Illuminations: The Foot: Fetish Worthy?

To say one has a foot fetish is rather generic. The term does not irrevocably identify an interest as there is a myriad of sub-interests with the foot at its center. There are people who adore feet and find erotic value in the appearance of feet in many stages of dress, undress, cleanliness, and grooming. For some foot fetishists the craving is purely sexual. They want to feel the soles of the feet, or the toes against the genitalia. They crave the physical sexual contact with feet. Others view the foot as an exquisite object of potential play be it tickling, licking, kissing, sucking, binding, or beating. It could be none of these but instead be all about the accessories for the foot: the shoes, toe rings, ankle bracelets, painted toenails and just the general appearance of a pampered well cared for foot. Still others crave contact with dirty, smelly, calloused "well lived in" feet.

For literally centuries, women all over the world have gone to the trouble to present feet to members of the opposite sex which were attractive and feminine in appearance. The earliest reference to the female foot as an object of desire was centered in Chinese culture beginning in the 21st century B.C. Chinese poetry and paintings depicted men caressing, and kissing the small "lotus feet" of Chinese women. The feet were called "lotus feet" because they did not extend any longer than 3.5-4 inches in length. The feet were made so small by a painful process called foot binding which literally deformed the feet.

Today, the process of foot binding would be considered barbaric by most standards. It was a right of passage for young girls and considered a necessity for them to be suitable as future mates for Chinese men. Starting around the age of 3 when the bones of a young girls feet were still soft and flexible they were bound in fabric so the toes were bent under and touching the soles of the feet, and the side of the foot drawn inward. Eventually all but the first toe was broken and wrapped with cloth strips causing the sole of the foot to be concave. Through the process of tissue rotting, and scar tissue developing the foot did not develop normally. The goal was to keep the foot from exceeding more than 4 inches in length by the time the girl reached marrying age.

While the reason for this practice is not entirely clear the end results were obvious and desirable for men of the upper class. A foot bound woman was more dependent on others and less useful around the house. A woman who had bound feet had to walk with all her weight on her heels which gave her a distinctive tottering gait that was considered desirable and charming. A woman who had been foot bound was considered to be a symbol of chastity. This was because she was bound to the home, largely dependent on others, unable to run away to escape beatings, and a foot binding could not be undone as a chastity belt could. Women with bound feet were sexually desirable for Chinese men because it was believed that the characteristic gait a foot bound woman had to walk in also helped to develop and strengthen her buttocks, and vaginal canal in a way that allowed her to grip the cock of her mate unlike a women with normal feet could

It is an extreme example of what women have endured over the years to present attractive feet to their partners. It was not uncommon in the 1900’s for young women to purchase shoes that were one to two sizes too small for their feet in order to accomplish the appearance of smaller feet which were considered more feminine and desirable.

Today, in our modern society women still indulge in a certain amount of discomfort in order to present to their partners feet which are desirable. High heels can be torturous, however most men find a woman wearing high heels sexy, and desirable. Take a look at most of the adult websites dedicated to clothing for BDSMers. How many times do you find shoes presented there with a heel smaller than 3 inches... and those are rare. Most are 4 inches or more. Even though these shoes are often painful to wear, and nearly impossible to walk in, women still spend millions of dollars a year to have them. When you ask men what the attraction is of a woman dressed in high heels you get a variety of responses. For some, it is the way heels make the calve muscle stand out firming up the leg and causing the slight protrusion of the buttocks. Some men like the slower gait and what some describe as "the fuck me" sway of the hips a pair of sufficiently high heels will induce. Severe heels also induce foot bondage without the ties. A woman in a pair of 6 inch heels isn’t gonna be able to move fast enough to present any kind of real escape risk. Shoes with a heel that extends past four inches aren’t really for walking in anyway, but as one man put it... "Those are for fucking in".

Not all endeavors to make our feet appear desirable to our partners have to hurt. For example, the beauty salon pedicure is growing ever more popular in the USA. More and more people are discovering the value of taking care of their feet and keeping them healthy. Visiting a pedicure salon on a bi-weekly basis goes a long way to keep your feet well groomed, free of calluses, and free of dead skin making them soft to the touch and pleasant to look at. The process is one meant to relax you starting with a gentle bubbling whirlpool bath for your feet, all the way through to the massage and the fresh coating of nail polish on your toenails. As a woman it has always been important to me to feel as well groomed and put together as possible. When I became a collared submissive, it gave me a thrill for my Master to take note of how nice my toenails looked in sandals. The sight of my well groomed feet was pleasing to him, and so it was even more important to me that he never see them in any other state. And don’t forget the jewelry. Try adding a toe ring or two to your feet. They are real eye catchers for some people. A woman in the summertime wearing sandals with freshly painted toenails, sporting a toe ring or two, and an ankle bracelet is a sexy sight for some people. You may be single handedly responsible for helping to develop a taste for sexy pretty feet.

I went through a phase a couple of years ago when I was totally fascinated with the idea of toe bondage. To me, the idea of feeling my toes tied seemed incredibly erotic. I was mesmerized listening to a submissive woman I know tell about how her Master tied her toes to clamps he applied to her pussy lips just before spanking her pussy with a crop. Eventually, the clamps were jerked off of her lips from the jerking of her legs in response to his spanking her pussy (deliciously wicked!) I never forgot that story. There is a whole other kink out there of people that include the feet in their bondage or torture rituals. It is said that the soles of the feet are very rich with nerve endings, yet very hard to mark which make them a good target for the intense stimulation of beating. One popular torture for the feet is called Bastinado which is the beating of the soles of the feet with a cane (ouch!).

But not all tortures of the feet are intended to be intensely painful... what about tickling? For those who have been tickle tortured they say it is a maddening experience. It is torture, mostly mental and emotional without severe pain of a beating to the soles of the feet for example, but still painful none the less. Victims of this kind of sadistic torture for the feet say a tickling session can induce begging for relief every bit as serious as any begging for relief of a beating would be, and pray relief is granted before their bladder control is sacrificed. (I think I will try to distract my Master from reading this little article. No need to give him unnecessary ideas!)

Foot fetishism is said to be one of the most common of fetishes. There is a multi-million dollar industry surrounding the care of, and the dressing of feet, particularly the feet of women, but also including those of men. Is the foot fetish worthy? Well, it is an often times forgotten part of the human body, the lowliest of appendages with a vast supply of rich nerve endings just waiting to be discovered, explored and extorted for potential erotic value. For the true foot fetishist having a pair of feet to give their special kind of attention to is a dream come true. For the unsuspecting foot owner it can be an exercise in expanding ones boundaries, and rearranging ideas of what is erotic and exciting.

Life is short ... Treasure today.

If you want to read more about the old Chinese custom of foot binding below are resources I used for this article:

"Chinese Foot Binding- Lotus Shoes", Museum of the City of San Francisco

"Splendid Slippers" By: Jackson, Beverly, Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.