In the wide-ranging and delightful world of sex there is a fetish for just about everything, think of something off the top of your head and chances are someone is going to be really into it.
Given the insane scope of the internet these days, there's a good chance that somebody has also made some porn of that thing as well.
The latest term to activate your awareness is going to be a 'looner', which apparently means someone who has a balloon fetish.
It takes all kinds to make a world and that includes people who get hot and bothered thanks to a piece of rubber inflated with air, and according to sex experts, people's enjoyment of balloons in this context can come from inflating them, touching them or popping them.
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According to Playful, which went to a looner party in Berlin where people enjoyed interacting with balloons, it's one of many sexual subcultures which exist and has found a place where they can try out their desires in a safe space.
That does sound like a positive thing, and according to them the experts say that the reasons people have a fetish for balloons are wide ranging.
They suggested 'sensory pleasure', 'childhood nostalgia' and 'adrenaline responses from the anticipation of popping' among the reasons why balloons might rub people's brains up in just the right way.
Mashable spoke with those in the know who said that in the 'looner' community (not to be confused with 'gooners'), there are 'poppers' who want to burst the balloon and 'non-poppers' who just want to play with it.
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Meanwhile, clinical sexologist Dr Sarah Melancon, of The Sex Toy Collective, told the outlet: "Some balloon lovers feel their interest isn’t overly sexual but creates strong feelings of excitement, satisfaction, and relaxation.
"Some feel playing with balloons helps reduce stress."
Dr Nazanin Moali, a sex therapist, explained what it was like for people who had this fetish, saying: "The arousal may come from the tactile sensation associated with balloons, or about the latex, or even the sound of the balloon getting popped."
Throwing another wrench of confusion into the mix, Men's Health claims there's actually another kind of 'looner', the 'semi-popper' who sometimes pops and sometimes doesn't.
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Who are we to judge?
People have fetishes about all sorts of things and Dr Melancon explained that 'fetishes and kinks always involve an emotional component' which can develop in all sorts of ways.
If people derive pleasure from it and it's not hurting anyone then by all means, carry on.
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Lifestyle, Community
Joe Harker