Barefoot in the hippie days

My stepmother shows me old pictures of her and she went barefoot everywhere
in the 60's and 70's.I do now,but what she tells me is EVERYBODY used to go barefoot before.I think itd be cool if it were like that now.If everyone where like me.It seems even ten years ago shoes weren't such an issue as now.I know this
isn't a 'political topic' but why is society so uptight now?Did all the hippies really
go barefoot so much?It justseems a barefoot society is a more accepting society.

 

Sweetheart, I've been going barefoot for more than 40 years (except when I'm doing chores out in the barn). Don't intend to be any other way anytime soon.

 

Back in th' day I never wore shoes,or sneakers.I used to walk everywhere barefoot,even running down gravel roads.

 

Being and island gurl I go barefoot anyways. Recently a local restaurant burnt down. It had been here for ages. Anyways, they were the home of the "Barefoot Waitresses". There were photos hanging on the walls of all the waitresses barefoot as they could be. Wish things were still like that.

 

The barefoot were a minority even amongst the hippies of the '60s and '70s. But a healthy minority whose barefoot spirit permeated the entire hippie culture and could touched even the mainstream in a subtle natural way.

 

My feet are a lot more tender than they used to be. I can't run on gravel any more. In the 60's and 70's the only time I ever wore shoes was when I was going some place that required them or in the winter. I haven't owned a pair of shoes now for at least 15 years. When it gets cold I put heavy socks on. When the snow is on the streets and sidewalks I wear boots. As soon as everything is plowed, it's back to the sandles. I hate shoes.

Kathi

 

I stayed in my barefeet during the 70's if the weather permitted. Went to my first concert barefooted, use to go downtown shopping barefooted and got a few cuts in between. I still have callouses on my feet that I've never gotten rid of. Seemed like so much freedom feeling the earth under your feet...

 

Yep, I did a lot of barefooting back in the day too. But like Dakotasmom, my feet are a lot more tender these days, plus I have plantar fascitis (an inflammation of the plantar fascia on the bottoms of the feet) that can make going barefoot quite painful. So, I do the Birkenstock thing most of the time...I vastly prefer sandals over full shoes, and wear my Birks almost all of the time, year round, with socks in the winter (I do wear boots or full shoes when it is snowy!)

 

well, I'm barefoot right now! I've spent a good part of my life barefoot and pregnant!

Like, many of you, I find my feet are more sensitive now then they were when I was younger, but my feet get closterphobic in shoes. I do wear boots in the winter and most of the time in the barn, but the rest of the time it is sandals or barefeet.

From a reflexology point of view, it is healthier to go barefoot, as the pressure points on the feet are massaged regularly and naturally and this keeps all the organs of the body healthier!

As a side note, both my daughter and daughter in law were both barefoot brides!

 

I grew up in an eastern seaboard inner city. Walking barefoot was equated with a sign of mental illness.
Of course when we left the inner city for the mountains, that was another story.
I, however, have always been sensitive to allergens and in the summers would always have some form of footwear on (even if it were thongs).
To get back to your question, though, I say that we wear footwear as a combination of (a) a statement and (b) the general protection that is needed. Besides the overall bacteria and slime that is ever present on the earth's surface, we also run the risk of stepping on some heavy and sharp objects. This is especially dangerous when you think about how much body weight is pumped down on those feet!

 

I'll go barefoot around my nieghbourhood,but I wish I wasn't so concerned
of what people thought beceause Id love to go downtown without
shoes,a few of my friends do.Downtown,I have taken off my shoes a few times and carried them.
That's the thing,my sisters friend, very fashionable,etc,I remember she'd go
barefoot to the store or something wearing a summer 'fashionable' pant
suit,and this was like the late 1980's.Even then such a thing wasn't considered 'insane' like it is now.She definately wasn't a hippie,more 'party girl'.
I guess society really has headed more and more right wing conservative..

 

i don't wear shoes that cover my feet ever. if i am not barefoot i wear my lil mexican sandal things, wore em all winter, even in the snow a few days. i used to wear shoes to shows but after i went to see Phil Lesh barefoot a few years ago i quit, maybe some sandals for walking around but nothing is better to me than to dance around in the grass or mud barefoot...........................................................
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That's what I wanna do.I wanna start wearing barefoot sandals for
when I go downtown or shopping.When you wanna be barefoot but
you're not supposed to be 'seen' that way. Around my nieghbourhood
I don't care if I ever wearshoes though.

 

The thrill of aging.....my feet don't like going barefoot as much now....nerves in my feet have gone a bit crazy and after one surgery, decided I won't have any more cutting on my body to remove the offending things unless I can't walk. So I have to wear sandals or tennies with support. I miss my mexican sandals with the loop for the big toe to keep them on....wear them for short walking distances now. If i put extra pads in my moccasins I can wear them longer.


I used to have one of those dress up, professional jobs and wore heels (well kinda....I am 6 feet tall, so they weren't 5" high)...I don't even try walking in them now!!!

In '70 we were in New Orleans french quarter and were not allowed to go into a restaurant cause we didn't have shoes so we did a picnic in the park and just hung out with all the wonderful other barefooters!!

so all of you that are shoeless and proud..I salute you!!!!

 

I never wore shoes unless absolutly necessary until lately. Still going barefoot after all these years most of the time. Now I am old and have diabetes and almost lost a toe last year because I was (of course) barefoot in the back yard and got a cut. Now I am a bit more careful, being toeless or footless is probably worse than being shoeless. My old faithful birkenstocks protect enough, and those japanese sandals with all the bumps inside are pretty good too. Give me a good patch of grass (any kind, wink wink) though, and off come the shoes.

"What a drag it is getting old"

 

I spent most of my youth sans shoes, and never cared for fashion...my shoes now are a horror to my mother. I own exactly four pair, as my feet are also much more sensitive the last decade or so; one pair of sneakers, one pair of clunky hiking boots, one pair of thongs, and one pair of knee high moccasins, which are my favorite pair.

 

i walk barefeet most of the time. exept when I'm at school...
I've been brought up like that man,my mom never showed us otherwise so...
some people find it funny,some stupid and some say it's for crazy people but NO man!we just like to feel!!!
that's it man!
it's all 'bout feeling FREE man!FEEL FREE!

peace!

 

not to digress, but somehow it's fitting that as i write this i am watching a PBS special with peter paul and mary . richie havens is singing "the great mandala"...wow!

i grew up in nyc and went barefoot everywhere. considering that there were no pooper scoopers or "picking up after your dog" laws at the time, i guess i would have been considered brave or crazy... but every kid in the village was barefoot once the weather was remotely springlike. god i miss those days.

deezee

 

I use to go barefoot often, back in the day. Still like to, but must admit, over the years going barefoot nearly wrecked my feet. I developed stubborn callouses which eventually hurt and took years and years to get rid of. Tho I use to walk alot on sidewalks and cement. I suppose it depends on where you walk, like in parks or on grass. But I did it all. These days, I wear open sandals or clogs, etc. Shoes aren't a bad thing. They protect your feet. If walking in the woods, they help keep ya from stepping on a thorn or drawing blood, and on sidewalks that's all ready been explained. They have their purpose and place. But I prefer to walk barefoot on grass whenever I can, and I never wear shoes in the house! I think I own two pairs of shoes. When I see all the fuss on tv over women wanting countless pairs of shoes, tho I dont judge cuz it could be fun, but I have more important things to spend my money on.

Namaste,
Lotus

 

I agree, shoes aren't that bad, but I love free feet! When I have to wear shoes I wear ones that are easy to take off (like birks and clogs) and I take advantage of every opportunety I get! I like to have access to my feet at all times!