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Statuephilia, also called agalmatophilia, or Pygmalionism after the myth of Pygmalion, is an uncommon sexual fetish or paraphilia.

In its literal sense it means sexual attraction to statues (usually but not exclusively nudes), but the objects of attraction may also be lifelike mannequins or dolls.

Statuephilia also crosses over into transformation fetishism in the form of fantasies about people transformed into any of those objects. For many it is the idea of immobility or loss of control that is arousing rather than an immobile object per se, and so there are also fantasies about mannequin-like paralysis which sometimes cross over into hypnofetishism and robot fetishism (See also: Gynoid). Such fantasies may of course be extended to roleplaying, and the self-coined term used by women who enjoy being transformed appears to be "rubber doll" or "latex doll".

Statuephilia has a small but highly devoted internet community.

A number of famous art photographers have extensively featured sexualised life-sized dolls in their work, such as: Hans Bellmer, Bernard Faucon, Helmut Newton, Morton Bartlett, Katan Amano, Kishin Shinoyama, and Ryoichi Yoshida.

Further reading[]

  • Scobie A, Taylor J. "Agalmatophilia, the statue syndrome." J Hist Behav Sci. 1975 Jan; 11(1):49-54.
  • Kenneth Gross. The Dream of the Moving Statue. Cornell University Press. 1992. (A wide-ranging survey of 'living statues' in literature and the arts).
  • Silke Wenk, "Pygmalions Wahlverwandtschaften. Die Rekonstruktion des Schöpfermythos im nachfaschistischen Deutschland" IN: Konstruktionen von Männlichkeit und Weiblichkeit in Kunst und Kunstgeschichte. Berlin, 1989.
  • Elena Dorfman. Still Lovers (2005). ISBN 097667081X. (Female art/fashion photographer photographs men and their dolls).
  • Elisabeth Alexandre. Des Poupées et des hommes - enquete sur l'amour Artif. (2005). ISBN 2842712528 (Book is in French - 'Dolls and Men - Investigation into Artificial Love').
  • Guys and Dolls: Art, Science, Fashion and relationships. Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums. (2005). (102-page catalogue of a major exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, England).

See also[]

External links[]

fi:Agalmatofilia

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