Objectophilia - in love with objects

Objectophilia (object sexuality or objectum sexuality) can be defined as an emotional and romantic desire towards different objects. Those with objectophilia can feel attraction, love, and can even commit to the objects that become their partners. Some of these individuals believe in animism and consider that non-human entities are spiritual beings. 

 

They don’t describe themselves as fetishists because they don’t use the objects to enhance their sexual pleasure, the objects are the only thing they desire and they fall in love with them.

You probably heard of the woman who married the Eiffel Tower . It seems that her love for objects began with Lance, a bow; then she moved on to a piece of fence which is currently her partner. However, she always loved the Eiffel Tower and she changed her name to show the whole world how much she loves it. Then, there’s the woman who married the Berlin Wall. She is now 54 years old and she married the wall in 1979. It seems that her love for the wall began when she first saw it on TV, then she just started collecting pictures with her future “husband”. But she hasn’t visited her husband since part of it was destroyed in 1989. Nowadays, she is in a loving relationship with a garden fence.

Another woman, in love with the Twin Towers, declares that "when it comes to love, I am only attracted to objects. I couldn't imagine a love affair with a human being".  Fortunately for her she has a model of the Twin Towers. They are made from anodized aluminium and the advantage is that they don’t rust when she takes a bath with them. The same article tells the story of Joachim A. who was in a relationship with a Hammond organ, but now “he has now been in a steady relationship with a steam locomotive for several years.” He admits that he has been unfaithful over the years because "a love affair could very well begin with a broken radiator”.

An article in the Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, written by Amy Marsh argues that objectophilia is not a paraphilia but a sexual orientation. Here’s the paragraph:

Based on statements made by objectum sexuals and on the research discussed in this article, it appears that objectum sexuality can be distinguished from a simple paraphilia by its complex array of emotional and affectionate qualities, in addition to its sexual characteristics. The most striking feature of this research was the discovery of the array of emotions and depth of connection that OS people feel for their objects. Judging from the thoughts expressed in open-ended responses, OS appears to be a genuine - though rare - sexual orientation. The emotions and experiences reported by OS people correspond to general definitions of sexual orientation. For example, an article on sexual orientation and homosexuality, published on American Psychological Association Help Center website, refers to sexual orientation as involving “feelings and self concept.” If references to human lovers were stripped from this particular article, it would dovetail with the experiences and feelings described by OS people.

For further reading and stories you can go on http://objectum-sexuality.org/

Is objectophilia a paraphilia, a disorder, a sickness? People who claim to have it also say that they couldn't fall in love with a human being because they don't feel attracted to them. On the other hand, attraction is not the only thing that defines love and when it comes to other needs like communicating and emotional support it can be really hard to obtain those from an object. Or maybe these people have found a new meaning to unrequited and unconditional love.