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KINKSpec · 474 entries
A clinical index of kinks & fetishes
An A–Z of 474 sexual and non-sexual interests — every kink, fetish and paraphilia defined in neutral language, sorted into 11 categories, and ranked 0–100 by how common it is, from cited evidence.
What is a kink, a fetish and a paraphilia?
- Kink
- An umbrella word for sexual interests and practices outside the conventional script — bondage, role play, a pull toward a particular material or body part. It describes variation, not disorder, and covers most of the 474 entries in this index.
- Fetish
- A narrower term: a strong, reliable erotic interest in one specific object, body part, material, act or scenario. Every fetish is a kink; most kinks are not fetishes. The A–Z list names both, common word first.
- Paraphilia
- The clinical umbrella term used in the DSM-5-TR and ICD-11. A paraphilia is not a disorder in itself — it becomes one only with distress, impairment, or harm to someone who cannot consent. 22 entries here carry a content notice on exactly that basis.
Every entry is written in neutral, non-explicit language, cites its sources, and is placed on one 0–100 index so the terms can be compared rather than just listed — how that index is built.
How common is each kink?
Every entry carries a 0–100 popularity index built from five cited signals, and the spread is heavily right-skewed: a few interests are nearly universal, most are niche. The index is modelled on a log scale to reflect that. Below, the headline index across all 474 entries.
33
index 0–10
33 entries · 7%
39
index 10–20
39 entries · 8%
78
index 20–30
78 entries · 16%
87
index 30–40
87 entries · 18%
94
index 40–50
94 entries · 20%
87
index 50–60
87 entries · 18%
35
index 60–70
35 entries · 7%
15
index 70–80
15 entries · 3%
4
index 80–90
4 entries · 1%
2
index 90–100
2 entries · 0%
050100
Count of entries per 10-point band. Mean 39.3, median 40.
- 474
- Entries catalogued
- 419
- Sexual interests
- 55
- Non-sexual interests
- 22
- Under content notice
Browse kinks & fetishes by category
Every interest in the catalog belongs to one of 11 categories, grouped by what the kink or fetish centres on — a body part, an object, an act, or a relational dynamic. The eight most documented are below.
Kink & fetish collections
Curated, cross-cutting groupings — BDSM, feet, fluids, fantasy — that gather related kinks and fetishes from across the catalog’s 11 categories. A different way in; the eight largest by volume are below.
Most common kinks & fetishes
The highest-ranked interests on the index — the most prevalent, searched and culturally documented kinks and fetishes. Dominance and Submission leads the whole catalog at 92/100.
Three more catalogs: orientations, genders & relationship structures
Interests are only part of the picture. Who someone is attracted to, who they are, and how they arrange their relationships are documented separately — same clinical standard, same cited sources, each ranked within itself rather than against the kink index.
Attraction40 sexual orientationsFrom heterosexuality across the asexual spectrum — who someone is drawn to, not what they are into.Identity40 gender identitiesWoman, man, non-binary, agender, and the cultural identities that predate the binary — who a person is.Structures15 relationship structuresMonogamy, polyamory, open relationships, relationship anarchy — how a commitment is arranged.
Self-assessment
How common are your interests, really?
Most kink tests hand back an archetype off an instrument nobody published. This one places what you pick on the same 0–100 index every one of the 334 interests here is ranked by — and tells you where that lands.
Take the assessment
Free · 11–35 questions · ~4 min
- No account
- No email
- Nothing leaves your device
Common questions about kinks & fetishes
The questions readers arrive with, answered from the catalog rather than from opinion.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a kink and a fetish?
A kink is any non-conventional sexual interest. A fetish is narrower: a strong, reliable erotic interest in one specific object, body part, material, act, role or scenario. Every fetish is a kink; most kinks are not fetishes.
What is the most common kink?
Dominance and Submission ranks highest across the whole catalog, at 92/100 on the popularity index — power exchange, bondage and role play fill most of the top of the list, with foot fetish the highest-ranked body-part interest. The full ranking is sortable by index.
How many kinks and fetishes are there?
There is no fixed number — the vocabulary keeps growing. KINKSpec catalogues 474 distinct interests across 11 categories, each defined in clinical language and ranked 0–100 by how common it is. The A–Z list shows every one of them.
Are kinks normal?
Yes. Survey research consistently finds that a large share of adults report at least one interest that would be called kinky, and clinical frameworks treat that variation as ordinary. What matters is consent, capacity and whether an interest causes harm or distress — not how unusual it is.
Is a paraphilia a mental disorder?
Not by itself. Paraphilia is the clinical umbrella term in the DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 for an atypical pattern of arousal. It becomes a paraphilic disorder only when it causes the person distress or impairment, or entails harm or risk to someone who cannot consent.
How is the KINKSpec popularity index calculated?
Each entry is scored on five cited signals — estimated prevalence, search interest, community size, cultural visibility and research attention — combined as a weighted geometric mean, with prevalence measured on a log scale so rare and common interests stay comparable. The full method is published.
How do I find out what a kink is called?
Search the catalog by what you can describe — the object, body part, act or dynamic — and the matching term comes back with its clinical name and aliases. If you would rather scan, the A–Z list and the 11 categories both cover every entry.