The Sex Appeal Of...Feet?

I do not find feet sexy—although I am certain there are millions of foot fetish aficionados, plus certain cultures around the world who would vehemently disagree with me. I, however, believe our toes, ankles and arches are the practical, utilitarian parts of our body.

In fact, during the winter months we neglect and treat our feet as pragmatic tools. We cover them with toasty warm socks, clunky shoes, or if working downtown a shapely calf forming boot. The point being because feet are so ugly, we do our best to keep them covered.

Then with the first signs of spring an amazing phenomenon occurs. Alongside the buds on the trees, tulips poking out their little happy heads, comes a women’s toes peaking out from under her pants or long skirts.

It is almost like a right of passage to summer. Simply because a pair of sexy shoes has been strapped on to a pair of lowly feet, BAM, those feet become the main object of sexual attraction. (Okay the low cut tops that show off floating cleavage certainly help the whole sexifying look.)

So I had to ask myself, what is so sexy about a woman who is teetering to stay upright on a shoe that is wrapped with two or three miniscule straps?

The most obvious answer would be strappy shoes help slim down legs and make the simplest dress or oldest jeans look fashionable. The highness of the heel helps to shave ten pounds off the bottom and facilitates a perplexing mixture of elegance and danger.

Yet, I believe the real answer to my question would have to be the sexual power heels give. Trust me. When a woman dons a pair of three-inch stilettos she knows she wields power. And power is very sexy.

I do not find feet sexy—although I am certain there are millions of foot fetish aficionados, plus certain cultures around the world who would vehemently disagree with me. I, however, believe our toes, ankles and arches are the practical, utilitarian parts of our body.

In fact, during the winter months we neglect and treat our feet as pragmatic tools. We cover them with toasty warm socks, clunky shoes, or if working downtown a shapely calf forming boot. The point being because feet are so ugly, we do our best to keep them covered.

Then with the first signs of spring an amazing phenomenon occurs. Alongside the buds on the trees, tulips poking out their little happy heads, comes a women’s toes peaking out from under her pants or long skirts.

It is almost like a right of passage to summer. Simply because a pair of sexy shoes has been strapped on to a pair of lowly feet, BAM, those feet become the main object of sexual attraction. (Okay the low cut tops that show off floating cleavage certainly help the whole sexifying look.)

So I had to ask myself, what is so sexy about a woman who is teetering to stay upright on a shoe that is wrapped with two or three miniscule straps?

The most obvious answer would be strappy shoes help slim down legs and make the simplest dress or oldest jeans look fashionable. The highness of the heel helps to shave ten pounds off the bottom and facilitates a perplexing mixture of elegance and danger.

Yet, I believe the real answer to my question would have to be the sexual power heels give. Trust me. When a woman dons a pair of three-inch stilettos she knows she wields power. And power is very sexy.

I have witnessed on several occasions, a woman casually chatting in a café with a friend. Her sandal idly dangling and twirling from her perfectly manicured toe. You could cut the sexual tension in that quaint café with a knife. Every man in that coffee house is unable to take his eyes away from the foot in question.

A lady once told me that she had a pair of sex-shoes she wore around the house. Sometimes she would be doing a mundane chore like laundry in her tight jeans and red, strappy high heels. When her boyfriend came home and saw said shoes, it had the same effect on his ability to speak as a wispy set of lingerie (men are such simply creatures).

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As well, sexy footwear helps bridge the size gap. A few plus-sized women have confided that a pedicure and a beautiful pair of shoes is one of the few ways she can feel sexy.

However, like everything else, this power comes at a cost. The irony of the summer heel is they are the about the most unsexy thing for a woman to have in her wardrobe.

Starting in January, women press their faces against displays windows in the search of the perfect summer shoe. This puts a gal in fashion’s tightest corner, as she is confounded with footwear options of the very high, the very bare and the very bright. After much agonizing, she ends up spending a whole month’s salary.

Next is gauging the right time to book a pedicure appointment. Too soon and the nail polish will start rubbing off before it is even seen. Too late, she has to go around with bare toes—oh the horror of it. In the thick of summer, just try and book a last minute pedicure appointment. Darn near impossible.

Finally when the warm weather hits, it is time to put the shoes on for the first time. Which means walking in them.

Think about it. High heels hurt. Not only that, these nasty things conspire to trick the bystander into believing they are a lot more comfortable than they really are. Sandals push the toes forward into a crunched claw position and promote corns, blisters, bunions and over the long term tilt the pelvis.

If that was not enough, the higher and more pointed the heel, the harder it is for the woman to walk. Have you seen some women walking down the sidewalk as if she was the bride of Frankenstein? To add insult to injury, after shelling out all that money the heels are usually scraped or broken in gratings, cracks in the sidewalk and whatever else the heels can find.

All in all, summer heels and manicured feet are simply anything but sexy. Yet, they are powerful and command attention. I guess that is why women come back to this tried and true formula for sexiness summer after summer. The pain is definitely worth the gain.