Hey everybody! Just wanted to greet everyone since I'm new on here and also give a little background of my barefooting experiences so far. I haven't been barefooting for long. Maybe about 2 months now. I happened to be wandering around on the net (as I often do), and I found a forum about barefooting, and I got really interested in it. So of course I found barefooters.org and did some reading on it, and it made a lot of sense, so I decided to try it out. And I love it! But just in this short amount of time, I've already met opposition to my bare feet. I'm at college right now, and my fellow students would comment (and still comment, though not as much) about how I would get ringworm, tetanus, or cut my feet on glass. It started to get rather annoying after a while. And then finally, somebody asked me why I was going barefoot. So I said, "Cuz it feels good, and it's better for your feet." And then someone else in the room had the nerve to say, "It is not better for your feet." And I was like, "I'm not making this up." Needless to say, I was in a bad mood after that. They asked me a simple question, so I gave them a simple answer. They were not open to hear what I had to say at all. Anywho, besides that, something else happened. I have a job on campus as an usher for concerts (I pass out programs to people). Well, for a couple of concerts I went barefoot. People would make comments about my feet, nothing harsh. It was mostly older people saying things like "Lost your shoes?" in a joking manner. Well, one of my professors came up to me and asked, "Where are your shoes?" I pointed to where they were. And she said, "You need to put some shoes on...for the general public." Well, the only shoes I brought with me were flip flops. Once again...bad mood. I saw nothing wrong with my bare feet because there IS nothing wrong with going barefoot. And of course, a "cleverly" disguised e-mail was sent out to all workers about proper dress about a week later. It was obviously in response to my barefootedness because in the e-mail it said "APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES." in bold. I've decided, if being barefoot as an usher is such a huge problem for them, then I will not be ushering next semester. I will find a job where I will not be surrounded by the general public. I already have one in mind. It's been rather interesting. I actually got my boyfriend interested in barefooting! It's fun to have someone to go barefooting with, and he's gotten some comments too about broken glass and such. There really are a lot of myths surrounding bare feet (as you all have gathered, I'm sure). It's also interesting that the people who make these comments are students and not professors. You'd think it would be the other way around. Guess not. I also have a question. When you face opposition from store owners, what do you do? I want to print out the form about the health department regulation on bare feet before I go into a store barefoot just so I'll be prepared to show whoever says anything to me. Does it work?
Well, I don't have an answer to that question, but I got to admit your story sounds similar to mine, appart from the part of getting someone involved... Well, my parents allow me to barefoot indoors, but not outdoors, so I'm and sorta half in the barefoot closet. Yeah, People are really needlessly hostile towards barefooters and barefooting in general, and don't want to know if their beliefs on barefooting are myths. Frankly, screw 'em. If any shopkeepers refuse to let you enter a shop say to them that it is prejudice, as barefooting is a lifestyle choice (much like wearing the Wearing a hat or a cross hanging on a chain) and therefore you have the right to be barefoot. You could show them the form about the health department regulation on bare feet if you want
Wow, that's way more opposition than I've ever experienced in my college town going barefoot for 17 years. Where are you? Over here I go barefoot everywhere and into stores, etc. and nobody cares one bit. It's so sad how people are so misinformed and weirded out about going barefoot. It really is better for your feet- even doctors say so. And it feels good so that should be all the reason right there. It's like green eggs and ham or something- just because it's different it freaks people out. In my town, however, enough people and students go barefoot that nobody really notices anymore. It's considered part of normal everyday life.
Welcome to the forum Iscah! It never ceases to amaze me how people get all bent out of shape over something as simple, comfortable, natural and beautiful about feet! A skimpy pair of flip flops shows just as much foot as going barefooted! Sad too as Sweet Dream pointed out of all the misinformation that shoddies seem to hold on as fact. It just goes to show some folks just don't think things through. Enjoy your newly found interest, disregard those doom and gloomers, they simply are missing out on all the fun! Enjoy your barefeet and keep 'em bare!
Iscah - welcome to the forums! Don't let anyone else's negativity weigh too heavily on you. People will choose to believe what they want to about your choice to go barefoot. Every once in a while you can find an open-minded person who you can have a reasoned discussion with about it...but more often than not you'll be dealing with idealogues who simply think it's their place to have everyone conform to their own particular viewpoint. As far as the stores reading the health letter - I've tried that trick back when I was going barefoot everywhere, and my experience is that it only works on people who you wouldn't need the letter with anyway. If you enter a store and someone is convinced that store policy is "no bare feet", not even a letter from the President would get them to budge. That's not to say you should give up - I'm just saying be prepared to fold your letter and take your business elsewhere.
Thank you all for the greetings and the support. Heck no, I'm not gonna let peoples misguided attitudes towards barefooting get to me! Sweet_dream, I'm in central Illinois. Oh yeah, thanks everyone for the advice about the stores.
