Curious about Knismolagnia and how it originated? Then this tickle fetish guide from sex educator Niki Davis-Fainbloom will help!
Many of us have experienced the strange and intriguing combination of discomfort and pleasure when someone tickles us. However, folks with Knismolagnia take it to the next level and experience sexual arousal from tickling, being ticked, or watching others get tickled.
For those so inclined, erotic tickle or sensation play can be incorporated into sexual activities or enjoyed as a stand-alone activity – with some being able to orgasm from being tickled without any genital stimulation!
What is a Tickle Fetish?
Knismolagnia (or a tickling fetish) involves experiencing sexual arousal from tickling, being ticked, or watching others get tickled. Some incorporate tickling into sexual activity, while others enjoy it as a stand-alone act.
Why Is Tickling A Thing?
Tickling is an expansive fetish with numerous ways to explore because it arouses the body’s largest organ – the skin. Tickling experts have broken down tickling into two types.
- Knismesis is a soft touch that makes your skin tingle; It can happen accidentally and is more subtle.
- Then there is Gargalesis, an aggressive, purposeful tickle involving intense pressure repeatedly to a ticklish area.
Even when the right person is tickling us, it is only exciting if we are in the right mood. A study found that rats are only ticklish when they are relaxed. When the rats were in a stressful situation, surrounded by bright lights, they did not respond to being tickled. However, when they were in a relaxed environment – they loved the tickles!
The message is – don’t tickle someone who is pissed off if you don’t want to get slapped. A light-hearted mood seems necessary for tickles to be enjoyable.
There is also an element of BDSM called tickle torture, forced tickling, or tickle punishment. When someone tickles you, you often lose control of your body and facial expression and may laugh hysterically. Feeling squirmy, out of control, and utterly helpless to the other’s touch can be exciting. For a tickle sadist, the feeling of power to make another completely hysterical can be very arousing.
As was shared on Reddit:
“The idea of having absolutely no control over what’s going to happen coupled with the fact that my partner loves putting me through anguish (yet without it being painful or otherwise unpleasant) is wonderful. If that counts as masochism, then yes. But I’m not a pain-taking one in the slightest.”
What Causes Tickle Fetish?
Tickling can be one of the most common types of touch explored as children and with our early crushes. I remember in elementary school, when a boy tickled me, it was a sign that he definitely liked me! For some, this may actually explain their development of this fetish.
If someone has an early sexual experience that involved tickling – the association between tickling and arousal can be enough for a fetish to develop.
What It’s Like Having A Tickle Fetish?
For many folks, the effect of sensual tickle play is very situation-dependent. For example, we can’t tickle ourselves! Hence, most of the excitement of tickling is unpredictability and lack of control.
It is also believed that tickling can only be enjoyable if it is between two people that know each other. If a stranger comes up to you and tickles you, it may feel more like an assault than enjoyment.
Also, many folks can only sink into the eroticism of extreme tickling if someone they are attracted to tickles them, not a family member.
As was shared on Reddit
“I first noticed it when I was very young; if I ever saw a cartoon or TV show where tickling was done, I would have a sincere fascination with it. As time went on, I realized that I loved being tickled by friends (and that I disliked being tickled by family). Each year that passed saw me realizing how much I loved tickling, and I finally found out about the existence of the tickling fetish (via the internet, of course). Nowadays, I enjoy being tickled by females. Even so, I might have to get comfortable with them and know them a little better as a person for the tickling to be comfortable.”
How Common Are Tickling Fetishes?
When exploring the desirability of tickling, a study found that 32% of folks enjoyed it when someone tickled them, 32% were neutral, and 36% did not like it. Of course, not all that enjoyed it experienced sexual enjoyment.
But feeling sexual excitement from tickling may not be as rare as one may think. If you google “tickle porn,” there are 49 million tickle fetish porn links, and that is a lot of people enjoying getting tickled!
There are also sites showing images, videos, and other media showing people wearing clothes and getting tickled, and a dating site where the tickle fetish community can find tickle-oriented people to date!
Tickle Kink Safety
Sexual tickling kink is about the safest fetish you could explore. There is no penetration, so the only issue would be if someone instinctually punches you in the face. It also seems like laughing yourself to death is unlikely if you are healthy, and laughing has many positive bodily effects.
Where To Tickle?
Kinky tickling can be especially fun to explore because there are so many areas of the skin that you can play with.
- A fun way to enhance the erotic sexual gratification could be to blindfold the person (the tickle bottom) during tickling sex to enhance the sensation.
- In terms of where to tickle, there is a tone of nerve endings on the bottom of your feet (foot fetish tickle), so that is a particularly ticklish area for many people. Under the armpits, inner thighs, the ribcage and elbows and knees, neck, and belly are all solid spots.
- Instead of only using your hands, you (the tickle top) can also tickle pleasure someone with an electric toothbrush, makeup brushes, a tongue, a feather duster, a vibrator, a Wartenburg wheel, or paintbrushes.
Consent is essential when being tickled because when someone is hysterically laughing, it may be hard to communicate if they are having a great time or want it to stop. I recommend creating an arm signal to express when the sensation is too much.
