About 1 in 7 Americans (14%) have had a sexual fantasy about feet or toes, according to social psychologist Justin Lehmiller, who surveyed more than 4,000 adults.
A strong, fetish-level interest is rarer. 9.7% of Belgian adults rated their interest in feet 4 or 5 out of 5 in a representative survey, according to Holvoet et al.
In this article, we’ll break down how common foot fetishes are, how the numbers differ by gender, orientation and age, what research says about the causes, and how much online demand there is for feet content.
Top Foot Fetish Statistics
- About 1 in 7 US adults (14%) have had a sexual fantasy about feet or toes (Lehmiller, online survey, 2018).
- 9.7% of Belgian adults have a strong interest in feet, including 16.6% of men and 4.1% of women (representative survey, 2017).
- 25.6% of US men and 10.9% of women have ever sucked or licked toes or feet with a partner (national survey, 2015).
- Feet and toes made up 47% of body-part fetish preferences in a study of 381 online fetish groups (2007).
- 16.3% of Zurich adults aged 18 to 50 found body parts such as feet arousing in the past 12 months, but only 4.6% did so frequently (2020 survey).
- 21% of US gay and bisexual men have fantasized about feet, vs 5% of heterosexual women (Lehmiller, online sample).
- “Foot fetish” gets about 32,000 Google searches a month in the US and 120,000 worldwide (Ahrefs estimate, October 2026).
How Common Is a Foot Fetish?
About 14% of US adults have fantasized about feet or toes, according to Lehmiller’s survey for his 2018 book Tell Me What You Want. That’s a non-random online sample, so treat it as a rough estimate.
The answer depends on what you count. A passing fantasy is far more common than a strong or exclusive attraction, and a disorder that causes distress is rarer still.
The best representative figure for a strong interest comes from Belgium. 9.7% of 1,027 adults rated their interest in feet as a fetish 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale, about 1 in 10, according to Holvoet et al. (published 2017).
Here’s a breakdown of foot fetish prevalence by how it’s measured:
| Measure | Share | Population | Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ever sucked or licked toes or feet (men) | 25.6% | US adults, nationally representative (n=2,021) | Herbenick et al. 2017 |
| Found body parts such as feet arousing, past 12 months | 16.3% | Zurich adults 18–50 (n=1,236) | Baier 2024 |
| Ever fantasized about feet or toes | 14% | US adults, online sample (4,000+) | Lehmiller 2018 |
| Ever sucked or licked toes or feet (women) | 10.9% | US adults, nationally representative | Herbenick et al. 2017 |
| Strong interest in feet (4–5 of 5) | 9.7% | Belgian adults (n=1,027) | Holvoet et al. 2017 |
| Body-part arousal frequently to always | 4.6% | Zurich adults 18–50 | Baier 2024 |
| Frequent arousal plus some suffering | 2.4% | Zurich adults 18–50 | Baier 2024 |
The Zurich survey is the newest representative data (fielded in May 2020, published 2024), though only 13% of those invited responded. Its body-part item lists hair and feet as examples, so it isn’t feet-only. About 28% of the people who reported that interest said they felt it frequently (our calculation).
The US behavior figures don’t mean every person had a fetish. They count anyone who ever did it with a partner, and the authors note it more often happened in respondents’ more distant past than recently.
Is a Foot Fetish the Most Common Fetish?
Feet are the most common body-part fetish online. They made up 47% of body-part preferences in a study of 381 online fetish groups, according to Scorolli et al. (2007), as summarized by Psychology Today.
Body parts were 33% of all fetish preferences in that study, so feet alone made up roughly 15.5% of everything the groups focused on (our calculation; a rough figure, since the two shares use different bases).
Footwear ranked high among objects too. Shoes and boots were 32% of preferences for objects linked to the body, second only to items worn on the legs and buttocks, such as stockings (33%).
In Belgium, feet and shoes drew the same strong interest overall, at 9.7% each, according to Holvoet et al.
Here’s a breakdown of how feet compare with other fetish measures:
| Measure | Feet or Footwear | Population | Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of body-part fetish preferences | Feet 47% | 381 online fetish groups | Scorolli et al. 2007 |
| Share of body-object fetish preferences | Footwear 32% | 381 online fetish groups | Scorolli et al. 2007 |
| Strong interest, feet vs shoes | 9.7% vs 9.7% | Belgian adults | Holvoet et al. 2017 |
| Share of clinical fetishism cases focused on footwear | 14.6% | 48 London clinical cases | Chalkley & Powell 1983 (cited secondhand) |
| Share of men’s favorite fantasies in the fetishism theme (includes feet) | 14% | Quebec men who described a favorite fantasy | Joyal, Cossette & Lapierre 2015 |
The online-group figures describe activity in fetish communities, not the general population. People with a strong interest are more likely to join such groups.
