Turned on by something unusual? Interview subjects required for ultra-confidential research into fetishes. Call Sandra.
Stephanie Clifford-Smith thought she was unshockable, a real woman of the world. She'd always been fascinated by sex, particularly the sex lives of ordinary Australians, especially when it came to fetishes. Were sexual fetishes widespread throughout the community, or only the domain of a kinky minority?
'What happens the first time someone with a sexual fetish shares it with their lover? Say you had a kink, something you knew was really unusual. Would you risk your lover running screaming from the room by asking if they'll let you lick their eyeballs or would you find some oblique way of bringing it up, perhaps when they were struggling with a stray lash? Or would you just go behind their back and find a willing partner on the internet?'
So Stephanie assumed an identity, put an ad in the local paper, and went to find out for herself. She thought nothing could shock her (she was wrong). The result is mind-boggling, hilarious, sometimes creepy and always absolutely fascinating.