To some, the sight of a well-tended, attractive foot is a huge turn-on. Why is it that a high arch, elegant toes, foot jewellery and/or sexy shoes can turn a normally sensible person into a slavering sex slave?

There are a few theories, but this is the one I particularly like:

According to the neuroscientists, the part of the brain that relates to the genitalia and feet are located next to one other in the brain’s body image map, which can lead to some crossed wiring. The neurons in the brain that have to do with sensations in the foot are ‘neural neighbours’ to the neurons that have to do with sensations in the sexual areas. The theory is that the ‘couriers’ in the nervous system get crossed, which is why feet can be so erotic.

Other researchers have found the smell of feet is arousing  to some – the natural odour of feet can act like pheromones.

For men, interest in pretty peds may be because they don’t typically spend any time on their own feet, whereas women often make an effort to make theirs look attractive. The arches and natural curves of the woman’s foot can be as arousing as any feminine curve.

Then there’s ‘cue theory’ or imprinting – childhood experiences which may have a direct effect on a person’s erotic attraction to feet. Foot cues could originate from a very young age – as young as when a child is crawling, when they may see their mother’s feet more than any other part of her body. Thus, a foot can become associated with the positive feelings of a nurturing mother.

Ogi Ogas, a neuroscientist and co-author of A Billion Wicked Thoughts, explains, “Following cue theory, during a man’s critical period of sexual desire formation, his innate foot cue makes him more likely to pay attention to feet and makes him more receptive to foot-related stimuli. If through chance or culture he is then exposed to a strong foot-related experience—a woman sticking her foot in a thirteen-year-old’s face or watching your first girlfriend slowly unroll her black stockings—then the foot-related details of the experience are more likely to get imprinted.”

I can definitely appreciate how a lovely foot can be a turn-on, but from what I understand, having a fetish means that in order to be fully sexually aroused, you need to focus on one body part. In the case of podophilia, a foot fetish, the body part/s involved are the feet.

But there’s no reason you couldn’t call your love of a beautifully tended foot a fetish, if that’s what turns you on 😉

And if feet are your man’s Achilles heel, here are some positions he’ll love:

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/positions/g8659598/foot-fetish-sex-positions/