In the Quebec study, fetishism (clothing, objects and feet) was the second most common theme in men’s favorite fantasies. It didn’t appear in women’s list at all, according to Joyal, Cossette & Lapierre.
Foot Fetish Statistics by Gender
Men are about 4 times as likely as women to have a strong interest in feet. 16.6% of Belgian men and 4.1% of women rated their interest 4 or 5 out of 5, according to Holvoet et al.
The gap shrinks with looser measures. For any body-part arousal in the past year, Zurich men led women by about 2 to 1 (21.8% vs 10.7%), per Baier.
Here’s a breakdown of foot and fetish interest by gender:
| Measure | Men | Women | Ratio | Study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong interest in feet (Belgium) | 16.6% | 4.1% | 4.0x | Holvoet et al. 2017 |
| Strong interest in shoes (Belgium) | 15.3% | 5.1% | 3.0x | Holvoet et al. 2017 |
| Highly aroused by fetish objects (Czechia) | 15.4% | 4.2% | 3.7x | Bártová et al. 2021 |
| Ever fantasized about feet (US, heterosexual) | 18% | 5% | 3.6x | Lehmiller 2018 |
| Aroused by fetish scenarios incl. feet (Canada) | 28% | 11% | 2.5x | Dawson et al. 2016 |
| Ever sucked or licked toes or feet (US) | 25.6% | 10.9% | 2.3x | Herbenick et al. 2017 |
| Body parts such as feet arousing, past year (Zurich) | 21.8% | 10.7% | 2.0x | Baier 2024 |
Ratios are our calculation. The Czech item covers objects (shoes among the examples), not feet alone. Sources: Holvoet et al., Bártová et al., Big Think, Dawson, Bannerman & Lalumière, Herbenick et al., Baier
Women aren’t immune to fetish interest. With a very low bar (“I have thought about it”), 47.9% of Quebec women and 40.4% of men reported some desire for fetishistic experiences, a gap that wasn’t statistically significant, according to Joyal & Carpentier. That item covered objects, not feet.
In clinical settings, the picture is almost entirely male. 47 of the 48 fetishism cases in a London hospital review were men, about 98% (our calculation), according to the full paper as cited in later reviews (Chalkley & Powell).
Foot Fetish by Sexual Orientation
Gay and bisexual men are the most likely group to fantasize about feet. 21% have done so, vs 18% of heterosexual men, 11% of lesbian and bisexual women and 5% of heterosexual women, according to Lehmiller’s survey as reported by Big Think.
That makes gay and bisexual men about 4.2 times as likely as heterosexual women to report the fantasy (our calculation).
Here’s a breakdown of foot fantasies by gender and orientation:
| Group | Ever Fantasized About Feet |
|---|---|
| Gay or bisexual men | 21% |
| Heterosexual men | 18% |
| Lesbian or bisexual women | 11% |
| Heterosexual women | 5% |
| All US adults | 14% |
One of the largest studies of foot fetishists focused on gay and bisexual men. Weinberg and colleagues surveyed 262 members of a foot fetish organization and found that most first noticed the interest around puberty and described those early experiences as mostly positive, according to Weinberg, Williams & Calhan.
Foot Fetish by Age
Younger adults report body-part interests more often. 19.4% of Zurich adults aged 18 to 34 found body parts such as feet arousing in the past year, vs 13.5% of those aged 35 to 50, about 1.4 times as high, according to Baier.
Platform data point the same way. Gen Z searched “feet” 347% more often than other generations in 2025, according to Pornhub’s Year in Review as reported by UnHerd.
Here’s a breakdown of feet interest by age:
| Measure | Younger Group | Comparison | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body parts such as feet arousing, past year (Zurich) | 19.4% (18–34) | 13.5% (35–50) | Baier 2024 |
| Gen Z “feet” searches vs other generations (2025) | 347% more | Other generations | Pornhub, via UnHerd |
| Gen Z interest in feet vs other ages (2023) | 68% more | Other ages | Pornhub, via VICE |
| Gen Y (25–34) interest in feet (2022) | 58% more | Baseline not stated | Pornhub, via Euronews |
Pornhub figures are company-reported relative indexes with no published baseline. Sources: Baier, UnHerd, VICE, Euronews
The Gen Z figure was far higher in the 2025 report (347% more) than in the 2023 report (68% more). The reports measured different things (searches vs popularity) against unstated baselines, so treat that as a direction, not a precise trend.
