uniform fetish

This is a fairly widespread and varied fetish, and most people don't like associating it with being a fetish. However, as a fetish is generally considered to be something that becomes an object of extreme devotion, the uniform meets the criteria. Since an individual becomes more enticing because of the uniform they are wearing, the uniform is therefore an object of some form of devotion.

The uniform in question can be many things. The cheerleader, nurse and Catholic schoolgirl uniforms are popular with certain individuals. The military, police and fireman uniforms are popular with other individuals. The school lunch lady uniform is popular with a very limited number of individuals. Most of them belong in cages.

Why does the uniform create an added dimension to the sexual fervor? It may be associated with something in the memory or imagination of the individual in question. Boy was shy in high school and never part of the popular group. Cheerleaders were in with the popular group and were considered untouchable godesses in some way. Manly fireman rescued favorite kitty cat from tree when person was ten years old. He stayed in the memory and was remembered a heroic and manly figure.

Most fetishes seem to be brought on by experiences early in life. Others seem to be inate and inexplicable. The uniform may simply fulfill some kind of fantasy. The police uniform may invoke an impression of power and therefore satisfy a desire to be dominated or punished. The nurse uniform may invoke a scenario of compassion and care along with helplessness in the hands of said nurse. Whether there are fantasies that revolve around the uniform due to the way they stimulate the sexual imagination or because they bring to light experiences from the past, the uniform has a sense of power. It means something to the uniform fetishist. It means something they cannot deny to themselves, even as they may hide it from prying eyes. So, don't be alarmed when your partner asks you to put on some form of uniform or costume. It is still you they are making love to. The uniform is merely symbolic, and fantasy is good. It is very good indeed.

Certain users have asked me not to forget their own relevant uniform fetishes. Seems we have fans of maid uniforms and ninja uniforms out there. Probably quite a few others as well. Also, Footprints would like to note that "fantasizing about sex with nuns is a habit I've gotten into." Ehem. Well at least it isn't school lunch ladies. This was never mean to be a comprehensive listing. Such a thing would end life as we know it on this planet.

I think a big portion of the uniform fetish is the idea that wearing the uniform is, in effect, the trading away a part of your identity in exchange for becoming a symbol of something else.

Why do policemen, firemen, doctors, lawyers (don't tell me suits aren't uniforms), even waitresses all wear the same thing? Obviously, so the person wearing the attire will be recognizable as filling some role. But this has the counter-effect of making you less recognizable as yourself. The concepts of exchange of identity and power each have their sexual aspect.

Not as obvious, when people put on hats, uniforms and masks (especially masks, see mask work), they lose some degree of their inhibitions. (There is a particular Bugs Bunny cartoon that illustrates this in an exaggerated way. It's fun to watch Bugs chase around a wisecracking Elmer Fudd for a change.) Wearing something that obscures your identity enables you to do things that would be considered upsetting, provocative, and even reprehensible, both to other people and yourself.

Looked at one way, everyone is nothing more or less than a person, with no special powers or abilities. Why should I stop driving just because you tell me to? Because some organization that calls itself a government hired you as a police officer, or because you look like someone who should be obeyed? The closer you look at these encounters with authority intellectually, the less weight they hold ("How many years of college have you had, Mister Policeman?"), so they all make use of some sort of uniform system, trading a portion of an individual's humanity in exchange for the ability to boss people around. Why do you think executioners in the United States wear those hoods, even now? I'd say it's not for the sake of the prisoner or the observers, but so the person pulling the switch will be able to permit himself to carry out an act which, let's face it, is difficult to explain away as being in your job description.

This is the darker aspect of uniform attire, but it can have a powerful positive aspect as well. In some cases one wants to trade away his humanity for his own purposes, and one of the best places to do this is in the bedroom. Being human is a complex set of moral imperatives and inhibitions, but if you can look in a mirror and see something a little more, or less, than human looking back, you can avoid some of each, and allow yourself to participate in acts you'd never ordinarily consider, boss someone around in an authoritative manner, or allow yourself to be bossed. So long as no one is hurt, and you go back to your ordinary selves afterwards, what's the harm?