Panty fetishism is the belief that panties (or female underwear) contain an intrinsic sexual power.
Fetishistic behavior can involve sharing printed or electronic material depicting exposure of panties, usually of a softcore nature, or direct sight and physical contact with the panties.
Some individuals have a paraphilia for a specific type of panty. For example, a common subclass of panty fetishism are panties that show the exposed buttocks (i.e. thongs and g-strings). Further, some individuals have the opposite preference, and are attracted to panties that cover the buttocks.
The price for a pair of panties can be as high as 5,000-10,000 yen.
Underage schoolgirls participate in sale of their used panties, either through burusera shops or using mobile phone sites to sell directly to clients. When laws banning the purchase of used underwear from under-18s were introduced in Tokyo in 2004, it was reported that some underage girls were instead allowing their clients (called kagaseya or sniffers) to sniff their underwear from directly between their legs. Others chose to sell photos of themselves, throwing in the used panties for free.