How Many People Act on a Foot Fetish?
About 1 in 4 US men (25.6%) and 1 in 9 women (10.9%) have ever sucked or licked toes or feet with a partner, according to a nationally representative survey of 2,021 adults by Herbenick et al. (fielded December 2014–January 2015).
That’s the only nationally representative US measure of foot play we found. Men were about 2.3 times as likely as women to report it (our calculation).
Acting on a fetish interest is common in other studies too, though across the most common fetishes and kinks far more people fantasize than act. 26.3% of Quebec adults had ever been sexually aroused by a non-sexual object, according to Joyal & Carpentier, and 13.4% of Brazilian adults reported lifetime fetishistic behavior, the most frequent unconventional behavior in that survey, according to Oliveira Junior & Abdo.
Here’s a breakdown of foot and fetish behavior:
| Behavior | Share | Population | Study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ever aroused by a non-sexual object | 26.3% | Quebec adults (n=1,040) | Joyal & Carpentier 2017 |
| Ever sucked or licked toes or feet (men) | 25.6% | US adults | Herbenick et al. 2017 |
| Lifetime fetishistic behavior | 13.4% | Brazilian adults | Oliveira Junior & Abdo 2010 |
| Ever sucked or licked toes or feet (women) | 10.9% | US adults | Herbenick et al. 2017 |
What Causes a Foot Fetish?
No single cause is proven, and the competing theories behind foot fetishes range from brain wiring to early conditioning. The best-known idea, that feet sit next to the genitals on the brain’s touch map, comes from neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran’s 1998 book Phantoms in the Brain. An excerpt on PBS NOVA describes the foot-genital adjacency in amputees.
The theory has weak support so far. The first direct test, 16 years later, had about 800 people rate 41 body parts as erogenous zones. Feet scored “surprisingly low,” and neighboring brain areas showed no link, according to Turnbull et al. (2014).
Brain-imaging studies also disagree on where the genitals sit. A 2005 study placed the penis right beside the foot, per Kell et al.. A 2011 study of 11 women found results consistent with the classic map, per Komisaruk et al., while a 2022 study of 20 women placed the clitoral area near the hip instead, per Knop et al.
Here’s a breakdown of the main theories and their evidence:
| Theory | Key Study | Sample | What It Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain-map adjacency | Ramachandran 1998 | Amputee case reports | Proposed feet and genitals sit side by side in the brain |
| Brain-map test | Turnbull et al. 2014 | About 800 adults, 41 body parts | Feet rated low as erogenous zones; no support |
| Conditioning | Rachman 1966 | 3 men | Arousal to boot images after 24 to 65 pairings |
| Conditioning | Hoffmann et al. 2004 | 56 adults (27 women, 29 men) | Arousal to neutral images can be conditioned |
| STD-era avoidance | Giannini et al. 1998 | 30 years of porn magazines | Foot imagery rose during the AIDS era |
| Early experiences | Weinberg et al. 1995 | 262 gay and bisexual men | Interest usually began around puberty |
The conditioning evidence rests on tiny samples. Rachman’s 1966 experiment used just 3 men, who needed between 24 and 65 pairings before they reliably responded to the boot slide, according to Rachman.
The STD theory is a single preliminary study. Giannini and colleagues linked a rise in foot imagery in porn magazines to the AIDS era, and to earlier STD epidemics, suggesting interest in feet grows when fear of infection is high, per Giannini et al. Their abstract gives no image counts.
Sex drive may explain much of the gender gap. In a Canadian study of 305 men and 710 women, sex drive fully explained the gender gap in unusual sexual interests, including a feet item, according to Dawson, Bannerman & Lalumière.
Is a Foot Fetish a Disorder?
No, not on its own. ICD-11, which the WHO released on June 18, 2018 and which took effect on January 1, 2022, no longer lists fetishism as a diagnosis, according to Krueger et al.
ICD-11 dropped 4 ICD-10 categories in all, including fetishism and sadomasochism. Sweden had already removed fetishism-type diagnoses from its national version in 2009.
