Spandex fetishism is the name popularly used to describe a fetishistic attraction to people wearing shiny stretch fabrics or, in certain cases, to the garments themselves.
Note: Spandex fetishism is often known as Lycra fetishism. Lycra is DuPont's trademark for their own well-known brand of spandex fabric, and they have been known to aggressively pursue trademark dilution issues: the term "Lycra fetishism" is assumed in this encyclopedia to refer only to duPont branded Lycra.
One reason why spandex and other tight fabrics may be fetishised is perhaps that the garment forms a "second skin" that acts as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer's own skin. Thus, wearers of skin-tight spandex garments may be perceived by the viewer as being naked, or simply coated in a shiny substance like paint. Many of the stretch fabrics are also shiny and often produced in bright colours, adding further visual stimulus to add to the physical sensations produced by the material. The tightness of the garments may also be viewed as a kind of sexual bondage.
Spandex fetishism often involves dressing up in the material, or looking at it worn by sexual partners, or fantasies about wearers of skin-tight spandex garments such as athletes, acrobatss, gymnasts, dancers, swimmers and contortionists.
In comic books, superheroes and superheroines are generally depicted as wearing costumes made of spandex or a similar material. Fantasies involving superhero figures are commonly associated with spandex fetishism.
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