“… All this moving’s got me sweating like a horse.” Jason raised his arm. “Take a sniff, babe. I know you want to.”
“Oh God.” Carlton groaned. “The man’s an animal.” He rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his grin.
“I know. It’s so hot.” Troy laughed and leaned in to inhale his lover’s scent.
“I can’t believe you just did that!” Carlton gagged and pretended to throw up. “You two are sickeningly sweet. My teeth might actually rot and fall out of my head.”
Now that was written in a humourous manner, more as a joke to freak out the friend I think. No problem, guys can be gross, it’s in their genes.
Then I’m reading Neil Plakcy’s Three Wrong Turns in the Desert and it’s not joking, it’s serious hard-core pit licking.
Then he leaned down to sniff Aidan’s armpit and inhaled deeply. “I love the smell of a man,” he growled, then dragged the T-shirt off over Aidan’s head.
He nestled his head under Aidan’s upraised right arm and flicked his tongue over his armpit. Aidan had never known that was such an erogenous zone for him. Liam licked and nibbled at the short dark hairs there, at the tender skin, and Aidan felt weak in the knees.
Liam supported him with one hand as he attacked Aidan’s other armpit. Aidan was short of breath by the time Liam was finished, his body aching for Liam’s touch. Liam backed off and kissed Aidan again, his mouth musky now, slick with Aidan’s sweat. Aidan felt like he was being eaten alive—and he loved it.
Ewwww, he kissed him and it tasted like armpit sweat. *gag*. Then I thought about it and realized I’ve seen this several times in porn, not that I watch that much – I swear, but I have seen it. Is this a guy thing? A gay thing? I’ve never had a guy lick my armpit. Other ladies, guys, has this happened to you? Have you ever felt compelled to sniff or lick someone’s underarm? Perhaps what disturbs me more is that second picture is credited to armpit.com. An entire website of pits? I’m not sure and I’m not lookin’, so don’t ask me.
I think this could be a dangerous proposition. Isn’t deodorant or antiperspirant poisonous? Nothing like keeling over dead after licking poison from someone’s pits. How romantic. I’m sure it can’t taste great. I’ve never seen chocolate flavoured deodorant (although I might be onto something there).
So tell me, how do you feel about it? Am I just a fuss-budget with a weak gag reflex? Now’s the time to out yourself as a pit fan. I won’t tease you mercilessly for months to come. Promise. 🙂
* I’m blaming crediting Kris with making me think about these kind of things after her series of m/m fetish firsts.
LOL, I’m all for it :-). Must be one of the safer kinks out there.
True MRB, but just make sure they shower first. Hate to have someone die from licking deodorant. That’s my public service announcement for the day. 🙂
I’ve read this kink (if it is one) is several stories, though it’s not the norm. Most of these stories are non-published and most were written by (I presumed) men. I think it’s on level with smelling sweaty t-shirts, used underwear or jock straps.
I could be wrong but, I am also assuming the men in question aren’t using deodorant or antiperspirant. Like there’s some who enjoy the natural smells and feels of women who don’t shave or use cover ups.
Not really my ‘kink’, but I’m not opposed to reading about another man getting off on smelling (or licking) another man’s manliness. 😉
Thanks for commenting Merith, it does seem to be a guy thing. Most of the pictures I found while looking for them for the post had the guys doing the licking even when a girl was involved. I’ll blame it on genetics. 😉
Tam
I believe I mentioned that one of my favourite authors, Bobby Michaels, loves man smells, including armpit hair and well used underwear. Boy, those jocks must be a hot bed of something after 5 or 6 days without touching a washer. 🙂
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Guys won’t lick your pits because they probably don’t have that funky 3 day old smell if you go for that long without a shower. Camping, anyone???
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I don’t see the harm in licking someone’s pits, but if there’s a lot of hair it could get tiresome to braid the hair before you take a lick. 😀 My contribution!!!
Well there you go, it’s all explained. Good hygiene = no pit licking. Trust me, I’m going to remember that and shower twice a day. LOL I suppose if someone had a lot of hair you would understand what it’s like for your cat when they wash themselves. Hocking up a furball after though is so unsexy. 😉
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I have heard the legends surrounding Bobby Michael’s work and I’m pretty sure he’s not for me. But hey, there’s something for everyone out there.
