An in-depth look at the belly-button fetish community: Part I

It might be a bit surprising to those who have never heard that there is a fetish community dedicated to something as seemingly innocuous or, to some, uninteresting as the human navel. But there is indeed a community for it, filled to the brim with an eclectic mix of individuals whose love for the belly button comes in an equally eclectic number of ways. There is no set ‘norm’ for why the members of this community find navels attractive, no guidelines for what activities are considered universally—at least, within the tiny universe that our group exists within—accepted or rejected, and, perhaps most of all, there is no idealized type of belly button, either. There are preferences, of course, as it is to be expected for any sort of kink. But all in all, the world of belly button love is far more vast and unique than someone outside the community might expect.

And yet, our community tends to, for lack of a better term, not receive much exposure. Sure, there are an assortment of videos on Youtube—some of which are, admittedly, not in the best of taste on any scale—and there’s an odd article or two that gets posted every now and then, but navel fetishism is still widely kept in the shadows. There are no movies or pieces of published literature wherein characters possess the fetish, or any other form of media outside of fetish-based video sites dedicated to creating content geared towards our lot, and even then, there tend to be more drawbacks to these types of things than anything.

That is why, with this article, which may wind up being split into several parts depending on its overall length, I would like to try and delve into the world of navel fetishism, based on my own preferences and my experiences being a part of it for a good chunk of my lifetime. My goals for this are to ultimately enlighten those who are unfamiliar with it, as well as broaden my own knowledge as I look at the various sides to the community, and to have a bit of fun, too. So sit back, and let’s begin taking an in-depth look at the world of belly button lovers.

It goes without saying that every fetish or kink has a focus, a center, a fixation of some kind. Typically, the focus of this is a sexual desire towards that specific body part, and the end goal tends to be centered around sexual stimulation and pleasure. That isn’t always the case, it’s just more common. Now obviously, the focus of the navel fetish is, well, the navel. Or belly button, as is the more commonly uttered term used to describe the scar left over on the middle of the stomach after the umbilical cord has been cut once a person is born. Every human is born with a belly button, but it’s not wholly uncommon for someone to wind up getting surgery later in life that removes it. I digress.
So then I guess the best place to start with this is the obvious question: what is it about belly buttons that people find arousing?

Well, despite the more simplistic nature of the question, the answer is anything but simple. That’s because there is no concrete answer, as I stated earlier on. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to navels, and as such, everyone has their own views as to why they find them attractive. There are, in fact, a number of factors that can potentially come into play when discussing why people find the navel sexy, and each is as valid as the next. That, I feel, is the beauty of the belly button fetish community; the variety, and the fact that no matter how unique our kink may be in one way, at the end of the day, we all share the same love for that seemingly innocent hole—or nub—in the middle of the belly.

However, based on my own preferences and the preferences of fellow navel enthusiasts that I have known for years and seen, I feel like I have developed somewhat of an understanding for why it is that the belly button is just oh-so-irresistible. Different people have different views, of course. These are just the ones that I know and have myself.

A word of note: nearly ninety percent of the community from my own experience tends to be composed of men for one reason or another—not that there aren’t navel girls out there, because quite frankly, I’ve run into quite a few. With that said, the fetish is often dominated by a sexual (and non-sexual) love for the female belly button. Male belly buttons do get their day in the limelight, they’re just not as featured and focused on as much as female navels. For this article, at least for the time being, I will concentrate primarily on the female navel as well. It’s due in part to my own personal preference, but, I will not ignore that there are a great many who find men’s belly buttons just as attractive—or even more—than female belly buttons.

At any rate, to start with, one of the biggest aspects of belly buttons that we all love is the different types of navels that exist. When it comes to ‘types’ of belly buttons, there are two major classifications: innies, the kind that sink in, and outies, the kind that stick out. The navel fetish community have developed a handful of other terms, however, to showcase not only the variety of navels that exist in the world, but also the variety of preferences that we in the community possess. For example, you have inbetweenies, belly buttons that are neither an innie or an outie, flatties, named after the fact they are a flat-looking navel, and then, you have innies and outies being categorized based on how much depth they may or may not have (for innies) or how far they stick out (for outies).

Within our community, you will find people who are attracted solely to innies, people solely to outies, there are piercing lovers who find navel rings sexy, plenty who believe navel rings ruin the natural beauty of the belly button, and so on and so forth. The list isn’t too long when it comes to navel type preferences, but there is enough variety to where it’s a noteworthy aspect of our kink community.