The US manual still lists fetishistic disorder, but only when the interest lasts at least 6 months and causes distress or impairment, according to the MSD Manual. DSM-5 (2013) folded partialism, an exclusive focus on a body part such as feet, into that diagnosis, per First.
Here’s a breakdown of the clinical numbers:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Duration needed for a DSM-5 fetishistic disorder diagnosis | 6 months | MSD Manual |
| Paraphilic disorders listed in DSM-5 | 8 | American Psychiatric Association |
| ICD-10 categories deleted in ICD-11 | 4 | Krueger et al. 2017 |
| People in psychiatric care for fetishistic disorder | Less than 1% (base unclear) | Psychology Today |
| Czechs with a fetish preference who had seen a health professional about it | 10.8% | Bártová et al. 2021 |
| Zurich adults with frequent body-part arousal and some suffering | 2.4% | Baier 2024 |
| Randomized trials of any fetishistic disorder treatment | 0 | MSD Manual |
The APA states that most people with atypical sexual interests don’t have a mental disorder, according to its DSM-5 fact sheet. The 2.4% Zurich figure is a rough proxy for distress, not a diagnosis rate.
Online Interest in Feet
“Foot fetish” gets about 32,000 Google searches a month in the US and 120,000 worldwide, according to Ahrefs estimates (October 2026). “Feet pics” gets even more, about 40,000 US searches a month, 1.25 times as many.
Feet content is also growing on porn platforms. Pornhub’s feet category views rose 69% in 2025, according to the company’s Year in Review as reported by UnHerd, after a 38% rise in 2022, per When In Manila.
Here’s a breakdown of online demand for feet content:
| Measure | Figure | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Google searches for “feet pics” | About 40,000/month | October 2026 | Ahrefs |
| US Google searches for “foot fetish” | About 32,000/month | October 2026 | Ahrefs |
| Worldwide Google searches for “foot fetish” | About 120,000/month | October 2026 | Ahrefs |
| US searches for 27 feet-related terms | 1,454,925/month | Not stated (published March 2024) | FeetFinder study, via Secret NYC |
| Pornhub feet category views | ↑ 69% | 2025 | Pornhub, via UnHerd |
| Pornhub feet category views | ↑ 38% | 2022 | Pornhub, via When In Manila |
| US states where feet was the top fetish search | 6 | July 2024–June 2025 | FetishFinder, via Phoenix New Times |
| Rank of “foot fetish” among US-Googled fetishes | 11th of 20 | April 2020–April 2021 | NowPatient |
The FeetFinder and FetishFinder studies come from companies that sell fetish content, so treat them as marketing data. Sources: Ahrefs, Secret NYC, UnHerd, When In Manila, Phoenix New Times, NowPatient
Nevada led US states with 537 feet-related searches a month per 100,000 people in the FeetFinder study, per Secret NYC. Feet was the top fetish search in 6 states, including Arizona, Florida and Georgia, per Phoenix New Times.
Google data tempers the “most popular fetish” claim. “Foot fetish” had 1,713,630 US searches over 12 months to April 2021 but ranked only 11th among the top 20 Googled fetishes, according to NowPatient.
Celebrity-feet sites draw big audiences too. One such site had over 3 million unique visitors a month in 2016, per VICE, and about 5.4 million monthly visitors, about 80% of them men, by 2020, per MEL Magazine. Neither outlet named a source for these figures, and they aren’t independently audited.
How Big Is the Market for Feet Content?
Feet-pic marketplace FeetFinder says it has more than 12 million users and that $125 million has been spent on its platform, according to its homepage as reported by eCommerce Fastlane (October 2026). These are company-reported, cumulative figures.
FeetFinder also claims more than 15 million photos and videos sold, which works out to at most about $8.30 per item, since the total may include tips and subscriptions (our calculation).