I’ve read about armpit sniffing and licking in several books. Sounds kind of sexy in a manly way but I’ll leave it strictly in the books.
Perhaps that’s it Lily, somethings are better left on the page. 🙂
So a couple years ago I wrote a post in which I mentioned the various annoying ways my cat likes to wake me up, such as licking my eyelids, tapping my face, and licking my armpits. You would not believe how many hits that post still gets from people searching for “armpit licking.”
I’m sure they are highly disappointed when they get their Chris, or maybe not, which is more disturbing. LOL My cat has licked my hand but I draw the line there.
I think for the most part this is more of a pheromone type of thing than it is a fetish. Although, just about anything can be a fetish to the right person.
I like the way other guys smell. It doesn’t get me off but it probably does turn me on, if that makes any sense. And don’t we all lick things that smell good to us. : ) This doesn’t seem weird to me in the least.
But to all you toe suckers out there…ew! : )
I totally agree with you on the pheromone thing.
Oh, thank you Ethan, thank you for putting something even more disturbing in my head. Feet are worse than pits, I’m pretty sure.
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Yes, I know smell is a big part of attraction, I just prefer my experience with it to be a bit away from the armpit. 🙂
J. L. Langley also writes about this. From the much loved My Fair Captain:
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“Aiden rested his head on Nate’s shoulder, inhaling audibly. He rested there for several seconds, then started nuzzling Nate’s arm.
Nate grinned and moved his arm. What was his boy up to?
Aiden buried his nose in the hair under Nate’s arm and took a deep satisfied breath. His tongue snaked out and caught some sweat dripping off the hair in Nate’s armpit.
Then Nate felt it. Aiden’s cock was getting hard again against his stomach. Oh fuck. Nate groaned and slid his hand up, forcing Aiden’s head onto his chest. “Later, boy. You need to rest.”
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I thought that was kind of cute 🙂 But I like Bobby Michaels’ books too (particularly recently released David & Conner). As for the deodorant, not wearing any is what makes those armpits so delicious in these cases 😀 So you don’t need to worry about the deodorant poisoning! No personal experience here though 🙂
It’s been a long time since I read that book Sari so I must have blanked it out of my mind. 😉
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The trick really does seem to be skipping deodorant I guess. No poisoning, more aroma.
Aside from the armpit being damn ticklish (try that for a fetish) from what I understand from viewing too many Science of Sex documentaries, the armpit carries not just sweat and smells, but also pheromones. And people’s smells change with their hormonal cycles.
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Personally, I’m not attracted to that fermented Frito chip smell, but I didn’t mind it at all when cuddling with the boyfriend. I must admit, there are times when my biology makes my underarm smell a bit like… dark chocolate. I don’t know why.
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According to Wikipedia, sexual attraction to the armpit is called axillism. Why is there such a cool sounding word to something so odd?
That is a cool word Kim. Everyone should try to use that in a sentence this week. Dazzle and amaze your friends. 🙂
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Dark chocolate huh? To be honest I’ve never really checked this kind of thing but now I’m curious. If guys smelled like chocolate I think I’d find myself in some embarrassing situations. 😀
Such a cool word…probably because the clinical name for underarm is axilla.
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L
The armpit is so darn ticklish i’d be wetting myself if someone licked mine.
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It’s definitely a guy thing. Having camped around men who did not shower or use antiperspirant, spent all day doing heavy activity, in 90-100 degree heat, let me say there is “man smell” and then there is “weaponized use of body odor to mark your territory.” I like onions, but in mild doses, please. I am not only not licking their armpits, I’m not getting within 10 feet of them.
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On the other hand, I tend to identify my kids and husband by smell. I can tell if a kid is sick just by smelling their neck. So scent is a powerful sense that doesn’t get enough credit in stories, but armpit licking? That’s definitely a “your kink is not my kink” moment.
“weaponized use of body odor to mark your territory.”
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That made me laugh out loud Angelia. Yeah, there’s smelly and then there’s “smelly”. Not my kind either.