For me personally, I love innie navels. Outies, flatties, inbetweenies… They’re fine, and fully capable of being cute or alluring, but innies, in particular deep innies are the type that I am drawn to more than any other. I can’t say exactly why it is that I am drawn to deep innie belly buttons. Perhaps it’s the fact that, with their depth, it’s difficult not to notice them. A little cave in the center of a beautiful belly, whether that belly but be soft or slim or toned, is eye-catching, like a living work of art that could potentially suck you in. Or maybe it’s the potential that they possess for another aspect of the fetish: the activities. The thought of being able to touch and explore within that crater, to feel the softness of the interior, to let my finger get lost within it, is mystifying to me. Deep innies are the epitome of navel perfection in my eyes.
I am also quite fond of navel rings. I find that navel rings create the perfect excuse for women to bare their bellies, showing off the glinting jewelry that they have opted to have become attached to their navels. It’s true that the reason women tend to do this isn’t because they like their navels or because they want wandering gazes to fall upon them, but the fact they get them done and then decide to expose them is still noteworthy, and a good reason in my book as for why piercings shouldn’t be scorned.

But others disagree. I have seen plenty who believe that a shallower innie is the epitome of navel perfection, or that outies are the sexiest type of navel. And that’s wonderful. We all share in our love for the belly button, even when we may be drawn to different types.
However, does that really answer the question? I mean, sure, we think belly buttons are hot. Many of us find the little scar on the stomachs of women (and for some, men) to be sexy and eye-catching. I like deep innies, the next person prefers ball-in-socket-shaped outies, the third loves pierced navels of any kind, and so on. That’s one element of the equation, but it doesn’t really explain the ‘why.’ Why do we like them? What’s so interesting or appealing about them? What is even the purpose of this fetish in the first place? To these, I say, once again, the answers vary from person to person. There’s no set explanation from any given person as to why they find navels so attractive. In fact, many a person within this community have said, within forum discussions or just out of the blue, that they don’t really have a reason. They just like navels.

There are a few different explanations given by those who aren’t apart of the community, people who are considerably more psychologically inclined, I would say. Some people believe that the reason innie navels are considered sexually arousing is because, to put it bluntly, it’s seen as a sort of ‘miniature vagina’ on a woman’s stomach. An interesting view, no doubt, but what does that say about the members of our community that like outies? Or inbetweenies, or innies that can be popped out into outies? I don’t know if there are any answers, at least none in the same vein as the previously mentioned belief.

There’s also an opinion someone I knew who was outside of the community said once, in that they felt the reason why the navel was our fixation could be due to our upbringing, and that somehow, the navel or the stomach was the center of affection for people sharing in the kink with their parents. I can’t quite wrap my head around this view either, but even then, I still find it fascinating.

I suppose for me, I don’t have a concrete answer. I don’t even remember when I began to focus on belly buttons. I just did at a certain point, and I haven’t been able to stop since. I find myself drawn to them, like moths to candles as the adage goes, because whenever I see a girl in a belly shirt or I spot one in a movie or a TV show, my eyes just zero in on their exposed navel and I can’t help spending more time admiring it than paying attention to much else. I don’t know if I would say it’s unconscious or not, but it happens every time, and there are plenty of occasions where I’ve had to snap out of it to avoid being rude, or to get back to paying attention to what was happening on screen. In fact, I don’t even think my preference for deep innie navels came into play until much later on; for a time, it didn’t matter what type it was, I just liked them and liked seeing them all.

I’ve seen many a post wherein people within our community have shared where they feel their kink first began. Oftentimes, it was during their childhood, and there was one event that would serve as a catalyst for the birth of their fetish. Stories about innocent games of ‘doctor’ with friends, getting tickled by relatives, seeing girls do handstands at school that briefly exposed their bellies, and so on; these are a small sample of triggers, if you will. There are countless others, although I admit I don’t know what mine was. I can’t remember despite my best efforts.

With that all said, I’m not sure if the reason why we love navels comes from something more psychological from our childhoods, or if they’re somehow just some unconscious desire we’re born with that manifests at some point with a ‘triggering’ event, or if there is no reasoning behind it and it’s just random.

All I know, without a shred of doubt, is that I am a heterosexual guy that loves women’s belly buttons. I am one of many, in fact, who love belly buttons in general, and yet, our community is still somehow living in the shadows. We don’t get much focus or attention from the outside world as it were, at least none that is positive or considerably more neutral/interested. It’s a bit of a shame, but there’s still hope that someday, we’ll get more representation. And perhaps with this article, I can begin to show more sides to this kink, to explore it with the people who read this as I delve deeper into every aspect of this fetish, including the ones I possess, and ones I don’t. It’s a part of me, of who I am as a person, as it is for all members in this community.

For now, just know that while you may see a navel and find nothing of value or appeal to it, that there are plenty of people who have a very strong, very opposite viewpoint entirely. We belly button folk do indeed exist, and more often than not, we’re no different from the foot fetish crowd, or the breast fetish crowd, or any other kink community. Our area of interest just happens to be much, much smaller.