Barefoot socierty

[bernardc]

Being from a medical background,I have seen many problems that actually arise from our tendency to always wear shoes and socks.I think we must start a society where we must propogate kids brought up as barefooters(and obviousely nude as well),but to the point.Kids need to grow up shoeless,and start living barefoot all their days in summer and wherever wheather permits it.People use all types of excuses,athletes foot...well,thats because youre always wearing shoes,your feet perspire and cause the ideal breeding ground for fungus...darkness,heat,food,and a ph- equalibrium of 6-7.
Why parents must always force their kids into wearing shoes drives me stupid.Why must kids wear shoes to school anyway,and whats so bad about living barefoot any way...?Kids love playing,and the less restricted,the better!Walking barefoot,and raising your kids barefoot is one of the healthiest things you can offer your child.
sneakers nearly always makes your feet stink and sweat....tight fitting shoes causes bunnions due to the unnatural presure applied to your foot bone structure.
Many people use the excuse that their feetare to soft and tender,well,after walking barefoot for at least two weeks,your feet already toughen up.Okay,some cannot go to work barefoot,but why should kids wear shoes to school when they play and have fun.I can understand if you work in a high risk zone,eg. construction buisiness,metal workshops,then shoes are safe,but why in non high risk places.
people also use the excuse of thorns and splinters and glass,well,you can look where you walk,cant you?
Worms and parrascites...not all that frequent,only if you live in areas where there is open faeces,corpses etc.Worms are mostly ingested.,and not all that often absorbed.
We should realy let our kids be kids....barefoot,like kids aught to be,and naked,naturally.Nothing is as cute as a barefoot kid!

[Boreas]

I was barefoot most summers growing up, and I still have foot problems. I went barefoot at home until recently. Some foot problems are due to heredity. Bunions are an example. They are mostly caused by poor biomechanics, and genetics. Footwear is only a small factor in many people.

[naturush]

Bernardc there's a barefooters website out there someplace, although i don't think it's been updated for years.
By the way i'm a barefooter and love it. My Kids never wear shoes unless They need to...drives my Wife mad! :)

[MoonShadow]

Love to be barefooted! Growing up we were always barefooted and had soles tough enough to run across rocks!

I am still barefooted most of the time but I also wear very comfortable shoes with good shoebeds. I avoid any shoes that do not allow for toes to wiggle freely and do not support the foot.

[jhawk]

My personal compromise are my Birkenstock sandles which provide great arch and foot support as well as protection.

[David77]

When I was a child, I was barefoot during the summer. I lived in the city. When crossing the street, the asphalt was very hot to walk on when crossing a street, so I hurried across the street. Many times the cement of the sidewalk was very hot, so I walked on the grass beside the sidewalk, as much as possible.

Now, summer or winter, the first thing I do when entering my house is to take off my shoes. I certainly welcome others who leave their shoes by the door when they enter my home. Much of my flooring is grey/white, so it stays clean much longer when everyone takes off their shoes. It is more sanitary too.

I understand that the Japanese leave their shoes beside the door before they enter a home. I wish that were the custom here.

[Boreas]

We tend to leave our shoes by the door in many parts of Canada. Heck, in this town, there are signs in public buildings, including the hospital, asking you to remove your shoes. I thought that was a little anal until I experienced my first winter and spring here......it is actually very sensible!

[Lord Drakkus]

When I was a child, I was barefoot during the summer. I lived in the city. When crossing the street, the asphalt was very hot to walk on when crossing a street, so I hurried across the street. Many times the cement of the sidewalk was very hot, so I walked on the grass beside the sidewalk, as much as possible.

I was much like you, except that I refused to walk on the grass. Where I grew up the temperature in the summer would frequently reach 110 degrees and I still wouldn't walk on the grass. I would sometimes walk 2 or 3 blocks barefoot, on the asphalt, and the only problem I had was a bit of redness. The pain would go away after about 30 steps.

I still do stuff like that on occasion. I like to test my physical limits on occasion just to see how far I can go before I break.

[Yuppers]

I was always barefoot as a child. In fact, I went about barefoot so much that the soles of my feet were tough. On hot summer days where the tar in the road was starting turn into liquid, I could walk on it without an ounce of pain, only to pull off the dried tar from my feet. Not that I could do that any more.

[David77]

On the TV program, This Old House, it shows that it is fashionable and sensible in the states up north to have what they call a "Mud Room" at the back entrance of their house, so that the children and adults can take off their shoes and over-shoes when coming in from the rain and snow.

This TV program never mentions what they do after they take their shoes off - go barefoot mostly? At least, I certainly think that they also take their soxs off for comfort, if their sox get wet.

[Nude_Eric]

Good topic Bernard,

My son and I are barefoot at home all the time. It just that living in the USA
one has to conform to societal norms when out in public. In California it is in the Education Code that all public school students wear close toed footwear.

