RIGHT, DAVE!
Just thought I'd add my take on the issue now. I've seen my fetish as something horrible too, something that must never be discovered by others, least of all my parents. This has been some time ago, but I vividly remember the horror og those days. It went so far that I even considered offing myself once when I thought my mother had found me out. As it turned out, she hadn't, but the deeply rooted terror of that weeks sleepless nights is still fresh in my mind.
Since, I've loosened up. I've started to talk to people about my little kink. The eye-opener was my second girlfriend, who I'd known since Kindergarten and with whom, through some very weird circumstances, I had fallen in love out of the blue. She'd been the first girl I've had foot/tickling experiences with when we were younger - kinda like playing doctor. Well, that made it easier for me to come out with it. Still took me a long time, though. I was sweating bullets, cold sweat, and beat around the bush a lot during that first night we spent together as adults. She was very understanding and helped me through the 'coming-out' progress. After that, it got easier. The next confession I made was to a good friend, who had been curious about my hints at the secret, dark spot in my soul. She was a lesbian and a trusted friend, and since it was clear that there was no sexual interest between us, it made it easier for me to tell her what went on in my mind. The fact that I had been one of the first she had told about her preference for girls also helped establish trust between us. By now it was still hard to open up for me, but it wasn't that painful anymore.
Next came my third girlfriend. Telling her wasn't hard at all. By this time, I had also realized that it wasn't as horrible a fetish as I'd always thought. And she was kinky enough to not only tolerate my preferences, but to dive right in and help me act out my fantasies for real the first time in my life. I was in heaven. Unfortunately, it didn'T work out with her, but on the bright side I hooked up with another girl right after we went our seperate ways. This time, there was no waiting time. I told this girl right along what I was about, and she, too, didn't run away screaming. After this, I was open to everyone who asked me, because - Well. If it would be a disgusting, horrible thing to be turned on by, there was no way I could have had all those relationships.
My point? I see it this way. If someone asks me what I'm into, it's a decision if the person needs to know. If he/she does, because it would become an issue between us (i.e., there's mutual interest in intimacy), I speak up right away. Living a lie takes too much away from the enjoyment. If the person in question is merely interested, I decide if I trust them to understand. I have misjudged someone once, not that long ago. It led to an ugly scene of fingers pointing at me and whispering behind my back, while news of my kink spread through the cirles. I almost fell back into the old ways, hardly daring to leave my apartment anymore, but then I thought - Screw it. If people want to talk behind my back and make an issue of it, let them. It's part of what I am. I have had, and still have, great relationships with wonderful people. If anyone finds out about my sexual background and chooses to try and use it against me - Fuck them. I know enough people by now that don't care what I do at night. What I like in bed doesn't concern anyone but my sexual partners anyway.
Remember - it really is 'only' tickling. It's not that bad a fetish to have. It's sensual, exciting, arousing. It's cool for foreplay, it's fun to play with, it allows for lots of laughs. It won't make you a monster. People won't hate you for it. Some may look down at you, but ask yourself this: Do you care about that? If you do: Should you? Are they really worth worrying about? Also, keep in mind that the most vocal people when it comes to dissing fetishists probably have a strap-on dildo in their closet and have their wives put the smack-down on them from behind.
I hope this account of my little coming-out helps somehow. Just remember - Coming out of the closet is hard, but it's definitely worth it. You'll have much more fun. And who knows... Maybe that special someone approaches you one day, mumbling, "I've heard you are into... you know... well, I'd really like to... you know..." 😉
The world can be a great place to live. Don't spoil it for yourself by making it darker than it already is.
