Crurophilia is a term for a leg fetish. The term gets its name from the Latin "crura," which means "legs." People with crurophilia, known as crurophiles, become erotically fixated on the legs of people they find attractive. This fixation may include the whole leg, or focus on specific parts such as the knees, thighs or calves. They may also be drawn to specific items of clothing for this part of the body, such as nylons, leggings, thigh-high boots or short shorts.
Although crurophilia is often attributed to cis-men, a 2008 study found that both cis-men and cis-women found longer legs to be more attractive in the opposite sex. Although no research data around crurophilia could be located, most people would agree that an attraction to legs is not uncommon, particularly among straight men. Some believe in may stem from prohibitions that have prevented women from showing their legs in public. These were once common in the United States, and are still the norm in other countries. Others believe that the ubiquity of legs and thighs in advertising as a form of sexual signaling conditions people to see them in a more sexualized way.
