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Sex advice from podiatrists

Taken from the Nerve.com is this article Sex advice from podiatrists

The curious origins of foot kissing

Proskunew describes a Persian custom which involved kneeling and putting the face to the ground. This sometimes involved kissing the ground. Taken as the act of submission, respect, gratitude, supplication, neediness, and humility. This was used on all sorts of occasions. Thought to have originated as a non-verbal greeting where men of equal rank would kiss each other on the lips. An inferior kissed his superior on the cheeks, and where one was much less noble rank than the other, he fell to the ground in homage. Considered to have become ritualized at the oriental courts, depending on rank, visitors would prostrate themselves, kneel in front of, bow for, or blow a kiss to the king. There may have been practical reasons for blowing a kiss as halitosis was thought to be common. Magicians would use the same technique in order to prevent contamination of the sacred fire. Alexander the Great (327) spread his empire to incorporate others and naturally took Iranians to serve at his court. To win his or her respect and support he had to act like a Persian king, and ordered everybody to behave according to the oriental court ritual. The court custom, caused consternation amongst the Greeks as prostration, bowing or kneeling, to anyone other than the Gods was unacceptable. Despite violent opposition it is not clear whether Alexander the Great's attempt at cultural infliction, succeeded. However, proskynesis was commonly practiced at the courts of his successors and remnants remain today occidentals, still bow for kings and queens. By the time of the Old Testament the custom had passed in judicial behaviour and when an accused was brought before the judge, he lay prostrate. If found guilty, the judge would place his foot on their neck. If innocent the judge would stoop over and lift their face with his hand. Lifting the face was a Hebrew concept, which equalled a declaration of innocence in a judicial, proceeding. When Muslims bow towards Mecca this is another reference to proskynesis and by contrast the posture of early Christian worship. was standing. According to Brasch (1989), kissing the feet was a gesture of homage and deference, far removed from its erotic roots. Millions of pilgrims with loving pressure have worn down the feet of the statue of Saint Paul in Rome with their lips. At the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire it was the custom for the faithful to kiss the right hand of the Papal Father. In the eighth century, a rather passionate woman took liberties and according to legend, the Pope cut off his hand in disgust. The custom of kissing the Pope's right foot was adapted as more appropriate. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) had kings and churchmen kiss his feet. Today the act of homage involves kissing the Pontiff's right shoe. Lips are aimed at the cross-depicted on the shoe and the act is either taken as a tribute to his authority or the simulation of servitude.

Foot and shoe fetish

Foot fetish is considered the most common fetish. Hands and feet are tactile and supplied with thousands of nerves, which makes them very useful for finding things in the dark. The sensory nerve supply to feet originates in the same part of the brain as the nerves which go to the pelvic area and in some people (not all) there is neural print through, which means touching the sole of their feet would be the same as tickling their fancy. Some people have an attraction to parts of the body and or clothing which includes feet, stockings/pantyhose/socks, or shoes. Rarely are all involved but whatever the fetish is it will play an important role in pre-coital behaviour. These partialisms are usually innocuous and considered normal. No one yet knows how people develop fetishes although preferred sexual behaviours are most certainly in part at least governed by biological factors but likely to be the product of history, environment and nature. Men are more likely to have a fetish and no one is entirely sure why this is so. Sigmund Freud first described fetishism as compensation behaviour when performance anxiety arose in males. He called this the Castration Theory and how it could be overcame in the presence of fetishistic objects like shoes, feet or pantyhose. Performance anxiety is a male fear and this may explain why fetishism is almost always a male behaviour. The anxiety neurosis can manifest in a continuum of behaviour with intensity and range which varies from a partial liking of the object to a complete sexual obsession with it. Abnormal fetishism is called paraphilia and describes established anti-social behaviour. Fetishistic objects may be either inanimate (e.g. a shoe); or animate (e.g. a foot). Inanimate object fetish is sub-divided into form and media. Form fetish refers to the shape of the object e.g. lady’s shoe; and media fetish relates to the material the item is made from e.g. leather or fur or rubber. Animate fetish describes parts of the (female) body such as feet, legs and ankles. Fetishists require some specific attraction in the object which may include colours, shape and or smell. Without these features then no attraction will take place. In the majority of cases, low level fetishism poses no danger to others and individuals usually pursue their use of the fetish object in private or with other consenting adults. Retifists (shoe fetishists) collect women's shoes (sometimes by stealing them) to have sex with the shoe. Retifists usually have exquisite taste for elegant styles with specific form and media determining their preferences. Pedal lovemaking is usually combined with elaborate games which involve trampling (walking over a person) or seeing woman wearing high heels stomping on the balloons; crush fetishists who revel in using their feet to crush things including small animals; messy fetishists who get kicks from wet shoes e.g. golden showers or patent leather shoes. There are enormous variations which include tickling, bondage, licking and shrimping (i.e. toe sucking). It is quite impossible to know how many foot and shoe fetishists there are simply because fetishists usually keep their preferences a closely guarded secret. As a group they maintain a close network where they function comfortably within a culture of clubs, websites and magazines to support special interests. On the World Wide Web there are well over a million websites which deal with foot fetishism alone. Fetishists are found in every level of society with the number of low to mid level fetishists in Australia enough to fill the Subiaco Oval.
A significant spike in interest in foot sex arose during the 80s after the identification of HIV. Similar patterns have been recorded in history when plagues of sexually transmitted disease arose. This would support foot sex is associated with safe sex practice.