I think it’s hot, but it also really depends on your partner. Some people smell and taste absolutely delicious to me, while others are disgustingly rank. I think it depends a lot on how your body chemistries interact. In books, though, since I don’t have to worry about body chemistry, I especially enjoy it, except when it becomes the absolute focus of the scene. I don’t want to read about so much licking that the lovers are swimming in a pile of spit!
I actually first heard of licking and smelling pits when I snuck reads of my mother’s copy of *The Joy of Sex,* which my friends and I found absolutely fascinating during our adolescence! Of course, that book and it’s sequel are really squirmy about homosexuality. I haven’t checked out more recent editions, although I think there’s a *Joy of Gay Sex* out there now. I wonder how often authors consult such books?
The ‘Joy of Gay Sex’ is more frivolous than its het counterparts. Most reviewers do not give it high marks. If you’re in the market for a decent and thorough book, check out ‘Ultimate Gay Sex’ by Michael Thomas Ford. It not only covers positions but emotions and history involved as well. It treats the subject matter with respect (and that’s what I think is missing from the Joy of Gay Sex).
I suppose the interaction of scents or body chemistry is part of it. I have a friend who no matter what perfume she uses it ends up smelling spicy and everyone has scents that appeal or don’t.
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I think there is the Kama Sutra of Gay Sex which I read about in a book recently, haven’t consulted it myself. 🙂
I don’t mind watching it in porn (and god it turns up a LOT in gay porn) when it’s not all sweaty gross. If there’s visible sweat I’m gonna gag. Ew.
I wouldn’t want to read it, though. I’ll forgive a lot of squicky stuff coming from a pair of hot naked men, not so much coming from the pages of a book. I’m not sure why reading it would bother me so much more. Maybe it’s because when it happens in porn I can focus on another part of the guys, like asses or one’s face, and not really look at what they’re doing until they start doing something hot again. In a book I’m forced to experience the squick head on unless I want to skip a page.
Thankfully I haven’t read pages of pit licking Fae, as I quoted it was only a couple of paragraphs and by the time I realized what was happening it was too late to stop reading. It wasn’t repeated either. It doesn’t do it for me but I can handle small doses of most anything, however pages and pages or repeated scenes with it would be a big ewww for me.
When I come across this in my reading, I automatically adjust my perspective to fantasy land, where the man-sweat is clean and fresh, the hair’s not matted and the need for deodorant doesn’t exist. It’s a pretty easy adjustment actually, as I seem to encounter a number of things in m/m books that require just a little gloss to keep me in the moment. I don’t even notice that I’m doing it anymore!
I do this too. As soon as someone puts their mouth anywhere that might not be clean and/or sweet smelling, I cross the bridge into fantasy land. It’s how I can enjoy rimming scenes in books involving unshowered people who’ve been out doing manly man things all day getting sweaty and dirty without running screaming for the hills. Same for armpit licking.
The imagination is indeed a wonderful thing Meredith.
Good strategy Wren, where everything smells and tastes like raspberries and chocolate. I’m with ya there. 🙂
Fae, you mentioned a body part that also gets licked in gay videos and in romance. Ass! Whatever name you want to give it. Now personally I do like to lick pits and other body parts that get sweaty, but I like clean sweat. Shower before a workout, lift a lot of weights in the gym, don’t shower and we’ll go home and explore pits, balls, and ass. I agree with Ethan, though, no feet licking.
So you’ll like a sweaty ass but not feet. Hmmm. Mind you, I think I’m with ya there. Well, maybe not. How about a sweaty neck? I could handle that. Feet are all shades of ick, however they are handy for that whole walking thing.
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Everyone talks about clean sweat which always seems a bit oxymoronic. I know what they mean but it seems that sweat = need shower and need shower = unclean.
Armpit.com? Whoa. Ick.
So did you go there Val? Maybe you could give an overview of the site on your blog? Tell us what’s good about it. 😀
I wouldn’t dare! I don’t think I could control the gag reflex! 🙂
I personally don’t mind armpit licking as long as its not excessively described. I always try and imagine a neatly trimmed armpit with no deodorant clumps. Describing sweat dripping off the end of a muff is …uh…kinda gross.
