March 13, 2018 ▸ Psychology

Episode 279: Objectophilia: Fetish, Fantasy, or Freaky?

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On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we explore the phenomenon of Objectophilia, which is the romantic and sexual attraction of a person to an inanimate object or landmark. This pattern of behaviors isn’t quite a sexual fetish; it isn’t considered masturbation; it isn’t even a sexual orientation, according to the experts. So what is it, and how do people start to have feelings for non-humans? That’s what one psychologist named Amy Marsh has set out to study.

Marsh has interviewed several people Objectophilia (also called Objectum Sexuality or OS), and she has published preliminary findings. First, there is no connection to sexual misconduct or abuse as a child in those she interviewed. Second, there is a higher number than normal of people with Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism, but by no means is this a requirement. Marsh has developed the Marsh Spectrum which shows the depth of ranges in object attraction.

So, what are some famous cases of this behavior? Well, two of the most famous are a woman who married the Eifel Tower (and changed her last name to Eifel, like you do…) and a woman who was in love with the Berlin Wall. These two founded the group called Objectum Sexuality, coined the term, and are the public face of this behavior pattern. But there are plenty of others. One guy loves his late model Ford. One gal is in love with a roller coaster. There are people who love chandeliers, fences, specific buildings, the Statue of Liberty (aka Libby), and one guy claims to have had sex with over 1000 cars!

Though Objectophilia seems very odd to most of us, think about that one friend you have who really loves his old car and spends every weekend in the garage with it. Maybe Objectophilia is more common than we think? This one is a wild ride.

Official Group Website: http://www.objectum-sexuality.org/

Marsh Spectrum: http://waihili.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/marshspectrum.pdf

Original Marsh Article: http://www.ejhs.org/volume13/ObjSexuals.htm