The Popular Fetish That Used to Totally Freak Me Out

When I was in college, I remember seeing a news segment on a guy called the Toe Suck Fairy. He was arrested for posing as a podiatrist and inspecting and sucking some poor strangers’ toes in the middle of department stores. The culprit, Michael Robert Wyatt, has served several prison sentences for similar foot-related shenanigans.

A few years later, I ended up going on a few dates with someone with a similar, but much less aggressive, foot fetish.

At the time, I was uneducated and thoroughly confused by it. I didn’t know much about fetishism and hadn’t even begun exploring my own kinky side. After our first date, he requested I paint my toenails “cherry red” and wear open-toed shoes our next time out.

I did, but not without doing a background check first to make sure he wasn’t going to try to chop them off and make some kind of toe stew. The foot fetish totally freaked out my 21-year-old self. The poor guy never even made it to first base, much less to sucking on my perfectly pedicured cherry red toes.

Now, nearly 15 years later, I’m getting random requests for foot pictures from male admirers and offers to buy my worn socks and shoes. While I would love to say, “show me the money” (Jerry McGuire style, of course), it’s not my thing — and my feet are reserved for my husband.

Neither of us has a foot fetish, which I feel like we should call a feetish, or a footish, maybe? Either way, we don’t have a footish or a feetish. But, we still find fun and pleasurable ways to incorporate a little foot play into our sexual experiences.

Understanding foot fetishism

In my quest to understand this particular fetish, I began doing some research. I quickly realized this isn’t just some obscure kink people like to joke about. It’s very mainstream and much more commonly talked about than, let’s say, spectrophilia, the sexual attraction to or paranormal sexual encounter with ghosts and spirits. It’s more common for men to have a foot fetish, but plenty of women enjoy feet too.

Some people even think Leonardo da Vinci had a foot fetish, as he was quoted saying, “The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”

The scientific name for having an attraction or sexual interest towards feet is called podophilia. The fetish isn’t just limited to feet, though, as it can extend to any part of the foot and include the shape and size of the foot, toes, toenails, jewelry, socks, footwear, and odor.

Podophilia is the partialism for feet, but it can range from fetish to kink. Foot worship is considered a form of podophilia, but it often involves psychological elements and power play. Like most kinks or fetishes, some of the eroticism may be tied to social taboo.

What science says about your foot fetish

It’s not clear what it is about feet in particular that makes them mainstream fetish-worthy, but a few theories have emerged to offer some explanation.

Freud thought people sexualized feet because they resembled penises. Then again, Freud came to the same conclusion about every fetish — they all were just penis-substitutes.

More recent research theorizes the brain areas associated with your genitals and feet are in close proximity in brain mapping. There’s a suggestion that this fetish may have a cross-wiring component between the foot and genital parts.

Brain researcher Ramachandran wrote in Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind, “Maybe even many of us so-called normal people have a bit of cross-wiring, which would explain why we like to have our toes sucked.”

Despite the popularity of foot fetishism, very few people actually consider their feet an erogenous zone. Feet are often ranked right alongside the kneecap — and when was the last time you heard someone talk about a kneecap fetish?

Incorporating foot play

You don’t have to have a fetish for feet to incorporate your tootsies into a sexual experience. Here are a few ways we’ve taken our games of footsie to the next level:

Foot rub: Who doesn’t like a foot massage? Try using these expert tips, like warmup twists, arch rubs, and toe bends, to give your partner a next-level foot rub. Pro tip: You and your partner are both more likely to orgasm if your feet are warm! Use a warming lotion or oil will help you make the most of your foot massage.

Mutual masturbation with a little toe touching action: While enjoying a little partnered self-love time, reach a leg out and use your feet to stroke your partner’s erogenous zones. There’s no specific routine or technique that is guaranteed to please, so communication is a must when getting your feet involved in the action.

Put on some heels: Fetish or not, heels are sexy. Give your partner a glimpse of them and keep them on as part of the fun, or slowly take them off and make it part of a striptease. It will bring the focus to your lower half and maybe even earn your feet some extra love.

Feet are a commonly erotcized body part

Most of us have sexual curiosities and interests that extend beyond the easily identified erogenous zones — and that’s okay! It’s these unique-to-you sexual interests that make exploring sexuality with other consenting individuals so much fun!

Even if you don’t have a thing for feet, there are pleasurable ways to incorporate them in the bedroom and find a little sexual satisfaction with some foot play.