Solemates: A History of Our Fetish for Feet by Adam Zmith

Why are feet so hot? Why did feet show up in poetry written during a medieval outbreak of gonorrhoea? When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, what kind of love was he showing? What do different cultures tell us about feet? How did early sexologists convince us that loving feet is deviant? These are just some of the questions explored through this history of toe-botherers. With his trademark curiosity, Zmith time-travels through sex archives, online forums and millennia of art, exploring why even common fetishes are seen as weird. His essays take care to remove shame and disgust from foot fancying, inviting readers to dip a toe into our deepest desires. From Tarantino films to Bible stories, Renaissance paintings to OnlyFans, Solemates is the rich, messy, and often surprising history of our love of an overlooked body part, climaxing in an argument for pleasure.