- published: 13 Apr 2016
- views: 1666
Foot fetishism, foot partialism, foot worship, or podophilia is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts.
Foot fetishism has been defined as a pronounced sexual interest in the feet or footwear. It is a mainly male interest. Sigmund Freud considered foot binding as a form of fetishism. For a foot fetishist, points of attraction include the shape and size of the foot and toes (e.g., long toes, short toes, painted toes, high arches, etc.), jewelry (toe rings, ankle bracelets, etc.), treatments (such as pedicures), state of dress (barefoot, flip flops, etc.), odor, and any form of sensory interaction (e.g., licking, kissing, tickling, etc.).
In order to estimate the relative frequency of fetishes, researchers at the University of Bologna examined 381 internet discussions of fetish groups, in which at least 5,000 people had been participating. Researchers estimated the prevalences of different fetishes based on the following elements: