not least, on the top fetish list: is exhibitionism. We previously mentioned people who like to watch others have sex. But if you want to expose yourself to others or have others watch you during sex, you’re an exhibitionist.

You can play this out as an imaginary fantasy while you masturbate or do it with others. However, to follow our rule about consent, you must have the permission of all parties involved. You can’t be the guy on the subway in a trench coat flashing people.

Where To Find Popular Fetish Content and Dating

If any of the activities on this list whet your sexual appetites, check out DoubleList. DoubleList is the number one site for personal ads and adult classifieds. DoubleList welcomes adults of all sexual inclinations, orientations, genders, and backgrounds. Create an anonymous account and chat with other locals who enjoy one of these top 10 most popular fetishes. The best part? It’s 100% free. Sign up for your free account today!

Unlock your wildest fantasies and connect with locals today!

Connect with straight, gay, bi and curious!

Leave a Comment