Clavicle fetish is attraction to the shape, hollow, and raised line of the human collarbone, the horizontal bone running from the base of the neck to the shoulder joint. Among body-part fetishes it is often discussed through a distinctive aesthetic logic, the coexistence of fragility and grace, and in Japanese subculture is also called sakotsu moe (collarbone moe).

Visual properties of the collarbone

Several visual properties underlie the collarbone as a fetish object. First, the line of the collarbone is a “seen but not too seen” area, visible outside clothing. A collarbone naturally exposed by an open neckline, a sleeveless top, or the collar of a yukata is seen far more often in ordinary space than sexual areas such as the genitals or breasts. This everyday exposure is one source of the visual pleasure in collarbone fetish.

Second, the collarbone indexes thinness and delicacy. How sharply it stands out shifts with nutritional state and skeletal slightness, so a “clearly defined collarbone” reads as a sign of a slim physique. Collarbone fetish and a preference for slender figures often overlap.

Third, the area around the collarbone functions as a “prelude to contact.” Lying on the path of kissing, biting, and stroking, it readily couples with the anticipation of sexual contact and the desire to approach.

Cultural and aesthetic context

The beauty of the collarbone has been an object of aesthetic appraisal across many cultures, not only Japan. In Western painting, dress that accentuated the décolletage settled as an expression of upper-class female social beauty, and the design of garments framing the collarbone drew attention. In Japan, the open collar of the yukata and furisode developed as a traditional mode of showing the collarbone and nape. The kimono grammar of revealing the nape, collarbone, and wrist runs through to the modern sensibility of collarbone fetish.

In manga and anime, finely rendering a female character’s collarbone is an established method for conveying allure. The drawing of the curve from collarbone to shoulder is treated as a marker of an artist’s skill, and within fan communities some artists are praised for their handling of it.

Fetish character

Collarbone fetish spans several sensory channels: vision, touch, and imagination. Visually, the shape, depth, and symmetry of the hollow are appraised; haptically it appears as a desire to trace with a finger, touch with the mouth, or bite. When discussed as a sexual taste, it usually exists not in isolation but compounded with interest in adjacent areas such as the neck, nape, and shoulders. More often than fixation on the collarbone alone, it is positioned as part of an overall appreciation of the beauty of the neck and décolletage. In sexual contexts, biting the collarbone (love-bites, hickeys) is emphasised by some, often framed as a combination of sexual marking and bodily delicacy.

See also

• Unaji (Nape)
• Senaka (Back)
• Slender