The Difference Between Kink & Fetish

There are two common questions newcomers ask themselves about kink and fetish. What’s the difference? “Kink” and “fetish” are often used interchangeably and often overlap in common practice (a fetish is kinky, for example). 

What is a kink?

A kink is anything outside of what you consider to be ‘normal’.

Whereas a kinkster is someone who identifies as kinky, a fetishist is a person whose kink identity is predominantly driven by one or more specific fetishes. You can read more about what kink really means in this article.

What is a fetish?

A fetish is the arousal caused by an object, body part, or sexual activity.

It can also be defined as the object, body part, or activity causing the arousal.

Fetishists tend to build their identity around what appeals to them, and greatly enjoy sharing their passion with like-minded partners. There are literally an infinite number of fetishes in the universe. You can read about the most common fetishes in our other articles.

Is kink just about sex?

Despite what you may have been told, not all kinks involve the act of sex itself, nor even anything sexual. The kink world as a whole believes that kinks are deeply personal, and as we’ve said before what may be a kink for you, may not be a kink for someone else. The beauty of kink is that it’s yours to create and explore as you wish. In the world of kink, you’ll rarely hear someone describe their kinks using words such as “always” or “never”.

We encourage you to find out more about what interests you in kink and BDSM, and we hope we’ve provided enough information to help you start doing that. Check out our Kynklopedia for quick definitions of common terms, read articles with more in-depth definitions, or visit our Handbook section to start learning more.

Remember: whatever turns you on, odds are that you aren’t alone.