For one reason or another, most people have cold feet when it comes to incorporating them into sex. In reality, foot play doesn’t require a fetish or sloppy toe sucking. Unless you’re into that—then, by all means, do it.
Foot play encompasses a broad spectrum of sensual and/or sexual activities, and it can be as casual, innocent, intentional, or spontaneous as you are comfortable with. For those who need to categorize foot play as a fetish, look at it this way: indulging in mild fetishes can be a mark of a trusting and healthy intimate relationship.
“For many people, feet are not considered the most seductive or erotic part of the body, because we typically rely on them for functionality, not pleasure,” according to Fernando Hernandez, a footwear design director. “However, in the right context or setting, sharing access to one’s feet can be a vulnerable gesture and ultimately enhance intimacy between partners.”
Before you knock foot play, consider these ideas to put a little spring in your step the next time you knock boots.
- Initiating a conversation is essential to establish clear boundaries and ensure that all actions are consensual. What are your hard boundaries? How and where would you like your feet touched? What types of foot play are you open to, and where do you draw the limit?
- Even most foot fetishists would agree that goblin-mode foot hygiene is a hard limit, so prep those trotters by washing, exfoliating, trimming the toenails, and hydrating regularly.
- Incorporate a sensual massage butter to make your partner melt.
Step up a basic foot massage with sexual reflexology. The ancient practice of reflexology has indicated that specific pressure points in the foot can generate sexual arousal by promoting blood flow in other areas of the body, including the brain and the core.
Acupressure Point 1: Applying light pressure to the SP 4 (Spleen 4), located in the middle of the arch inside of the foot, can increase blood flow to the stomach/core and may result in more enjoyable physical pleasure during sex.
Acupressure Point 2: Using the thumbs to gently rub the Snake and Heel area, or the hollows underneath each side of the ankle bone, can stimulate sex organs, relieve sexual tension, and may lead to more intense orgasms.
Tickling: This may come as a shock, but kinksters have been using low-intensity, high-frequency wands as sensory play tools for decades. This type of electrostimulation, or e-stim, allows the user to deliver controlled electrical currents that create unique sensations to specific erogenous zones, like the feet or nipples. Pain is not required.
Run the comb wand attachment up and down the sole of the foot to evenly distribute electricity. Increase the power incrementally for a sharper stinging sensation, depending on the recipient’s tolerance. Once fully sterilized, the glass attachments can be used on the face for skin treatments.
Spanking: Since the foot sole has a thicker layer of skin, it has a higher pain threshold for impact play. Spanking tools like a narrow-width crop is ideal for delivering precise slaps to the foot.
Feeling stressed, creatively stumped, or generally disconnected when it comes to sex is relatable for the majority of adults. Place the negative associations with foot play into a metaphorical shoebox—out of sight, out of mind—and let the feet serve as a pathway to stress reduction, more adventurous sex, intimate connection, and beyond.
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