In 1979, Eija-Riitta Eklöf, who was in love with structures, married the Berlin Wall. Yes, a wall. Eklöf made the case that objectophilia, the sexual or romantic attraction to inanimate objects, should be considered a sexual orientation—just like heterosexuality and homosexuality. She communicated with the wall, saved money for romantic visits, and collected photographs of “him.” For her, she was in a loving relationship that involved emotional and sexual feelings.
Let’s clear up some of the confusion surrounding objectophilia, and get answers to important questions—such as: Is objectophilia a mental disorder? Is it a kink or a fetish? Keep reading to find out.
What is objectophilia?
Objectophilia, or object sexuality (OS), is a sexual orientation involving a romantic or sexual attraction toward an object. Whether it’s cars, trains, statues, household items, or other objects, people with objectophilia may feel a deep emotional connection that goes beyond mere appreciation.
“It’s honestly exactly the same as falling for any human,” one Quora user puts it. “You get crushes, spend time together and grow closer, date, go steady, sometimes you have disagreements or get upset, sometimes there’s jealousy…it’s really not much different from a typical relationship.”
Objectophiles frequently report feelings of love and companionship, a desire for intimacy, and a sense of comfort and fulfillment in regard to their object. This might look like:
- Spending significant time with an object
- Physical interactions, such as hugging, kissing, or cuddling with the object
- Having a designated spot for the object in their home
- Describing objects in the same way one would describe a human being, attributing personalities, feelings, or characteristics to them
- Taking photographs or documenting moments spent with the object
- Engaging in conversations with the object, sharing their day or discussing their innermost feelings
Is objectophilia a mental health disorder?
No, objectophilia is not a mental health condition or disorder, and it’s not classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the clinical manual doctors use to diagnose mental health conditions. Instead, it is considered by many to be a sexual orientation, albeit one that most people aren’t as familiar with.
Interesting to note: Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder in the DSM until 1973, when it was removed after growing recognition of its normalcy and the harm caused by its categorization. Recognizing that objectophilia is not a disorder is important for removing the stigma around it.
Is objectophilia a kink or a fetish?
Object sexuality might also be confused for a fetish. However, a fetish typically involves a strong sexual interest in a specific object or body part that is necessary for sexual arousal, while object sexuality includes a deeper emotional connection or romantic attraction, says NOCD’s Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Patrick McGrath. In other words, people with a fetish use certain objects mainly as a means of sexual gratification. Meanwhile, objectophiles’ attraction to objects is not just sexual; emotions can also be involved. “Someone with objectophilia knows they’re actually in love with the object itself, and they believe they have some kind of relationship with it,” McGrath says.
How does objectophilia arise?
Objectophilia has received little attention and limited research, which contributes to a general lack of understanding and awareness of this sexual orientation. However, objectophilia has been linked to neurodevelopmental traits such as autism and synesthesia, which may influence the intensity and nature of emotional attachments to inanimate objects.
Synesthesia
Synesthesia is a neurological condition that interconnects sensory experiences. For example, someone with synesthesia might see colors when they hear music, taste flavors when they read words, or think of certain numbers as having specific colors or personalities. A 2019 Nature study found that some people with forms of synesthesia assign genders or personalities to inanimate objects. They may perceive their house keys as female or view their pocket watch as shy; the letter “J” might feel motherly, and the number “7” could be seen as selfish. These personifications of objects are similar to the descriptions shared by people with object sexuality about the objects they are attracted to.
Looking at 122 participants with 34 people with OS and 88 without OS, researchers found that there were higher rates of synesthesia in the OS group compared to controls. The study concluded that when people perceive personalities and genders in objects, this might lead to intimate or romantic feelings over time.
Autism
While objectophilia may be linked to synesthesia, it is most closely associated with autism. The same study in Nature mentioned above also found that rates of autism were 30 times higher in people with OS compared to those without.