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Weirdly enough a more unsanitary action–rimming–doesn’t even cause me to blink. I think it has become so prevalent in gay romance/erotica that it doesn’t bother most people at all.
Perhaps it is a case of desensitization Sage. More writers need to do pit-licking and before long it will be a “meh” issue with readers. Or maybe not, after all, what’s life without a few “ewww” moments.
Sage sez: “I always try and imagine a neatly trimmed armpit with no deodorant clumps. Describing sweat dripping off the end of a muff is …uh…kinda gross.”
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Aiii! I think I’m scarred for life with the deodorant clump image used in tandem with the word “muff” to describe armpit hair 😛
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I’m on the “I like clean sweat scent” side. There’s a difference between new sweat and sweat that’s been stewing and growing bacteria all day.
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I’m also intrigued that armpit.com exists but I suspect I shouldn’t go there.
Come on Jordan, someone has to suck it up … erm lick it up? and check out armpit.com. The you can report back and tell us how hot or not it is. You write horror, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it. 🙂
I can’t honestly say that I have an opinion on pit-licking. I mean, I’d never actively seek it out but it also doesn’t send me screaming into the night. 😛 I do agree that lack of deodorant seems important, though. *hee*
~Tis
Definitely no deodorant TC, both for taste and health reasons. And shower first. Hmm, maybe licking IN the shower is best.
Now I’m wondering how many authors are reading this and contemplating adding armpit licking scenes to their next books…….
Well, I do what I can to help to broaden the horizons of the genre Chris. 😀 (Not really but it sounded fairly impressive.)
I’m with Wren. I go to my happy place “where the man-sweat is clean and fresh, the hair’s not matted and the need for deodorant doesn’t exist”.
But it’s like all sexual practices and fetishes you get in romance and erotica though. There’s a fine line between ‘ewww’ and hot and I think it’s up to the author to be able to convince the reader that both protags, in this case guys, are getting off on it.
I think the imagination is a wonderful thing, and I prefer to keep mine full of wonderful smells and yummy tastes. We’ll keep it that way, pits or not. 😉
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I don’t think I’d want to read a whole book on this though, shaving was one thing, this? Nah.
I can’t believe I’m going to divulge this bit of information, and it may be TMI for some of you, but I like snuffling my hub’s armpits. I love the smell of him and the smell is strongest in that part of his body. His smell is one thing that I find attractive about him, so I can understand how the men in m/m books would get turned on by smelling each other and, yes, even licking each other’s armpits. It doesn’t turn me off at all to read about it.
Ah, our first lady to fess up. Well done Jen. 🙂
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Maybe I’m not a smell person? I suppose for some people it’s more of a turn on than others, like most anything I suppose.
I’m with Jenre and Angelia here. Our animal brains recognize something deep and delicious in the smell and flavor of those we choose as mates. I mean their real smell, not the smell of the chemicals they use to alter or obfuscate it (perhaps that’s a reason one’s lover smells so delectable first thing in the morning). Also, since armpits are usually protected and out of sight, they have a vulnerability and secret quality that imparts both excitment and trust to those who are granted access. Sexy!
You do make it sound very appealing Lee. I guess it’s just not my thing and to me armpits are ticklish, not very romantic to break into peals of laughter during the height of passion. 🙂
What Jen said! Yes. I looooove to smell my hubby. Not just his pits, but all over. Especially when he’s all sweaty. ESPECIALLY especially if it’s just a little bit NOT clean, you know? Ally like. Rawr.
Yeah, he thinks I’m weird too 😀
Although, I’m ‘meh’ about actually LICKING the pits because I hate getting hairs on my tongue. And I know what you’re thinking, but NO, THAT IS DIFFERENT! Sweaty balls are WORTH licking in spite of the tongue hairs!
[/TMI]
Maybe you need to introduce him to the joys of waxing Ally. No hairs.
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I’ve seen pics of guys with no underarm hair and that just seems wrong though.
Wow, that really would seem odd, wouldn’t it? Hm. And yet we consider it normal for our own pits to be hairless. Cultural conditioning is so interesting!
