Several times I've wondered where some of our likes & dislikes, even if not to the strength of fetishes & paraphilias, come from. Perhaps some is genetic, possibly prenatal (before birth), perinatal (5 months before to 1 month after), traumatic, or conditioned through repeated exposure. I wouldn't say I derived my likes & dislikes from certain specific things, but I've noticed a few interesting coincidences.
I like hot, spicy food, especially chili. I wasn't exposed to it very much when I was young because my mother doesn't like much spice, so I wouldn't say I was conditioned to it. My father enjoys it on occasion because he has terrible allergies. With his almost non-existant sense of smell, he also has a greatly reduced sense of taste. He can feel the heat, but not taste the food. I inherited his allergies so both my senses of smell and taste are diminished, although not nearly as bad as his. Is that where my enjoyment of spicy food came from? Possibly. Or maybe it's from the meal of extra-spicy chili my mother had just 24 hours before I was born?
I also absolutely love flying. I've enjoyed everything about flying as long as I can remember. If my eyes were better I would have joined the Air Force to become a fighter pilot. Noone else in my entire family enjoys it as much as I do. I wonder if it has something to do with the 2 flights my parents took in 24 hours just 2 days before my birth.
I enjoy receiving enemas. I find them very relaxing. I was never given even a single one as a child that I can remember. I never discussed it with my parents or caregivers. I came across them completely on my own in my early teens. After I knew what they were and had given myself several, I realized that my mother had used them for years, very privately. I had seen the bag carefully stored on a high shelf, hidden under the bath towels. I had heard the sounds after she had closed the bathroom door, but it has never once been mentioned. I remember seeing a book about water therapy on my grandmothers bookshelf that caught my attention. Many times I had wanted to read it, but never picked it up or asked about it, just remembered it was there. When my grandmother passed several years ago, I heard some comments about things she asked for in her last days. One thing she was adamant about was asking for an enema. She was in terrible pain, very agitated, and kept asking. Someone finally relented and hung the bag by her bed. As soon as she heard the click of the clamp and felt a few drops of water splash on her bottom, she immediately calmed down and relaxed. She didn't even have any water administered, just saw the bag, heard the click, and felt the warm water. With both my mother and grandmother using enemas, do I have some genetic disposition to enjoying them?
I like being bound, especially tightly wrapped, corseted, or mummified. I don't know of anybody in my family with any history of this, but in my first couple years I was sick a good bit of time. I nearly died 3 times before I was 2 years old. I clearly remember a couple times in the hospital that I was tighly swaddled in several layers of blankets to keep me warm. I don't know how I remember these, as they happened before I was 2 yrs old, but I do. Perhaps that stuck with me and leaves me feeling warm, safe, and cared for when I'm wrapped or corseted.
Does anyone have similar coincidences? Could this be where some of our fetishes and paraphilias come from? Do you think they're likely inherited, anchored in a trauma, conditioned through exposure, or do they just come out of left field? What do you think?