Sometimes I think I am a jinx. If I mention a certain website, Blog, or Tumblr page that I enjoy (wrestling-related of course), it will often suddenly disappear from the Blogosphere. I am left wondering: Did I cause that?
But the Stomps4Me Yahoo group is proof that I am not a jinx. I blog about it every few months, and the group’s owner just keeps plugging away, doing great work finding and uploading fantastic images, most with a pro wrestling and boot-related theme.
Here is a sampling of some of his recent uploads that really caught my eye and gave me that tingling feeling down in my lower gut. Note: I added the cheesy captions so don’t blame Mr. Stomps for those…
So why am I drawn to these boot images — the wrestlers kicking and stomping away at each other or standing with one foot on another man’s face or chest? After all, if you’ve seen one face-kick, you’ve seen them all, right? Yet I keep going back to the Stomps4Me group eager to see more, and the group’s owner keeps exploring on-line to find more and more examples of boot punishment.
I think my enjoyment of these images goes back to the power imbalance that makes pro wrestling exciting — the placement of one competitor in a position of superior control and ownership over the other competitor. Many people seem to be wired in their brains to groove to the presentation of domination and submission, and I must be one of those people.
Boot poses, the placement of one man under the foot of another, are a stripped down, simplified, obvious depiction of the power imbalance. Boot-licking, foot-kissing, bowing, and kneeling are all universally understood poses of subservience. To lower yourself before another person is to become vulnerable, to submit to his power, to willingly degrade yourself.
And if pain is your scene, the boot is seen as a weapon. People associate boots with violence because they’re traditionally worn (in order to get the job done) by cops, soldiers, cowboys, and construction workers. Boots are heavy, hard, and
they bear the body weight of the man who wears them. So boots are constructed with a potential to both humiliate and hurt, and the wearing of boots serves to amplify the arrogance and power of the man who wears them.
So if you’re not into boots and stomping and foot-on-chest posing, hopefully I’ve explained the allure of this imagery enough for you to at least understand why some guys are into it.
If you have always been into boots and stomping and foot-on-chest posing, hopefully I haven’t over-analyzed this fetish to the point that it doesn’t even excite you anymore.
I just wanted to attempt to explain why I get into wrestling boots — just like I always try to explain why I get into wresting.
Thanks again — as always Mr. Stomps4Me. Keep up the great work. And do me a favor — don’t vanish from the web immediately after I’ve mentioned your hot Yahoo group, or I’ll begin to think I really am a jinx!