I think I should just ignore the tongue hairs and get on with the pit-licking. Hubby would freak LOL
Ally
>>I hate getting hairs on my tongue. And I know what you’re thinking, but NO, THAT IS DIFFERENT! Sweaty balls are WORTH licking in spite of the tongue hairs!<< * Is that another form of hair balls? You do know that some manly men (in addition to some gay men) wax their balls, don't you? I do not mean to imply here that gay men are not 'manly' because many of the ones I know are tough motherf**kers * I can't believe the stuff we post here. The web police will shut us down some day.
It’s my understanding that sweat only takes on an offensive odor when it begins to mingle with clothing for extended periods. So there is such a thing as “clean” sweat.
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If I’m really attracted to a man, I’m strongly drawn to his sideburns and the whiskery area of the lower face. Delectable! Could nuzzle these spots forever. Love his scent on sheets and clothing, too.
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On the other hand (or nostril), if I don’t find a guy attractive, his natural scent nearly makes me gag. I was roomies with a male buddy for a while, and the smell of him had so saturated certain areas of the house, I could barely stand being in them. It had nothing to do with his personal hygiene.
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Interesting post, Tam!
I have this image of your roomie marking his scent all over the apartment. Rubbing his face on the furniture like a cat (better than the dog image in my head).
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Scent really does connect us so I guess armpit licking is not so bad, but it’s not for me. The whisker thing sounds more like my style.
I can assure you that armpit licking/worship is indeed a very popular fetish. There are entire yahoo groups dedicated exclusively to this practice. It also is included in a lot of porn, especially films that are about muscle worship. There is a humiliation/submission element sometimes involved in it, but regardless of that, it is a sexual turn-on because gay men are attracted to man sweat. (or at least some of them are) I’ve never heard of anyone getting sick or dying from deodorant, and I think that in the heat of passion the licker (or sub in many cases) is so overpowered by the sweat smell that he doesn’t even notice the deodorant. As a man, I often wonder why women are so quickly turned off by sweat, urine, saliva. A lot of review sites will not even accept submissions if the book contains bodily fluid exchange of any kind.
Maybe it is a girl thing Jeff. We’re raised to be tidy and clean and not like icky things like sweat and spit and frogs. 🙂
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Perhaps I just need to expand my horizons. 🙂 Or not.
Wow, seriously?? That’s pretty fucked up (about review sites not accepting books involving sweaty stuff, etc). Of course I don’t really read many reviews outside of Wave’s place and TeddyPig’s, so I guess I’m pretty out of touch.
Jeff
If a book is published by a reputable site I accept those which include the exchange of bodily fluids (this includes saliva or cum) unless they involve golden showers since the readers here are mostly interested in romances, not extreme fetish. Manly sweat is good. As I mentioned earlier, one of the writers who is really into sweat and body odors is Bobby Michaels and I love his books. I just got his latest – Jack Dorm 3: David and Conner which I’m sure will be reeking of sweat and other manly smells. 😀
So many interesting comments!
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From Sage:
“Weirdly enough a more unsanitary action–rimming–doesn’t even cause me to blink. I think it has become so prevalent in gay romance/erotica that it doesn’t bother most people at all.”
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And your reply, Tam:
“Perhaps it is a case of desensitization Sage. More writers need to do pit-licking and before long it will be a “meh” issue with readers.”
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And people going to their happy places “where the man-sweat is clean and fresh, the hair’s not matted and the need for deodorant doesn’t exist” (thanks Kris!). This is me. I’ve read this kink mainly in Harry Potter fan fic (and even then there’s not a lot of it). Wizards have all sorts of spells to clean things up. 😉
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I nod my head agreeing with K Z Snow: “It’s my understanding that sweat only takes on an offensive odor when it begins to mingle with clothing for extended periods. So there is such a thing as “clean” sweat.”
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Jeff Erno makes an interesting statement: “As a man, I often wonder why women are so quickly turned off by sweat, urine, saliva”. Your answer, Tam, is also interesting “Maybe it is a girl thing Jeff. We’re raised to be tidy and clean and not like icky things like sweat and spit and frogs.” I think that goes back to the desensitization thing. (We’re not supposed to like porn either!)