Shoes: Wet look and nude

The new fad for ladies in the coming season is patent leather nude coloured shoes with 3 inch stacked heels. The ‘nudies’ retails at approx $300 (US) per pair. Obviously wardrobe malfunctions and shoe damage need to be avoided as all fashionista know and care is necessary negotiating uneven sidewalks and steps. This aside nude is the trendiest colour for shoes. In fashion-speak, "nude" refers to a kind of pink-beige-coffee blend but in the interests of political correctness (PC) the nude range covers pale ivory to deep chocolate. Shoes matching skin tone gives the leg the appearance of extra length and where the perfect match is not possible, spray tan is recommended. Nude shoe aside it is patent leather which history has shown is very risqué and was much cause for concern when conservative groups discovered the mirror like surface allowed boys to see up girls’ skirts when they wore patent leather shoes. The up skirter shoes predate electronic cameras by at least a century and only go to prove nothing changes when it comes to sex. Such concern was expressed in the early 20th century patent leather shoes were banned in some States of the US. In the sixties when “The Wet Look” prevailed so called experts feared a plague of undinism (sexual arousal from urine) was abroad. Patent leather which describes the gloss finish on the leather as opposed to a type of hide wasdeveloped in 1818. The leather protection ensured dressier looking footwear which could easily be kept clean with a cloth. It was invented in Newark, New Jersey by Seth Boyden and invloved coating the leather with linseed oil. Now the process involves plastic coating which makes the mass production of patent leather cheaper.

The strange world of shoes

shudoo.co.uk have complied a top 50 list of memorable shoe stories. Simply a must to surf.

Candy Feet: Sweet Toe

Toe-Food Chocolates & Candy was started by Mark Wolpa (a podiatrist) who came up with the idea of sending a chocolate foot to referring doctors as a unique holiday gift. He then offered the products to other podiatrists who he thought would also like the concept. The idea was such a hit that he decided to start the business as a part-time endeavor, which soon developed into a full-time commitment. The company dispenses orders from people who want life-size chocolate feet to send to a business or prospective employer with a note that says ‘Thanks for letting me get my foot in the door.’ The company enjoy helping customers develop clever taglines tailored to their needs such as ‘A toe-ken of my appreciation for your time.’ Toe-Food Chocolates & Candy supply all manner of customers including: personnel agencies, medical equipment companies, freight lines, as well as those unemployed looking for jobs. The company love helping customers develop taglines tailored to their client’s needs, such as ‘A toe-ken of my appreciation for your time.’ Every year the company develops a new product and has over 25 trademarked items, including: Mistle Toes(R), Valentoes(R), and Happy Feet(R). Seven years ago they introduced a kid’s candy dubbed Stinky Feet(R) and this year there are plans to introduce Green Footprints(R). Part of the company’s sales goes to local food banks as well as the Fund for Podiatric Medical Education. Toe-Food Chocolates & Candy has increased its sales 100% in the last financial quarter and the hope is this will continue. Needless to say footman, Mark Wolpa is delighted his unique products have found a way to try to help stimulate the depressed business climate. Dr. Wolpa is Chief of the Podiatry Dept. at Alta Bates Summit Hospital in Berkeley and has authored books and articles, including a children’s book, Tommy’s Toe-rific Adventures. He has patented a sports innersole, has a medical device that is patent pending, and is one of the first doctors to offer a new laser technology to treat fungal toenails.