Most stores and restaurants have posted signs requiring shirts and footwear.
Although a few months ago I spotted a youngish family of barefooters in a supermarket. Looked like older siblings 20ish and younger teen brothers.
I wanted to say right on to their bold unabashedness.

I got to wondering if there are coastal communities where one can frolic
barefoot without someone passing judgement. Where barefoot is an acceptable norm.

Around here people would look at you as a bum or white trash if you were walking in town barefoot.
;)

[eagle59]

I too, perfer to be barefoot as much as possible. I do not hesitate to walk outside in the summer on the hot concrete of the driveway when it is 112 outside. But lately I have had to start wearing some type of shoes because it is too painful to be barefooted. I guess because I have been on my feet for 12 hours a day in the restaurant for the last 26 years they are starting to just wear out. I still go barefoot as much as possible but I find it is more comfortable to wear sandles or good thongs for the support. Still, there is nothing like being barefoot in the grass...

[Boreas]

A lot of houses in this area will have a mud room, especially in the rural areas. This is a room where you can hang your coats and leave your footwear. It might also provide storage and washer and dryer. If we build a house, we will make sure it has one.

We leave our socks on when we remove our boots here. There is a dance step for avoiding puddles that most of have learned. :) Of course, puddles cannot always be avoided.....I got one with each foot on my way out of work yesterday. :o

[polutropon]

I'm a semi-part-time barefooter. I'll go barefoot at home or the beach, but prefer shoes everywhere else. During the summer, I'll wear sandals, but I prefer the style of sneakers.

One thing I have noticed is that women tend to go barefoot more often than men, regardless of other clothing preferences. In fact, in junior high we had a Spanish texbook that featured a picture of a guy in loafers without socks. A friend of mine pointed to him and said "Gay."

So, does society associate barefootedness with femininity, while guys are supposed to wear steel-toed boots or wing-tips 24/7?

[MoonShadow]

polutropon, to my knowledge being barefooted is not gender related and I have found nothing in readings to refer to such. I think it is just a preference of those who enjoy barefooting versus those who don't. Some people have very tender feet, others don't. I also think it has a lot to do with how you were raised.

I was raised going barefooted. My whole family did in the summers. I think this is where it begins.

[David77]

Nude_Eric states;

It's just that living in the USA one has to conform to societal norms when out in public.

An otherwise "well dressed" man, who had big feet and barefoot, met me at the door of the Essex Unitarian Church in London, when I was in London in October 2003. I do not know in what capacity he served, but he obviously knew eveybody and was in good relationship with them, and participated in the planning.

He was the only one whom I have ever seen go barefoot in church. I also searched all 72 photos in the photo gallery on their church website, but, to my disappointment, all these persons wore shoes.

I very much wanted to ask this barefoot person why he went barefoot. Was he a frustrated naturist/nudist? Everyone else took his barefooted-ness in stride. Since I was a visitor and did not know this man, I thought that it was too personal of a question to ask him "Why". I did not think to compliment him on his unusually big bare feet. However, even that may not have gone over well with him.

If anyone (Pete Knight, maybe) feels that they have the courage to ask this question, they may call the church at 020-72216515, located at 112 Palace Gardens Terrace, WB 4 RT, London.

http://www.kensington-unitarians.org.uk/index.html

[walter05]

When I was a teen, I bagged groceries in a super market.

There is constantly broken glass in a store such as that. I remember one boy who slashed his foot on some glass from a Ragu jar.

There are places where it is dangerous to be bare foot. Stores with glass are included.

Businesses are afraid of the liability if someone gets cut when the feet are bare.

[David77]

When I was a teen, I bagged groceries in a super market.

There is constantly broken glass in a store such as that. I remember one boy who slashed his foot on some glass from a Ragu jar.

There are places where it is dangerous to be bare foot. Stores with glass are included.

Businesses are afraid of the liability if someone gets cut when the feet are bare.

Many businesses have a sign at their entrance stating the following;

NO SHOES
NO SHIRT
NO SERVICE

However, they never include the following;
NO PANTS
NO SERVICE

Sooooo -----------------

[David77]

One woman I know to be truthful, states that when she sits in the church pew, she slips off her shoes for comfort. She states that once in awhile she must search under the pew to find her shoes, so that she can wear two shoes home.

[bernardc]

I am astonished at the anti barefoot notices i often her of in the USA like the store that states,no shirt,no shoes,no service.Thats silly.They usually quote the ministry of health,and in 99% of cases,the law in America as a whole do not discriminate against barefooting.You should study the law in that town,and for definate,youl find no law against barefooting.
In Our church,and I mean the denomination,people are still frowned upon when people come to or attend church barefoot.But I and my son stood up against the establishment of the church a few years ago , and started attending church,even till this very day,barefooted.Wirthin a year,even less,the very conservative dress code dropped,and almost half the kids attend church barefoot,and almost all the kids attend childrens church barefoot.I am a Sunday school teacher,and present my class barefoot as well.A few of the students in my class now attend it barefoot as well.
What the issue is with being barefoot in many cases,I do not understand,but I will be a barefooter till my dying day,and I darn well will make sure my son stays a barefooter as well.

