Tickling

Tickling is a social form of interaction. In terms of being a fetish it ranks among the most common human behaviors. According to studies almost 80 percent of adults derive pleasure in some form or the other from tickling others, being tickled and watching others being tickled. The tickling may or may not be done with restraint. Tickling for erotic purposes usually involves a dominant using physical restraint on a submissive.

The tendency of being ticklish goes way back into the past. It is believed that tickling may have been among the first means of expressing early man’s fondness for a fellow being as a sort of a non-verbal communication. Being ticklish also makes a person sensitive to anything crawling on their bodies.

Individuals differ in deriving pleasure from tickling various parts of the body. Some may find it a great pleasure merely to witness another person being tickled. Tickling as a means of inciting forced laughter is a prominent part of the sexual fetish setting of BDSM. Tickling fetish is described as deriving sexual pleasure from indulging in tickling someone or having themselves tickled. People who pursue tickling and get pleasure and excitement from tickling can be said to have a tickling fetish.

The sensation of tickling occurs in the cerebral cortex in the brain. The primitive part of the brain, the cerebellum thwarts the sensation when one attempts to tickle oneself as the cortex chooses to ignore it.

Fetishes in tickling for erotic tickling includes tickling body parts like ribs and feet with fingers, kneeling, licking the face, soles of feet and toes with the tongue or feathers and brushes. The tickling sensation acts as a part of the erotic foreplay. It can also be taken to be or mistaken for sexual harassment.