Fetishize

Reference

Definition

To fetishize someone or something is to make them the subject of an often sexual obsession. The verb can also mean treating a person as a sexually charged racial stereotype, reducing them to that stereotype rather than regarding them as an individual.

Quick Facts

TermFetishize

What does fetishize mean?

Fetishize is a transitive verb for making someone or something the focus of an often sexual obsession. In sexuality-related use, it describes treating the person or subject as an object of fixation.

Fetishizing someone’s race

Fetishize can also describe racial objectification: viewing or treating someone through a sexually charged racial stereotype. In this use, the person is reduced to an idea about their race rather than regarded as an individual.

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: Fetishize definition