[polutropon]

moonshadow, I was not referring so much to the barefooters as I was to society at large. For instance, if you go to a mall during anytime that it is not winter and people-watch from head to toe, you will see that more women tend to wear sandals than men. My observations may be due to the fact that they are made in Michigan which has traditionally been more blue collar, i.e., guys have jobs where protective footwear is required.

[Navigator]

IIn fact, in junior high we had a Spanish texbook that featured a picture of a guy in loafers without socks. A friend of mine pointed to him and said "Gay."


My favorite sport is sailing.

There's a very old joke is the sailing world that says that East Coast yacht clubs won't let you in if you're wearing boat shoes with NO socks....and West Coast yacht clubs won't let you in if you're wearing boat shoes WITH socks.
:D:D:D

[riptidenj]

I have known several barefooters who have bad experiences from stepping on glass, nails, bits of metal, etc. On those ocaasions when I have visited Gunnison I have always found the sand too hot for me. Sockless in the Summer is one thing. Just my $.02.

[tiger79]

I love being barefoot on holiday - even when the sand is burning! My record is probably 2 weeks barefoot at Caliente Caribe. I tend to be barefoot at home in the garden in summer too, but that's for much shorter times.

[jandatxnude]

Bernard, first let me apologize for missing this thread for so long. It's a great topic, and I'm always fascinated by the responses.

Like you, I'm a barefooter. I go barefoot as much as possible, just about everywhere. Actually I didn't go barefoot much as a kid, except for around the house, but not even much in the yard or neighborhood, and certainly not out in public. My mother was very "image concious" and I think associated being barefoot with a position of less status than she felt we'd achieved. I was always envious of the other barefoot kids running around in the neighborhood. As I got a bit older, I started to become a bit more independent and would go barefoot more at least around the neighborhood. It really wasn't until I was able to get away from the house on my own that I was able to expand my barefooting. First it was on my trusty Schwinn 10-speed bike. Yes, even with the spikey metal pedals. Then my first car, which I drove barefoot all the time. I had a great summer job of lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons, so I really was barefoot all summer long.

I wasn't into sandals much until college. Before that it was either sneakers, or barefoot. My university was pretty conservative, so going barefoot to class was a rare thing, but just about everybody wore flip flops most of the time. At least you could kick those off at your desk.
Once out in the "real world" I had to conform to business attire, which varied from somewhat casual to formal. It wasn't until I was well established in my profession and had my own company that I was able to adopt a more casual dress code, which often included just going barefoot. Now, I do most of my work at home, so needless to say, I'm not only barefoot but nude for a vast majority of every day. Our church is pretty casual, and often in the summer I'll walk in barefoot with my flip flops in hand (drives my wife crazy), and wear them later.

I go barefoot to stores, post offices, banks, restaurants, airports, just about everywhere. When I need shoes, my thin leather thongs/flip flops are my first choice. Since there no laws or codes against it, I'm not doing anything wrong. I've actually changed a few restaurant manager's minds on the topic.

I vowed not to make the same mistake with our kids that my parents made with me. We allowed them to go barefoot whenever and wherever they wanted. Sure there were places like school and such that weren't an option, but flip flops were the rule there. Of course, since I was barefoot so much, they simply followed my lead. It was very common in the summer months to see the four of us walk into the local pizza place or burger joint, all barefoot. Occasionally we'd see other kids in there barefoot, but it was rare to see other adults barefoot. Naturally we didn't stop there with the freedom we gave our kids. We also allowed them to wear whatever they liked, which included wearing nothing at all. They loved getting to go nude while they were growing up. Our son was really passionate about it, and would often see how many days in a row he could go nude during summer break. If memory serves, it was well over a week, at least.

Finally, the whole "broken glass thing", I just have to laugh every time that comes up. My wife brought it up once when we were walking into a store. I looked at her and asked, "Remind me again when that whole Glass Storm happend". She got it and laughed. Sure accidents happen, but any store employee who insists on using that excuse is simply telling me that they do a really bad job of keeping their store clean. I'm not blind. I watch where I'm going. If something does cut me, I always assume the responsibility since I was the one who CHOSE to come into the store barefoot.

Great to see how many others enjoy going barefoot. Keep it up, and keep 'em BARE!

Barefoot-n-Nude in Texas!

[industry7]

When I was a kid, I used to go barefoot as much as possible. Even with the threat of stinging insects and plants, shoes just didn't seem needed. They were a convenience in a sense, you didn't have to pay as much attention to what you were doing, but not a necessity.

Also, my feet often become intolerably hot while I'm at work, so I usually take my shoes off and will sometimes walk around the office in my socks.