If you hear the word “kink”, what’s the very first thing that involves mind? For a lot of, it’ll be the things which are represented within the mainstream most frequently: bondage, feet, roleplay. For others, it is perhaps your individual personal kink, perhaps that’s tights, tickling or trampling? But for some people, the very first thing that springs to mind shall be armpits. We see them all over the place: on billboards, in magazines, on the gym, you’ve probably even had your face stuffed in a single on public transport, but while many wouldn’t give armpits a second thought, for individuals who experience maschalagnia (armpit partialism), it could actually be essentially the most erotic a part of the human body.

In 2013, a research study found that pheromones in sweat, and specifically underarm sweat, is shown to enhance mood in women and queer men when it’s smelled or licked. The particular pheromone, Androstadienone, doesn’t actively change behaviour, but it surely does have an effect on attention. For that reason, it’s commonly present in male fragrances, alleged as a tool to extend sexual attraction.

But smelling or licking underarms isn’t the extent of sexual intercourse that involves armpits. Axillism, the act of using the armpit to succeed in climax, is the top of sexual interaction for an armpit partialist. There are different preferences that include axillism, similar to the length of the armpit hair, using lubrication and whether the armpits are freshly cleaned or unwashed. With the rise of OnlyFans and NSFW Twitter, more area of interest sexually explicit content is accessible than ever before, satisfying the needs of all kinks, no matter how leftfield these could also be.

Ace Squalor is a JustForFans content creator whose work particularly focuses on pits and sweat. He first realised his own armpit partialism as a young person, and would use Tumblr as a sexual outlet for his quirks, but following the ban on explicit content on the location he was inspired to create his own armpit-centric content. He’s since amassed a 35k burgeoning fan following on Twitter. “For some time, I used to be only eager about sharing content and meeting others who shared my passion for armpits. Recently I’ve realised I have been missing a chance financially. I just began a JustForFans page, so I’m still working on growing that. But I even have made an honest amount selling worn clothing,” says Squalor. “Armpit partialism is a distinct segment market with little or no on the market that highly focuses on it, so I believe quite a lot of people on the market can be willing to pay for quality pit content.”

Beyond the financial advantages, Squalor is grateful for the connections that he’s made with other fellow armpit partialists via his content. “I’m an exhibitionist, so I like sharing my content, but through putting it on the market, I even have made connections with men everywhere in the world who share my passion for armpits. I’ve formed close friendships.”

Partialisms like maschalagnia should not unusual, but society’s general gagging of kinks implies that we don’t often hear about them. Silence breeds silence. Clinical psychologist Dr Christopher McCormack, who specialises in sexual health and anxiety, believes that the taboo surrounding kinks is potentially problematic, because it results in us having “very narrow and perspective ideas of what sex is and what it should appear to be”. He also believes there’s a toxic shame attached to kinks that may leave many viewing themselves as ‘perverts’ or psychologically damaged. With regards to armpit partialism specifically, he acknowledges that the shortage of information on the subject could also be linked to the secrecy around sex, which suggests it’s hard to pinpoint where partialisms like maschalagnia might stem from.

“If we take into consideration armpits specifically, there is sort of quite a bit to be aroused by! Beyond our natural body smell being a strong player in sexual attraction and our armpit sweat being laden with pheromones, armpits may be related to intense sensory stimulation,” he says. “For instance, tactilely it could actually feel distinct from other parts of the body – the skin may be delicate and soft, which may play into arousal. It’s also related to tickling and even discomfort, which may result in a flirtatious playfulness. Armpits are also an element of the body that we don’t get to see quite a lot of – there’s a novelty and intrigue.”

With regards to his own work on the subject material, it’s necessary to Dr McCormack that he identifies whether or not a kink negatively impacts the lifetime of the person, saying that he would seek to be non-pathologising and take a sex-positive approach. “I might encourage the person to actively explore and embrace the partialism, in the event that they felt able. My view is that if the exploration of the partialism involves consenting adults then it must be embraced and celebrated. It might probably be a source of immense sexual energy and be something exciting to explore with partner(s). In my experience, the distress related to having a partialism is usually a direct consequence of stigma and shame. If we drop the shame related to our sexual preferences and learn to explore these in a non-judgemental and compassionate way, then it’s difficult to argue how having a partialism is an issue.”

The celebration of kinks doesn’t appear to be too far into the long run, especially with the likes of Phil Miner championing kink acceptance. He’s the founding father of Pheromone, a Latest York-based club night specifically targeted towards armpit lovers. He began the monthly party in 2021 after acknowledging his own passion for pits. “At any time when I discovered a picture or video of men sniffing or licking one another’s armpits, I’d make sure you bookmark it,” he says. “I came upon through Instagram that there was an identical party in San Francisco called Stank. It looked incredibly fun and I used to be insanely jealous, so I made a decision to try to start something similar in Latest York.”

The night draws a various crowd, attracting a combination of ages, body types, races and gay archetypes, with people travelling from everywhere in the States to experience the night. “It’s a very friendly, social event. Unlike many other fetishes, persons are open to letting strangers sniff their armpits even in the event that they aren’t sexually interested in one another. There is certainly a ‘sniff hello’ culture,” Miner explains. “We’re taught that our body odour is shameful and have to be covered. Because of this, we’re socialised to imagine that having fun with someone’s natural smell is taboo. The shame regarding our personal smell runs so deep that many don’t mention it to their sexual partners for fear of rejection. Because of this, my events feel incredibly indulgent. We get to spend a night revelling in the way in which humans actually smell.”

Events like Pheromone are helping to provide those with kinks a protected space to have a good time without fear of prejudice. Sex-positive parties generally are on the rise, with events like Torture Garden in London and Sex Club in Leeds attracting big crowds. Squalor already can’t wait for the kink revolution, so he can fully embrace his love of his armpits. He rounds off by describing his ideal pits. “I like quite a lot of different pits, each when it comes to scent and look. The one common denominator is that those pits are hairy. The hairier, the higher. I often imagine dark hair once I fantasise about pits, but the most effective pit sessions I ever had was with a person with extremely bushy blond pit hair,” he says. “The riper those pits are, the more aroused and excited I develop into.”