Confessions of a Navel Gazer

This is a candid reflection on my navel fetish. This fetish has been a part of my sexuality for as long as I can remember, but I've always struggled to articulate what causes me to experience this attraction. I hope that sharing my thoughts and feelings here will help me gain a more comprehensive understanding of my sexuality.

For those who are reading this, I plan to talk about belly buttons quite a bit, for reasons that should be obvious by now. If you find belly buttons gross or otherwise not to your liking, you may want to read something else. Otherwise, enjoy.

In my mind, there are two types of women - those with bare belly buttons and those with pierced belly buttons. Of course, I say this in a half-joking way - intellectually, I know that there's much more to a woman than whether she's got bling in her belly. But still, there's a part of my mind that rigidly follows this oddly specific dichotomy. When I see an attractive woman, I'm instantly faced with a burning question - does she have a belly button piercing?

If it stopped right there, it wouldn't be too bad. But far too often, it leads to a lust-driven dive into whatever social media accounts she has made available to the public, because in my mind, I must know. Fortunately for me, I typically find my answer on Instagram. Many women enjoy sharing photos of themselves at beaches or other warm environments where showing a lot of skin is expected and encouraged, so I'll make it a point to go through those photos first. That way, it's a near-guarantee that I'll be treated with a clear view of her navel.

If I find that she does indeed have a belly button piercing, I'll celebrate the discovery of my newfound "treasure" by rubbing one out, then mentally categorizing her as "pierced". If I find myself particularly aroused and suspect that I'll want to fantasize about her at a later date, I may save the picture and bookmark the account. If she doesn't have a belly button piercing, or I can't find a picture that shows her navel at all, then I might still go ahead and rub one out if I'm feeling it, especially if I've been scrolling for a while and want to hurry up and get back to what I was previously doing. Otherwise, if I've got a bit of time to spare, I might hover over the profiles of the woman's friends and see if any of them are public - I will then open each of them in a new tab. Once I have more tabs than I can go through in one session, I'll start scrolling through each one, checking to see if any women in this newly created set of profiles have pierced belly buttons that I can masturbate to.

I'm sure that even on a sex-positive and kink-positive site like this, there will be people who find what I just wrote to be creepy, if not outright repulsive. In fact, I'd be more surprised, and even a bit concerned, if you, the reader, didn't view it that way in some capacity. I, for one, am not proud of how I've consistently allowed myself to be fueled by lust in this way. If it's any consolation, though, I uphold a strict "look but don't touch" policy when engaging in these social media dives, meaning that I minimize my footprint - no trail of likes, comments, or follows is left behind by me. Inevitably, my scrolling sessions will inflate the view count of certain photos by a bit, but it's not something I really beat myself up about. Beautiful women know they are beautiful, and they know that other people (who aren't necessarily so beautiful) will gaze upon them with thirst.

You may be wondering, what led me down this path of debauchery? It all started around the turn of the millennium when my sexual urges were just starting to make themselves known in rather subtle ways. When watching television, I regularly tuned in to Nickelodeon, which at this point had begun showing music videos from Aaron Carter, Destiny's Child, N'Sync, The Backstreet Boys, and other artists of the era. I would gleefully vibe to all of it - these artists all seemed effortlessly cool and the music had a freshness to it. What dazzled me most of all, though, were the girl groups. They were magical.

I distinctly remember being impressed by Play - a girl group from Sweden whose videos were getting airtime on Nickelodeon. The music itself was upbeat, R&B-tinged pop that paired well with their videos, which often showed the whole group doing a tightly choreographed dance routine. Their wholesome, earnest smiles put a smile on my face, and the driving beats of the music made me bounce around the bedroom and flap my hands in a stimming motion.

As the girls spun, twirled, and twisted their way through songs, I paid attention to their outfits, which were colorful and stylish, but tasteful. At a certain point, I couldn't help but notice that the girls were all wearing shirts that looked just a bit too small for them, and that I could regularly see their belly buttons as they danced around on the stage. I started wondering why they all liked showing their belly button so much, and it eventually got to the point that it was all I would think about when I saw them. I didn't have to wonder for long.

I soon stumbled upon the music video for "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" by Britney Spears, also on Nickelodeon if I'm remembering correctly. If for some reason you haven't seen this video, go watch it. In the video, Britney (in her early twenties at the point in her career), sings a wistful ballad about coming of age as a camera crew films her exploring the canyons of Arizona. When it comes to pop music, the song itself really isn't bad at all - it's earnest, heartfelt, and the lyrics are something that I'd imagine many girls could relate to.

My focus, however, was not on the music - it was on Britney herself. In terms of clothing, the video showed her alternating between two different tops, both of which were worn with a pair of tight jeans. The first top, worn during the outdoor shots, was a flirty low-cut top with ruffles. The top had sleeves, but they were of a light material and somewhat sheer, to the point that I at first thought she was wearing a sleeveless top. The second top, worn when she was crawling through the caves, was slightly less revealing, being looser and with a higher neckline. I say only slightly less revealing, though, because what the two tops had in common is that they ended right below the breasts. At that point, the fabric gave way to a delicious view of Britney's toned, sun-kissed stomach.

