A crush fetish is a fetish and a paraphilia in which one is sexually aroused when someone crushes objects, food, and sometimes small animals (frequently insects) with their body, usually under their foot, or when crushed oneself. The term soft crush refers to the more common fetish surrounding videos involving inanimate objects (such as food) or small invertebrates (e.g. insects, snails, worms, arachnids) being crushed, while the term hard crush refers to such videos involving larger animals with vertebrae, and arguably more pain-susceptible animals (e.g. reptiles, birds, mammals). The preference could be barefoot, high-heels, flip flops, socks, sandals and so on, depending on the fetishist. Most soft crush fetishists prefer to distinguish themselves from hard crush fetishists, believing that crush films with larger animals give the entire group a bad label.
There are currently no known laws forbidding the crushing of objects and insects, but the production or trade of crush erotica involving live vertebrates is condemned by animal rights activists and is illegal in many countries, including the United States and Great Britain. In the United States, interstate commerce in [hard] crush videos has been illegal since 2010, and many other countries also have banned them.
Crush films are videos of insects and objects being crushed by being stepped on.
Jeff Vilencia is one known director of crush films, such as Smush! Vilencia, along with many other fetishists, has loved to see invertebrates crushed since a young age; he claims that when he was 2–3 years old, he repeatedly attempted to get people to step on him.
The legality of crush films and the actual practice of crushing varies by region; however, many have been posted on web sites and are available for download via the Internet, making the control of their distribution difficult.
The production or trade of crush erotica involving vertebrates is condemned by opponents of animal cruelty and is illegal in many countries including the United States.