Jock sniffing

Jock sniffing is a paraphilia that involves inhaling odors from unlaundered jockstraps for the purposes of sexual arousal.

Jock sniffing is the inhalation of odors from unlaundered jockstraps for the purpose of sexual stimulation. It is a paraphilia, involving sexual arousal from nonhuman objects. Paraphilias involving odors are known as osmolagnia, (Greekosme, smell, and lagneia, lust), or olfactophilia (Latinolfacire, to smell, pertaining to the sense of smell, and philia, love), and are defined as "sexual attraction to, or sexual arousal by, smells and odors emanating from the body, especially the sexual areas." As a paraphilia, it can be considered deviant or aberrant behaviour; but it is a form of non-penetrative sex. Despite this, it is not a considerably safe sex act given that sources of human odor may also provide a harbor to disease-causing agents such as bacteria, Hepatitis, etc. Jock sniffing may be considered a cross-over paraphilia in that it utilizes one particular garment and therefore is a garment fetish. It also partakes of mysophilia. However, the principal focus for the jock sniffer is odor.

Odors and human sexuality
Many cultures, certainly in the United States, find body odors and secretions at least mildly repugnant. They may, however, influence behavior, and there is some evidence for the idea that human beings react differently to body odors during times of sexual excitement. For example, depending on their sexual orientation, some men become sexually excited by smelling the soiled undergarments of women or other men.

Homoeroticism and the jockstrap

The jockstrap was invented in 1874 and has come to be regarded as the most masculine of male attire . The jockstrap has become a fetish for its admirers, a talisman, believed to hold almost supernatural powers of maleness -- of manly athleticism, strength, vigor, and sexual power.

In his book The Arena of Masculinity (1992), Brian Pronger describes the jockstrap as "... perhaps the quintessential homoerotic ritual robe because, just as it enshrines the symbol of the myth of masculinity, so too the straps that originate in the top elastic circumscribe the buttocks and disappear in the anus, bringing us to that place where masculinity meets its mythic undoing. And so, as suggested by the versatility of Apollo, there are two sides to the jockstrap that symbolize the homoerotic paradox: the pouch in the front as the shrine of masculinity joined to the straps in the back framing its mythic violation."

Description

Jock sniffing specifically refers to the practice of inhaling odors from unlaundered jockstraps for the purpose of sexual stimulation. Practitioners, (usually male) are known as 'jock sniffers' and acquire unlaundered jockstraps either by swapping such garments with like-minded individuals or by swiping them from locker rooms, lockers, or unattended gym bags.

A jockstrap is commonly pressed to the face to inhale its odors. A partner can also be engaged to don the jockstrap in its intended manner. The jock sniffer then presses his face into the pouch, and inhales. Masturbation or other sexual activity may also be involved.

Jock sniffers may also inhale the synthetic odors of jockstraps fresh from their packaging. In this respect, the odor of an undergarment that covers and supports the male genitalia is the stimulus. Jock sniffers often express a preference for one brand of jockstrap over another .

Practitioners may or may not be attracted to other forms of male undergarments such as briefs, boxers, union suits, suspensories, dance belts, thongs, and posing straps, but the term jock sniffing refers only a fixation upon the jockstrap.

Popular culture

Jock sniffing is often an element in gay art and literature. The term 'jock sniffer' is sometimes used by the media to describe an individual with a homoerotic interest in athletes. The term is used pejoratively.

In the film North Dallas Forty, however, Nick Nolte's character, football tight end Phil Elliot playfully wraps an unlaundered jockstrap around a teammate's face. Jock sniffing is not unknown in hazing rituals. There, however, humiliation is the intent rather than sexual stimulation.

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