Her navel sparkled and twinkled in the bright desert sun. The upper orb of a steel barbell poked through the navel's upper lip, while the lower end of the barbell was fastened to another small piece of dangling steel jewelry that was more delicate than the sturdy barbell. The playful twinkle of the belly button piercing contrasted with the deep tan of Britney's skin, and it was impossible for me not to fixate on this part of her body. At the end of the video, Britney posed with her hands on her hips, resting her fingers on the bare skin of her midsection. I had just barely come to know what sexy was, but I was sure this was it.

I continued paying attention to belly buttons from this point forward - not only did I look at all the models and pop stars of the day, but I'd observe people I saw and interacted with in real life. At a certain point, I did notice that I was a little different than other guys when it came to sexual proclivities. Most guys, when engaging in what we consider "locker room talk", would rave about a girl's tits or ass, but I almost never heard anyone talk about belly buttons.

Fortunately, I appreciate all parts of the body, so it was easy for me to go along with it and keep my belly button obsession a purely private matter. I eventually gained the understanding that society treats navels, and the abdomen in general, as a "semi-private" part of the body - it's not a "private part" in the way that the genitalia is, but there are certainly environments where it's discouraged to show it off. Even in those environments, though, some women would still show their bellies, and that carefree, "not giving a fuck" mentality has always made me instantly hard.

I do, of course, understand that women aren't necessarily showing skin with the intention to titillate. After all, women's tops are often made in such a way that some belly will inevitably be exposed when the wearer moves or stretches, so midriff exposure is a valid concern that each woman has to address on her own. When the bottom of the shirt rides up and shows off an inch of bare midriff, the woman may opt to pull her shirt down to cover her stomach again. It's a quick fix, but only a temporary one. A band-aid. The shirt will continue to ride up again and again, and continuously pulling it down will get old.

Many women eventually realize that in a casual environment, especially when among friends, there's no need to keep every little bit of skin covered up at all times. If it's a chill group of friends, they're probably also showing a bit of belly, especially if it's a hot summer day. I love seeing women strut around on scorching summer days, confidently showing off their bellies and resting their hands on their hips, just like Britney in her music video. They may or may not know that some guys are aroused by it, and to me, that makes the whole thing even hotter.

Then there's the cherry on top - the belly button piercing. I started seeing these on real-life acquaintances more often as I got older. They gradually stopped being something restricted to the world of models and celebrities, but they were still special. Unlike earlobe piercings, which can be done on a whim at a shopping center, a belly button piercing is a deliberate statement that requires some preparation beforehand. It is more expensive than an ear piercing, requires a more robust aftercare regimen, and is usually considered more painful. As it involves stepping into a shop dedicated to tattoos and body piercings, it really is a first (for many) step into a community that in reality is very adult in nature. Even though body modifications are much more normalized now than they were, say, before the 1990s, I think that the daredevil spirit surrounding them is something that will never fade completely.

As for the process of getting the piercing, it can be an intense one, and the pain is only a small part of it. It can be anxiety-inducing to lift your shirt and show your belly to a stranger who is very much not a doctor, and typically looks nothing like how one would envision a doctor. The piercing requires you to lay down on a table with your shirt rolled all the way up to your bra (if you're wearing one), and ultimately put yourself in a vulnerable position where the piercer is now in control. You feel a metal clamp squeeze the upper lip of your navel, and you are told to take deep breaths. After a few particularly long seconds of anticipation, the needle finally pokes through the flesh and you feel a very brief, but noticeable sting. You then relax as the piercer skillfully replaces the needle with a steel barbell and wipes away any blood that may have accumulated around the fresh piercing. And then you're done! Not completely done, since you do have to heal, but the first step is complete.

I find that getting this piercing is a way for women to step outside of their comfort zone. From what I've seen, many women will go get this piercing together as a way to bond and support each other. The process of the piercing itself involves anxiety and pain, but the reward at the end is that you have a new sparkly thing in your body.

I love seeing women who have the confidence to show it off, whether it's on a frequent basis or more selectively. I'm just as turned on by women who flaunt it like Britney as I am by those who do so in more subtle ways, like wearing a crop top with a pair of high-waisted shorts, only occasionally allowing the top of the piercing to sparkle through the top of her shorts. Maybe the intention of getting the piercing was to be cute and girly, but to me it will always be more than that - an expression of unashamed feminine boldness and sensuality that rules my sexual fantasies more than anything else in this world.

And there you have it. I could go on in more detail, but I feel that this is a decent enough introduction. In real life I feel pretty alone when it comes to this fetish, but perhaps on this site I will start feeling less alone.