Which, at first, may seem strange and unnerving, that being a sexual fetish for balloons, on further investigation, doesn’t seem to make the Looners crazy.

A slang term for those who enjoy sexual pleasure from interacting with balloons, a Looner can be classified as belonging to a subgroup of latex fetishism; And it is by looking at latex that the key to understanding this particular group emerges.

Like other fetishized materials, latex is related to the human body, specifically to the skin. Organic in origin, balloon lovers covet the tactile nature of what many Looners consider a living material, a substance with a smell and feel that can awaken the senses in the same way as human skin; A balloon’s innate ability to generate static electricity adds to the feeling of a lively, vibrant connection during contact.

Once processed from its source and manufactured into balloons, a small leap of imagination helps us to recognize the progression that fuels sexual desire. Since balloons are produced in a variety of shapes and sizes, they can soon appear to resemble human anatomy; soft, fleshy and rounded, breast-shaped or phallic and warm through handling.

For some balloon fetishists, the act of blowing up the balloon, or watching someone else do it, is itself a source of sexual satisfaction. However, more commonly, Looners can be subdivided into two distinct categories: ‘poppers’ and ‘non-poppers’.

For non-poppers, pleasure comes from the shape and size of the balloons as they expand and the physical stimulation when used against the body, from the process of inflating the balloon to masturbation. However, with this group, the fun stops if the balloon explodes.

Poppers, on the other hand, also get sexual satisfaction from the suspense created during the run-up to a balloon popping and the final event itself – the climax is the eventual popping of the balloon.

This particular aspect, the popping of balloons, is perhaps the most difficult to understand. Many people fear the moment when a balloon explodes and would not report any pleasure from the loud popping and resulting throbbing. However, for Looners who greatly enjoy this, a proportion acknowledge that the pleasant rush of endorphins produced by an exploding balloon stems from eroticizing the fear they once felt during childhood. This fear translates into an irresistible excitement that arises from the outburst.

‘Mike D’, a confirmed balloon enthusiast, explains this in more detail:

“There is always something that goes back to your childhood. Like your babysitter inflated a balloon or your mother blew up the balloon. Then comes puberty and those things that impressed you so much as a child turn into something erotic.”

Mike actually admits to having a phobia of popping balloons, but happily acknowledges that his fetish stems from that fear. But he also knows that, for other Looners, popping is out of the question, saying “they can be quite religious about it. You know, I better not pop my balloon!”

Unconstrained by the need for a tactile experience, of the thousands of enthusiasts who identify with this fetish, many report the pleasure of watching others play with balloons. In fact, with New Years Eve being the most popular day on Looner’s calendar, filmed images of balloon launches and massive party balloon pops are posted on private balloon fetish sites for others to enjoy.

In the sometimes harsh world of dark sexual fetishes, balloon love seems to be one of the gentlest activities. In general, Looners are unlikely to respond to balloon content alongside rough sex, regardless of whether, as a follower of this fetish, you prefer to keep the balloon intact or explode until dropped.