many people wonder that, why are feet so desired? sure, there are people that are into every crevice of the body, but feet seem to be winning the popularity race by a lot? hell, even otherwise vanilla people like them sometimes
the answer issss… (probably) that our spaghetti wiring of the nerves is to blame. you see the nerves responsible for feet connect to the spinal cord riiiight next to where our genitals connect as well. so sometimes the more intense signals tickle the unintended paths next to their intended one. some people when they orgasm (myself included) can feel a wave of electricity running down into their feet, even making one or multiple of their toes curl.
Lumbar spine
L1 – the first lumbar nerve is responsible for sensations around the groin and genitals, and has a role in motor control of the hips.
L2, L3, L4 convey sensation for the front and inside of the thighs, and extend to the inner aspect of the lower legs.
L5 nerve region covers the outside of the thighs extending into the outer aspect of the top of the lower legs.
Sacral Spine S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 nerves provide some nerve supply to the genitals, as well as the anus, sacrum, buttocks and the backs of the thighs. The pudendal nerve is the nerve bundle comprising nerves from S2-S4 and which is the primary nerve of the perineal area.
I think the more important overlap is in the brain itself. We have known that regions of cortex that register genital stimulation are adjacent to/overlap with the area hat registers foot stimulation since Penfield did the first mapping of cortex in the 1930s.
In answer to “that’s true for perception, but why the excitement for looking” lays in that the homuncular representation is not a simple one. We know that there are multiple homuncululi tied to different types of perception, and there is more modern work that ties the planning and goal systems to the functional centres around key points of the homonculi. The physical closeness of the two is possibly responsible for the mingling of the two representations. Back in the day there was even a mechanism for it - “ephaptic excitation” - where axons running in a bundle could activate neighbouring fibres through changing the ionic composition of the fluid around them.
many people wonder that, why are feet so desired? sure, there are people that are into every crevice of the body, but feet seem to be winning the popularity race by a lot? hell, even otherwise vanilla people like them sometimes
the answer issss… (probably) that our spaghetti wiring of the nerves is to blame. you see the nerves responsible for feet connect to the spinal cord riiiight next to where our genitals connect as well. so sometimes the more intense signals tickle the unintended paths next to their intended one. some people when they orgasm (myself included) can feel a wave of electricity running down into their feet, even making one or multiple of their toes curl.
it’s also just a reaction to sexually transmitted epidemics, interestingly enough.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9819924/
That explains it from a having your feet played with side, but not really from the finding feet hot side.
One causes the other
I think the more important overlap is in the brain itself. We have known that regions of cortex that register genital stimulation are adjacent to/overlap with the area hat registers foot stimulation since Penfield did the first mapping of cortex in the 1930s.
In answer to “that’s true for perception, but why the excitement for looking” lays in that the homuncular representation is not a simple one. We know that there are multiple homuncululi tied to different types of perception, and there is more modern work that ties the planning and goal systems to the functional centres around key points of the homonculi. The physical closeness of the two is possibly responsible for the mingling of the two representations. Back in the day there was even a mechanism for it - “ephaptic excitation” - where axons running in a bundle could activate neighbouring fibres through changing the ionic composition of the fluid around them.
sounds like it’s a double whammy then! really no wonder feet are so popular