The Sex Life of the Foot and Shoe (Hardcover) at amazon - a great shoe fetish boot fetish retifism book.

~ William A. Rossi

William A. Rossi (Author)

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This incredible book by William Rossi is back – at least for now!!!  If you have not read it, it is a must --- when you are done I then suggest “OUT OF THE CLOSET” A shoe fetish book with research, studies, commentary, and cases. 

I read this book many, many years ago and have always wanted to obtain my own copy, and to read it again. I found this book to be UTTERLY FASCINATING...., interesting and a good giggle in places. The author clearly knows his subject, and one learns, for instance, the mystery behind Cinderella's glass slipper. It is NOT only a book for people with foot fetishes. It's a great read and I would recommend it to anyone. I can assure you that after reading this book, you will start noticing the shoes people wear... as certain types of people wear certain types of shoes.... SO TRUE! I just LOVE women in BOOTS!! Read all about it for yourselves!!!! (It will probably make you rush out and buy "appropriate" shoes!!!

I read this book a few years ago as well when I was doing research as a PsyD student. My thesis and research included this fetish and I found this book very useful, and significant up to date from the older material available such as Psycho-Sexualis by Krafft and Ebbing. It was right on target and fun to read. The life of a true shoe fetishist is very interesting and very solo, but the life of shoe play incorporated into a sex life can be incredible with the right shoes. Although I never became a shoes only fetishist the experiments with women and their shoes turned out to be erotic and lots of fun. I only wish there was a sequel to this book with more current and explicit details for couples. My partner and I discovered so much more that can be done in play the book became a great starting point. Another discovery that we made was that although women do not share the same fetish as men they can, if open to experiment, share aspects of the fetish differently, but with just as much excitement and tension as men. As I have always felt, some designers of high fashion women's footwear may have utility in mind, (boring) but some designers "get it" and have a lot more in mind than utility when they design a woman's shoe or boot it is clearly to create sexual excitement.

This most delightful book is not only erotic and impossible to put down but is extremely well documented. The author cites over 100 sources to support his points. Many historical references to implications of various styles are nicely illustrated with drawings and photographs. It is impossible to refrain from self-analysis and sizing up the personalities of those around you based on the psychosexual themes conveyed through dressing the foot. The book is a comprehensive look at the historical and contemporary implications of the role feet and shoes play in flirtation and mating.

“Foot fetishism has been a powerful sub-division of sex since shoes were first created. Many scholars accept feet were used as convenient metaphors for the genitalia. Keen, perhaps, to downplay emphasis on the generative process, the belief set of many pagan religions, the ancient Hebrews took the foot and made it a gender icon. According to Brame, the definition of foot fetishism is a pronounced sexual interest in the lower limb or anything that covers portions of them. The allure normally attributed to erogenous zones is literally translocated downward and the fetishist response to the foot is the same as a conventional person’s arousal at seeing genitals. (Brame & Jacobs 1996). Freud considered foot binding as a form of fetishism…Foot fetishists tend to keep their inclination concealed for fear of social ridicule or other apprehensions. Published research indicates fetishists have poorly developed social skills, are quite isolated in their lives and have a diminished capacity for establishing intimacy. Rossi (1990) reported the majority of male fetishists were married, living perfectly conventional lives with their spouse, who in turn was fully aware of partner’s behaviors and preferences”.

Unsurprisingly, Sancaktar asserts that shoe fetishists are similar to foot fetishists but their stimulus (the shoe) becomes the total focus for arousal (rather than the foot within it). He cites Freud and says that he considered the shoe as symbolically representing female genitalia and that the foot symbolically represented a male phallus and when the foot entered the shoe, the union was symbolically complete. (Annoyingly, Freud doesn’t appear in the references so I am unsure which of Freud’s works is being referred to). Quoting from Valerie Steele’s book, he also notes that “The naked foot itself is not as erotically appealing, the shoe raises up the foot and gives it mystery and allure so it’s not just a piece of meat”. He then goes on to say that:

“According to [Steele], since the 1880s, high heeled shoes have been almost entirely associated with femininity with the exception of cowboy boots. Retifists usually collect women’s shoes and have exquisite taste for elegant style. Their preference covers the seven basic shoe styles described by Rossi (1993) and materials such as leather and furs often influence their choice. Retifists will personalize their collection by giving names to their favourite shoes. Freud was convinced all women were clothes fetishist, and believed clothes were worn to provocatively shield the erotic body. Most authorities now acknowledge there is a difference between foot and shoe fetishism and someone who innocently collects shoes…There are degrees of fetishes, according to Steele. Using the example of high heeled shoes, she said that most people are level one or two, finding them appealing. Her example of level three was a French writer who followed women in Paris wearing high heeled shoes. She gave for an example of level four, Marla Maples’ ex-publicist, who was found guilty of stealing Maples’ shoes. ‘He denied being a fetishist, but admitted that he had a sexual relationship with Marla’s shoes’, Steele said”.

excerpt from M. Griffiths PhD