Here’s a breakdown of reported feet-content market figures:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FeetFinder users (buyers and sellers, cumulative) | 12 million+ | FeetFinder, via eCommerce Fastlane |
| FeetFinder photos and videos sold (cumulative) | 15 million+ | FeetFinder, via eCommerce Fastlane |
| Total spent on FeetFinder (cumulative) | $125 million | FeetFinder, via eCommerce Fastlane |
| Average spend per item sold | At most about $8.30 | Our calculation |
Foot Fetish Statistics You Shouldn’t Trust
Several widely shared foot fetish numbers don’t hold up. We traced the most common ones to their origins:
| Claim You’ll See | What the Source Actually Says |
|---|---|
| “76% of Iranian men are into feet” | 76.7% of the men reported an object-fetish interest, and 89% of those also reported foot interest, in a snowball sample of 291 people surveyed in 2021–2023 (published 2025), not a population survey |
| “1 in 7 people have a foot fetish” | 14% have ever had a fantasy about feet, not a fetish |
| “About 1 in 3 people are interested in feet” | A FeetFinder blog claim with no method; body parts were about one-third (33%) of online fetish preferences |
| “Foot fetishes represent 10% of the US population” | Feet-pic app Fun With Feet’s own claim (2023), repeated by VICE without verification |
| “A 2019 YouGov poll found 22% of men have a foot fetish” | We found no such YouGov release |
The closest thing to a UK poll is the 2015 Great British Sex Survey by YouGov for Channel 4 (2,073 adults). The Sun reported that 13% of Brits have a foot fetish, as cited by Bustle, but we couldn’t confirm that figure in Channel 4’s own release.
A Short History of Foot Fetishism
Feet have carried sexual meaning for centuries. Here’s a breakdown of key dates:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1243 | Early archaeological evidence of Chinese foot binding (the tomb of Lady Huang Sheng) |
| 1886 | Krafft-Ebing’s Psychopathia Sexualis, an early catalog of sexual case histories, first published |
| 1912 | Foot binding first banned in China |
| 1927 | Freud’s essay “Fetishism” describes the foot or shoe as a common fetish object |
| 1966 | Rachman’s boot-conditioning experiment |
| 2013 | DSM-5 folds partialism (body-part focus) into fetishistic disorder |
| 2018 | WHO releases ICD-11 without a fetishism diagnosis |
| 2022 | ICD-11 takes effect |
In imperial China, the ideal bound foot was 3 inches long, the “golden lotus,” according to Smithsonian. NPR described the practice as a foot fetish on a national scale, per NPR.
Krafft-Ebing’s book started with 42 case histories in 1886 and grew to 238 by its 12th edition in 1906, according to Indiana University School of Medicine.
Methodology
We reviewed 158 candidate data points from peer-reviewed studies, national sex surveys, health authorities (WHO, the American Psychiatric Association), company-reported platform data and press coverage. We prioritized representative population surveys and labeled online samples, company data and estimates as such.
Most foot-specific data come from a handful of studies: Lehmiller (US), Holvoet et al. (Belgium), Herbenick et al. (US), Baier (Zurich) and Scorolli et al. (online groups). Many surveys measure “fetishism” with object items such as shoes, so we note when a figure isn’t feet-only. Platform figures come from press coverage of company reports. Search volumes are Ahrefs estimates pulled in October 2026.
Key Takeaways
A foot fetish is common as a fantasy and much rarer as a strong attraction. About 1 in 7 Americans (14%) have fantasized about feet, while 9.7% of Belgian adults report a strong interest and only 2.4% of Zurich adults report frequent arousal to body parts such as feet with at least slight suffering.
Men are 2 to 4 times as likely as women to report foot interest, and feet are the most common body-part focus in online fetish communities, at 47% of body-part preferences. Neither ICD-11 nor the APA treats the interest itself as a disorder.
FAQ
What percentage of people have a foot fetish?
About 14% of US adults have fantasized about feet or toes, and 9.7% of Belgian adults report a strong, fetish-level interest. A fetish that causes distress is rarer: 2.4% of Zurich adults reported frequent arousal to body parts such as feet plus at least slight suffering, a rough proxy rather than a diagnosis rate.
Are foot fetishes more common in men?
Yes. 16.6% of Belgian men vs 4.1% of women have a strong interest in feet, about 4 times as many. Gay and bisexual men report foot fantasies most often (21%).
Why do people have foot fetishes?
No cause is proven. Theories include the brain-map idea (feet sit next to the genitals on the brain’s touch map), conditioning and early experiences, but the first direct test of the brain-map idea, with about 800 people, found no support.
Is a foot fetish normal?
A foot fetish is a common sexual interest. ICD-11 no longer lists fetishism as a disorder, and DSM-5 diagnoses fetishistic disorder only when the interest lasts at least 6 months and causes distress or impairment.
Is a foot fetish the most common fetish?
Feet are the most common body-part fetish: 47% of body-part preferences in online fetish groups. On Google, “foot fetish” ranked 11th among the top 20 US-searched fetishes in 2020–2021.
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