Alvinolagnia

A woman exposing her midriff

Alvinolagnia or belly fetish or stomach fetish is a partialism in which an individual is sexually attracted to the stomach^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} or belly.^[7]

Stimuli

Individuals tend to be sexually aroused by a watching or specific forms of physical interaction with the stomach.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Viewing

Anthropologists and behaviorists have discovered substantial evidence that the waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a significant measure for female attractiveness,^[12][13] thus making the female belly one of the most attractive features of a woman's body.^[14] Some find a slender muscular stomach with a defined V-zone to be a turn-on.^[15]

Physical activity

Some fetishists get a turn-on from touching or rubbing their belly region.^[10][11][16] While some tend to gain sexual thrill from either tickling the belly of a sex partner or being subjected to their own belly getting tickled using objects such as feathers, brushes, etc.^[17] Licking the lower abdomen can produce erotic sensations in women, since the nerve endings lead to the female clitoris.^[18]

Accessories and tattoos

A woman with a belly chain and navel piercing.

Accessories like belly chains, navel piercings, tattoos etc., can enhance the appearance of the belly.^[19]

Belly chains are worn by women to accentuate their midriffs.^[20][21] It can be a delicate thin or heavy thick chain.^[22] A delicate belly chain will emphasis on narrowness of the female waist.^[23] Managing editor of digital of Canadian magazine Flare Rebecca Perrin stated in an article, "a woman’s waist and hips are two of the most physically attractive body parts there are – emphasizing them shouldn't immediately be considered a faux pas and should instead be encouraged." Celebrities like Beyoncé,^[24][25] Rihanna,^[26] Miley Cyrus^[26] etc., are known for flaunting their belly chains.^[27] Croatian singer Rita Rusic wore her necklace as a belly chain while at a beach in Miami.^[28]

Navel piercing^[29] and navel tattoos ^[30] has become more common among young women. The trend of piercing or tattooing the navel became popular in the 1990s.^[31] It is popular among middle-aged women.^[32][33] Some belly chains attach to a navel piercing; they are called "pierced belly chains".^[20][34] Similar to navel piercings, hip piercings are also popular among women to express a bold personality.^[35]

Some get stomach tattoos to attract attention of the onlookers,^[36] but these tattoos are more commonly preferred by women than men. From tribal to flowers, the choices are innumerable as far as stomach tattoos are concerned.^[36][37][38] Some women even get these tattoos drawn on their lower backs^[39] and flaunt them in low-rise jeans, shorts or skirts.^[40][41]

Sometimes, looser clothing such as scarves or skirts around the female waist and curves can be incredible turn-on.^[42] Scarves wrapped around the waist are common among belly dancers.^[40][43]

Connections to other fetishes

It often co-exists with fat fetishism

It often co-exists with navel fetishism.^[44][45][46] Sometimes it is connected with pregnancy fetishism^[47] and inflation fetish.^[8][48][49]

Fat fetishism

It is sometimes considered to be a part of feederism.^[9][44][50] Fetish model Calico Bombshell stated, "My specialty is to rub and shake my belly for the camera. Men love watching me jiggle"^[9] Another model Gayla Neufeld of Bulge Chat stated,"They tell me it's the perfect belly. Some larger women they have a double-layer or a two-tier belly but mine is a single. That is really attractive to a lot of men"^[51] Belly fetish model Helena Strong stated, "People admire my belly. The only thing I expose is my belly. Most guys with belly fetishes get embarrassed if they see me fully naked."^[52]

Cultural background

Belly dancing movements are considered to be seductive

Western culture

Some assume that alvinolagnia is a cause of the prevalent western fashion of female midriff exposure.^[53] According to a study done by All-Bran with 2,000 women aged over 30s have found that 67 percent of them stating female celebrities are making it more acceptable for women to wear belly-baring clothes.^[54] In the Victorian era, a small waist was considered the main trait of a beautiful woman.^[55] The advent of bikinis in 1946,^[56] the cheerleading fashion of the 1970s^[57] and low-rise fashion started in the early 1990s^[58] have contributed to it. Midriff exposure also became common in the culture of 20th-century music with many famous female pop stars appeared on and offstage and in music videos with their midriff exposed.^[59][60][61] Some get attracted to women wearing a crop top or bikini.^[62]

Middle Eastern culture

The eastern art of belly dancing places the female midriff on center stage.^[63][64] The dance movements of the torso are considered to be seductive.^[65] Some men tend to get aroused by watching belly dancing.^[66][67] Some belly dancers often have navel piercings or insert sequins into their navels to make it look attractive when they perform.^[68]

Indian culture

The exposure of midriff and navel in a sari

The bare female midriff is considered attractive and erotic in India.^[69] Baring the midriff has always been a fashion in Indian women attire.^[70][71] Indian women have traditionally worn saris that bares the midriff, especially South Indian women.^[72][73] The exposure of midriff in a sari is considered to be erotic.^[74][75] The midriff is revealed in other traditional female attires like Ghagra choli^[76] and the Nauvari.^[77] The navel tattoos^[78] and belly chain known as kamarband in India when worn with low-rise saris and lehengas are considered sensuous.^[23][79] Most Indian women wear belly chains during weddings and other ceremonies as a show of culture and tradition. Nowadays, women have been pairing these chains with western outfits, mostly to draw attention to their figures.^[22]

Men are intrigued by the demure floor-length attire and tantalising display of a bare midriff in the back.^[80] It is considered to be a turn-on for few.^[81][82] Some men tend to get aroused by pinching the exposed female belly in a sari or madisar.^[83][84] Some Indian women too tend to get aroused on getting pinched on their midriff bared by the sari.^[85] This scenario was depicted in an advertising campaign for a leading constructions company group in India.^[86] With the tagline "Everything you love, is in arm’s reach", it featured a man at office extending his arm out to pinch his wife's midriff at home, with her expressing joy by smiling and biting her lower lip.^[87] It was featured as a full page advertisement in Dec 6, 2013 Chennai issue of the Times of India.^[88][89][90]

See also

• Abdominal obesity
• Belly dance
• Midriff
• Navel
• Navel fetishism
• Navel in popular culture
• Waist
• Waist-hip ratio

References