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To sum up this overly long reply, I’m fine with reading about it, but I’m not sure I’d want to do it in RL. But if it was a choice between toes or armpits, I’d choose the latter. ;P
There does seem to be a consensus that on the ick-o-metre, pit-licking rates lower than ANYTHING to do with feet. Poor neglected feet. 🙂
“…the readers here are mostly interested in romances, not extreme fetish.”
Probably true of nearly ALL readers, Wave. I think there are some bodily fluids/excretions that have no appeal for anybody except hardcore fetishists — urine, feces, earwax, pus, snot. I don’t care how good a writer is, those would be hard sells. (Eeesh, I’m starting to gross myself out!)
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Blood, sweat, and tears? Saliva and cum? No problem, usually. Depending on context and an author’s skill, they can all enhance intimate encounters.
Pretty hard to have a romance with no saliva swapping. Maybe Amish romance.
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Yeah, no scat and golden showers but most other stuff I can handle even if I have a moment of “ewww” as I read it. Doesn’t mean it’s bad necessarily, just not my thing
I don’t mind pissing scenes. Usually it just makes me laugh, no idea why. Although I’ve read some scenes that were kind of hot; depends on the author. Feces, though? Ew. No. Just, no. And yeah, that is VERY different from rimming, unless you are rimming someone who has no idea of proper hygeine. And I’m not talking about showers here. Y’all know what I’m sayin’ O_O
Peeing ON someone? No. The only golden shower I want or want to read about is one involving gold doubloons falling on me. Now generally peeing scenes are fine, hey, we all gotta go. 🙂
Yarp, I am talking the golden shower, indeed. Heh. I figure it doesn’t bug me any because urine is sterile. You could drink it (normal, healthy pee, that is) if you really, really wanted to and it wouldn’t hurt you. Just look at Bear Grylls! (Man Vs Wild; I heart Bear) It’s a cultural/psychological thing that makes us get grossed out by the idea of getting pee (particularly someone else’s) on us or in our mouths.
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That said, it is so NOT my thing in Real Life. No, no no no. I’m so vanilla in real life it’s kind of sad. But, yeah, I don’t mind some pee in a sex scene if it’s done right. I’ve never written it, mostly because I don’t know of any pubs who’ll accept it.
Just because you CAN do something that won’t hurt you doesn’t mean you SHOULD. 😛
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It is fun how we go way out on a limb here. Makes life more interesting and fun to be sure.
Fetish? Armpit enjoyment is perfectly natural at my neck of the (btw female) woods.
As I am finding out it is more common than perhaps I thought paddywank. Just doesn’t seem to be my thing.
Can I just say, I love how we end up going places on this blog that most blogs just hardly ever go? Pit-licking and rimming and golden showers, oh my! It’s so cool 😀
Armpits? Why not?
I wish I’d noted where I found it, but when doing some research years back, I ran across a custom (it was fairly long ago, maybe medieval?) where a lady whose lover was going to be away for awhile would carry something around under her arm for a few days so her honey would have something to remind him of the good times. And this was back when baths were fewer and farther between.
Of course, most of my characters lived before those nasty aluminum-based antiperspirants, so getting a mouthful of chemicals wasn’t an issue. I wouldn’t go near the stuff myself.
Rimming? No. Way. Two little words: Escherichia coli. Feet? Lovely, sensitive, and if they’ve been soaked in a nice hot bath and immediately covered in clean socks… well, maybe, though I’m more likely to massage feet than lick them, and as a massage therapist I saw way too many cases of athlete’s foot to consider the foot something that belongs in the mouth.
Yes, hygiene matters, if we’re talking Real Life. It matters a lot. A case of oral fungus or E. coli is no joke. And along the lines of hygiene, golden showers? Nope. I am not a pisspot.
But armpits…? Well, men smell stronger than women, and what we eat affects how we smell, so I wouldn’t say any individual axilla might be as alluring as my own (f) sweetie’s… but my characters generally have all their sensors fully operational when they’re together, so why not? Why would the armpit be any more unappetizing than the pubis? You don’t pee from your armpit!
