Is there a connection between male/female foot fetishism?

Great Debates
1

I once had an ex who told me she had an ex-boyfriend with a foot fetish. She often went on and on about it and the more I listened, the more I became repulsed by male foot fetishists. However, later, I realised that women seem to spend a lot of time fussing over shoes, and it made me wonder…

could these two things be interconnected? Foot fetishism seems like primarily a male obsession, just as shoe obsession seems to be a female one. Later when we became friends I had a friendly debate about it. She thinks they are two separate things, but I really think they are interconnected.

It seems a lot less weird that some men would be obsessed with women’s feet if you think about how obsessed women are about their own feet. So what do you think? Are these two things interrelated? I think they are, but obviously I’m seeing it through a male perspective.

2

It seems to me like a system with feedback mechanisms that re-enforce themselves. Women obsess more about their feet. This leads to more attention devoted to women’s feet in stores, the media, and advertising. This leads to more male foot fetishists. This leads to women obsessing more about their feet.

Of course, that still leaves the question of what started the cycle in the first place.

3

Right. I find it puzzling that women can get repulsed at how sexualized men perceive their feet, yet look at all the stuff they do to them! Shoes, pedicures, etc. I heard women are getting plastic surgery on their feet to fit into some shoes :smack:

With all that attention, how can you still be surprised some men might be obsessed with that particular body part? Just FYI I consider feet one of the most un-sexy parts of a person’s body, though with a nice pair of shoes it definitely adds to the person’s (male or female) overall appearance.

4

For the record, I’ve known several gay males with foot fetishes, and AFAIK all were indifferent to women’s feet.

5

Personally, I think the foot fetishists are faking it.

6

There may be some common reason for both – I’ve heard the suggestion that, since both the feet and the genitals occupy adjacent areas in the somatosensory cortex, the prevalence of foot fetishism may be due to some overlap/crosstalk between the two. Maybe it’s also at least a contributing reason for shoe fetishes.

7

I’ve never heard of a female foot fetishist. What woman would get turned on by some guy’s ugly feet? I never heard once of it.

Women like pedicures because it makes their feet look and feel nice. Her feet are often seen by the public and they don’t change much from decade to decade until arthritis or something. Women love shoes because if finding good clothes can be an expensive, tiring, discouraging chore, often with disappointing results. Every woman can buy nice shoes, they aren’t necessarily expensive, and different shoes are needed for different occasions. Not like men who wear the same shoes until they fall apart. It’s got nothing to do with foot fetishism.

8

I know too many male shoe nuts – mostly sneaker freaks – and have never met a single female foot fetishist (though I should ask some lesbian friends…)

A Doper started a thread about (some) women loving shoes because, for the most part, they don’t have to diet down to a shoe size. I thought that was quite perceptive.

9

I doubt that the foot fetishists have any effect on women. So it’s not much of a cycle.

I don’t really understand the whole women & shoe shopping thing either. My guess would be that shoes come in many different styles, are relatively cheap for the amount of style you get, and easy to try on. Hence the attention they get.

10

I have had a very strong foot fetish since very young. I respond to a womans feet like most men do to tits and ass. It is very real and is why i believe homosexuals are born that way because i was born this way. I cant explain WHY i need feet in my regular sex life. I just do.

11

I don’t see the correlation. Most women that I have spoken to aren’t even very aware of the fascination of men towards women’s feet. Not to mention, women have a fascination for shoes even before they become sexually active. It is all ingrained in their system for accessorizing (and shopping). Women also love purses/bags. Cars and gadgets/tools are to men, what purses and shoes are to women.

The pedicure is just basic “I like to look nice, and I like to feel pampered”. No different than a manicure. So again, I don’t think it has anything to do with mens appreciation of their feet. Also, a pedicure isn’t just about looking nice, its about feeling better. I can vouch for this through my time with my SO. She wears heels, and her job requires at times a lot of walking. She gets callouses on her feet, and a pedicure is also to ease those callouses. Untrimmed toenails hurt in certain shoes (us men don’t have these kind of problems since our shoes are made more for comfort and less for looks). So if you are going to get your nails trimmed and your callouses scrubbed, might as well get your nails “done”.

Men (I’m a guy) have a very distorted idea of why women do what they do. This is evident in many things. Example could be: A girl goes out wearing something that men consider provocative, and take it as a hint that “she is looking for some action”. Not really true. She probably just wants to look nice and feel pretty. She is probably just doing it for herself.

I am not saying this is the absolute truth for all women, but IME, this is the common denominator, and most of the time.

As far as men and their affinity towards women’s feet - I have never personally met a man who dislikes women’s feet. I have met men that are fascinated by feet. Most men, take notice and enjoy the look of a pretty foot. They (I) consider it an important part of a complete package. My SO, FOR DAMN SURE, has beautiful feet. It is one of the first things I noticed about her. I don’t use her feet in any sexual manner, I just find them beautiful and worthy of attention. I couldn’t be with a woman that has feet that (in the words of a brilliant assistant of mine) “has toes that look like they were kicking rocks all day”.

On the flip-side, I have found that women notice men’s feet, but are much more aware and admiring of men’s hands. Hands seem to rate highly on women’s radars. So, any female dopers who wish to try and explain the attention to hands, please do.

In both cases, hands for women and feet for men, I think we see them as indicators of a person’s overall cleanliness and how they “keep” themselves.

In the case of feet for men, I think that a woman’s foot is a non-sexual “intimate” part of their body, not normally touched by most men. There is a certain permission involved in touching a woman’s foot. Every day we can touch any woman’s hand, arm, shoulder, even a leg once in a while. But feet are a different ball park.

I would, were it necessary, give my buddy’s wife a neck massage (in his presence of course). I WOULD NOT, give my buddy’s wife a foot massage no matter what the circumstances, because I would consider it inappropriate.

More back up for this theory is, I find touching feet amongst men (even by accident) is a big NO NO. In fact, having another guy touch you with his foot is kind of nasty (unless you are gay, I guess). A woman rub her foot up against you?

NICE!

Did I mention my SO has gorgeous feet?

12

IMHO if someone comes right out and denies it, such as if she countered right away that m/f foot aspects are unrelated, there is a strong possibility that they are connected to her subconsciously, but she does not want to admit it to herself. She is avoiding it by trying to dismiss it. If so she very likely she is involved in it herself.

Another indication is if you can bring it back up with her, does she allow this subject to be reconsidered, or does she do things to deflect the conversation.

13

Hands,feet and ears are ugly. They serve a function . They are not pretty. Some are uglier than others. My mother had bunions and she had some specially ugly pods. But feet, hands and ears do not fit into part of the appeal of the opposite sex.

14

Seriously, you’ve been looking at the wrong hands, feet and ears. They can be the sexiest parts of the human body.

15

I don’t know. For me, tits and ass are last. I like ears, hands, feet, fingers, toes, nose, shoulders-- ESPECIALLY shoulders-- just because they’re a lot more unique. They show the “beautiful imperfections” of a particular woman.

I don’t think you can say they just serve a function. So do tits and ass! I know nothing of the former, but my ass is really enjoying the La-Z-Boy I’m lounging in.

16

The drive to reproduce is one of the most important drives we have. It is why we see the ratio of hips to waist and chest as appealing. Having a functional birth canal and the ability to bear children is our trigger. In no way do feet and hands have anything to do with sex, sex appeal or carrying on your genes.

17

Oh please. There are many, many, many things in life that have nothing to do with reproduction.