In fact, the DSM-5 describes a “strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects” as a common characteristic of autistic people. As a result, specific traits of autism may relate to the development of objectophilia. However, future studies are needed to further support this hypothesis.
“Why might people with autism have objectophilia more often than people without autism?” McGrath says. “Well, they might see objects as more similar to people than others. If they’re describing a positive feeling from an object, that could be very similar to a positive feeling that they felt from a person.” Autistic people also may have a particularly strong sense of empathy that extends beyond people to inanimate objects as well as people, perceiving human-like characteristics where others may not.
Also worth emphasizing: None of this potential correlation means that everyone with autism is an objectophile, or that everyone with object sexuality has autism.
Why sexual OCD can sometimes be confused with objectophilia
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic mental health condition characterized by obsessions, or recurrent and intrusive thoughts, urges, feelings, sensations, or images that cause distress. In response, someone with OCD engages in compulsions, or mental acts or repetitive behaviors in order to decrease distress and anxiety.
Contrary to what many people believe, OCD doesn’t always look the same. In other words, not everyone with the condition is concerned with orderliness and cleanliness. That’s because OCD is a disorder that includes a wide range of subtypes, including sexual OCD. People with sexual OCD have intrusive thoughts of a sexual nature, and these thoughts can be about anyone or anything—yes, including inanimate objects. This is one of the reasons objectophilia and sexual OCD can sometimes be confused for one another, even though there are clear differences.
Sexual obsessions are like any other OCD obsession in that they are unwanted and deeply distressing. “In terms of diagnosing a mental health issue, we have to determine how much something interferes in someone’s life,” McGrath says. “Objectophilia doesn’t really cause any distress, whereas OCD causes severe anxiety.”
The presence of doubt is another key difference: “People with objectophilia don’t express doubts about their attraction,” McGrath says. “They’re expressing true feelings and interactions with an object. That’s not the same with sexual OCD,” in which people are often consumed by overwhelming fears and doubts.
If you are experiencing distress or anxiety about intrusive sexual thoughts, it’s important to seek support from a mental health professional. They can help you differentiate between OCD-related doubts and your actual feelings, learn if treatment may help, and guide you toward the form of treatment that’s best for you.
Attracted to objects? What to do about it
First things first: No sexual orientation, including objectophilia, needs to be fixed or cured. That said, sexual orientations that do not fit within heterosexual norms can still be subjected to a lot of stigma, which can make it worthwhile to speak to a counselor to unpack your emotions.
And if something like autism is at the core of someone’s objectophilia, there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. Treatment for autistic people really depends on how their life is impacted—autism itself doesn’t require treatment. But if autistic people want to seek therapy for any aspect of their mental health, it’s important to work with professionals who are experienced, knowledgeable, and affirming.
That said, people with OCD who worry or fear that they are attracted to inanimate objects do need treatment, because when OCD goes untreated, it causes more and more distress.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a form of therapy that was developed specifically to treat OCD, and it’s backed by decades of clinical research. ERP works by disrupting the cycle of obsessions and compulsions.
For instance, someone with sexual OCD may experience frequent intrusive images of disturbing sexual acts with inanimate objects. As such, they may avoid certain environments. But in ERP, people are actually encouraged to gradually and carefully confront their obsessions, sit with the discomfort they feel, and resist the urge to perform compulsions. This might sound scary, but an ERP therapist who specializes in ERP is there for guidance every step of the way, as ERP is a very collaborative form of therapy.
Over time, ERP teaches people that discomfort from obsessions does go away—or is drastically reduced—when they don’t give in to compulsions.
The bottom line
Objectophilia is not a mental health condition. Instead, people who identify as objectophiles often experience deep feelings of love toward objects that do not result in any distress or impairment in functioning. On the other hand, people experiencing recurring sexual thoughts about objects that are unwanted and do cause distress or anxiety may be dealing with sexual OCD. Seeking support from a qualified mental health professional can go a long way toward finding relief.
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