Adult humans grow hair in pits and pubes at sexual maturity. Some cultures trim it, some don’t; some folks need pruning, others don’t. I think armpits are just one more optional erogenous zone.
OK, cue nerd music, and I’m only posting this cause I just found out today that I don’t have breast cancer and I’m drunk in celebration (and I’ll probably regret this in the morning, but right now I don’t care, and what I’m doing posting on a blog instead of hanging with people I love I don’t know, but right now it’s too late to call them. But seriously, I apologize for any breach of etiquette.) but people in the medieval period, especially those who lived in cities, actually bathed quite a lot, because of the predominance of public bath houses. It wasn’t until outbreaks of the bubonic plague hit Europe that public bath houses were closed down, and standards of cleanliness changed, so that the color of a man’s shirt (i.e. white) became the standard of cleanliness, as opposed to cleanliness of the body, and people stopped bathing regularly, prompting myths that regular bathing could result in illness. This change happened around the late 15 or early 16th century. I don’t remember where I read this– blame an unfortunate graduate education– but I could get the citation if anyone is interested.
As for golden showers, I know that urine is sterile, but this is one instance where I’m totally in favor of social conditioning. I’ve seen authors make it sound interesting (I think Bobby Michaels has referenced it in his Jock Dorm series) but while I *might* go with it in a particularly well written erotic scene, I have a hard time imagining a reality in which I would find being pissed on hot. It might be warm, and it might relieve a jellyfish sting, but sexy, it is not– at least not for me.
Feet, though, are another story. Feet, provided they’re clean and groomed (so sue me, I’m being particular) fall into the same realm as fingers and ears, being extremities. There’s something really sexy about concentrating sensation in an area that is normally considered utilitarian. Perhaps that’s the origin of the fetish? Although, I guess nipples (on women, at least) and genitalia, are utilitarian, but they are much more commonly considered areas of sexual expression. Anyway, the fact that you can concentrate so much feeling in an area that either feels little sensation (ears) or too much sensation (fingers and toes) is what makes those areas particularly erogenous.
What that means for armpits, though, I have no idea. I’ll go back to my earlier claim that it’s all about the body chemistry. They’ve done studies about body chemistry, and concluded that you’re more attracted to those people with whom you don’t share genetic similarities. So, people who are diverse probably smell better to each other. If that makes for a sexier encounter, then I’m all for it! Hair or no hair, it doesn’t matter to me!
Congratulations on some amazing news Alaina, that must be such a feeling of relief. No etiquette breach at all.
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That’s interesting about being attracted to someone’s smell who is more genetically different, nature’s way of keeping the gene pool fresh perhaps.
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I’m not why feet get such a bad rap, but I’m one of those people who does ‘t care for them, my own or anyone else’s for that matter.
Oh, Alaina, how WONDERFUL! There are some situations in which “negative” is the most beautiful word in the world. Hope you’re having a party today!
I know medieval people weren’t as grungy as some reports make them out to be, but I also don’t imagine folks in the middle ages hit the bath house for a shower and shampoo every night, any more than people did in, say, 1910. When I was a child (not quite that long ago) we did the full Saturday night bath, with washcloth applied as needed before bedtime during the week (unless my brother got completely filthy, as was often the case) and that seemed pretty much the norm among our friends. I was talking about the difference between earlier times and the modern (mid-to late 20th century) obsession with making human beings smell like something other than human beings–hey, here’s a perfumed ‘intimate’ rinse, never mind if it gives you a rash, you’ll smell like a summer’s evening instead of a human female.
The genetic-diversity idea makes a lot of sense. It reminds me of a science show I saw on a study of women with newborns that proved women can usually recognize their own baby’s clothing by scent. I think humans tend to forget how much we have in common with other mammals.
Feet…. did you know a lot of acupressure points from the sexual organs can be found around the ankles? One of these days I have to write a ‘foot massage as foreplay’ scene…
Again, congratulations on the glorious news!
“You don’t pee from your armpit! ”
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Well Lee, you put a whole new spin on it. LOL Feet in socks yes, in my mouth, no. Social conditioning is an interesting thing.
I have a gay friend, and I asked him about pit licking after I saw it in one of his porn movies we were watching. He said he loves licking pits because the smell and taste turns him on. I’m guessing it’s the pheromone thing again because he hates body odor. I’ve seen him almost gag to smell stinky people (we worked together at a university computer lab…there were many stinky college students in there). He told me he’s turned down many a date/hook-up invitation due to the smell of the other person. And he loves rimming too.
Oh, and I tried going to armpit.com. I tried it with the www’s and without. It redirects to a porn website called sexmax dot com. It’s not even a gay porn site either. I tried googling it, but it didn’t turn up a site with just armpit.com. There were other sites with armpit in the site name, but I didn’t visit any of them.
Yay CountryGirl, my hero. 🙂 It just said on the picture “armpit.com” so you know how pics float forever on the web, it could have been defunct.
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Sweaty and smelly do seem to be two different things and some people are more into smells than other depending on how your brain is hardwired.
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Thanks for doing all that hard research for us. 😀
Thanks guys, for the good wishes– it certainly is a relief to be able to get back to my life. I had actually requested to delete my post since I was so horrified that I had done something as trashy as drunkposting, but I guess posting while intoxicated isn’t good enough reason, or only if it results in something completely offensive (which means it’s a good thing my facebook profile is set to private, because all my friends were getting a kick out my status settings)! I’m glad to know from your comments and a quick reread that I didn’t make a complete fool out of myself!
I see what you mean now, Lee. We do seem to have a cultural fixation on minimizing our sense of embodiment, which is truly bizarre considering the lengths we go to to modify our physical structures to meet some arbitrary marker of beauty (i.e. plastic surgery).
Tam, I think that genetic diversity was indeed the explanation given for the preference of one person’s scent over another. What’s interesting about the study you mention, Lee, is that it seems to suggest that women have evolved into the nurturer role. A friend was just telling me about a study she read about that suggested that men are more likely to awaken to the sound of a car alarm, while women are more likely to awaken to the sound of a baby’s cry. Since this second study, to me, seems to be evidence of social conditioning it makes one wonder about some of these other claims about scent. Where do we draw the line between biology and sociology?
Anyway, please write a foot massage scene! I haven’t had a chance to read your books yet, but that’s mostly because I’ve been on an urban fantasy kick and am only now working my way towards historicals. Maybe you can convince Tam and the other naysayers to give feet a chance!
Oh, there are folks so ticklish that their feet are all about sox rather than sex, and that probably won’t change. But now I’ve got “all we are saying… is give feet a chance..” playing in my head. Thank you, I think! (I did a sexy massage scene in Walking Wounded–my one contemporary–and I’ve posted it here and there on excerpt loops. . Not much about the feet, though… sorry!)
I’m always a bit suspicious of studies that turn up male/female absolutes, because individuals vary so much and too many studies are designed to elicit a particular finding. I had a male friend who had exactly that alert reaction after his daughter was born. His wife had heavy postpartum fatigue, but Bill said he didn’t get a full night’s sleep for the first six months–every time the baby moved or made a sound (in her crib, twenty feet down the hall, in another room) he was wide awake on an adrenaline rush. Makes sense to me–a new mother isn’t going to be able to fight off danger, so the dad had better be able to wake up fast. (And I’d want to know if that study tested guys on random baby-sounds, or the sound of their own kids. My guess is that humans have a subconscious ear out for the things that are most precious to them. But I’m wandering way off-topic here!)
I’m afraid that the Pit bull wants a unique sort of operator…these dogs, regardless of how ‘caring’ still have teeth, are still creatures with no moral concepts and when they DO bite, won’t allow go. As in all animals…some often be additional suseptable to instinctual habits and time and time once again, this breed tends to perform just that.
Um… did you read the posts at all? Wrong pits! (Though in a weird bit of coincidence, my sister has a pit bull mix that adores burying her head in my brother-in-law’s armpit and boots. Kinky beastie…)
LOL I wasn’t sure what the connection was there Lee so I just thought I’d let it go.
Dogs are weird at the best of times. Lovable but weird.