What is the big deal about being barefoot?

Not to be offensive but i dont exactly understand what it is that everyone likes so m,uch about being barefoot. Ive always worn combat boots because i like how they look and am uncomfortable in sandles and dislike how they look. Not to be offensive or anything but why is it such a big deal outside of being a little bit more comfortable?

 

For me, I'm a lot more comfortable without shoes of any kind. I also like to feel what I'm walking on. There are countless sensations in this world that can only be experienced barefooted. Most people, yourself included, will never know this. Also, by not wearing shoes, I'm not subjecting my feet to the harsh elements found inside shoes. If you were to look at the inside of your combat boots under a microscope, you would never wear them again.

Try wearing gloves for a day and see how you like it. That's how barefooters feel about shoes.

 

Thats such a great way of putting it!

 

We barefooters are not too concerned about how things *look,* we care more about how things *feel*

And it feels great. No squeezing, suffocating shoes full of bacteria and fungus, too hot and damp. Instead, we have cool, dry feet able to spread out like they should, and we get to feel what we're walking on.

There's also that hippie-peace aspect to it. For me, wearing a combat boot would be a very agressive action (they are COMBAT boots...). Going barefoot is a kinder, gentler way to walk

 

Very well put, TrippinBTM. I completely agree with you and Au Naturel as well with his comments.

I guess combat boots would be the absolute worst footwear anybody could wear, mainly due to the damage they can do to the feet. And you are right about barefooting being a kinder, gentler way to walk, and this is especially true when related to the environment. It does the least damage to what you are walking on. However, don't ever get the idea that being barefoot is necessarily some indication of passivism. Martial arts experts can use the bare feet as deadly weapons when necessary, and certainly much more proficiently than someone wearing heavy, cumbersome boots.

 

Its ironic really, when I'm not wearing sandles or no shoes, I wear my big boots.. I've had them since I was like 14 though but I love them.

And yeah, I think I just feel more comfortable without shoes.. Not only physically, but I feel more at ease in social situations I guess. And then being outside, feeling nature under your bare feet. See there's plenty of reasons.

 

There is a huge difference between sandals and barefoot.
I can only say, go try it yourself and maybe you will find out.
For us it is no big deal to walk about barefoot where we can,it is the shodded people who make a big deal out of it.

 

So....what is the big deal about being barefoot..........

At the risk of appearing a little inflammatory, I've always wondered that whenever I've had to feild another dorky question about it

(Well, let's see....there is that beloved pet with the shoe fetish *points to screen name*..... )

But all kidding aside, as long as no one is being victimized in any way, shape, or form by it, then no explanation is necessary...it's just something I do!

 

It just FEELS good.

If you haven't ever tried it, you wouldn't even be able to fathom the feeling.

 

Especially when walking on rocks...People complain about it being ouchie but I find it soothing...Try it some time.

 

what are shoes?

 

I think they're the projectiles my great grandma used to throw at her kids.

 

You make a real good point. And it's kind of like what I've said before as well. We go barefoot because it's our personal preference. That's all anybody ever needs to know. There's no reason to ever have to explain it or give some kind of "reason" or "excuse" for doing it. If somebody thinks it is some kind of "big deal," that's their problem, not ours.

 

i think wearing no shoes is great bein able to feel lik grasss and sand on your feet it feels nice the only time i dont like it is that i live in texas and it gets realllllly hot during the summer and the concrete burns my feet so i just wear sandles also when u have to go inside somewhere they telll u , u have to but other wise ill wear no shoes at all cuz its just a feelin of bein free and feeling the great earth under my feet

 

oooh yes!! i remember now! it was what those mean ladies would use to beat their children with in the local kmart.. shoes = beating stick

 

Well-said.

This also sums it up nicely. I can't stand any kind of discrimination based on appearance; it doesn't matter whether it's anything based on one of the big, obvious things like race, sex or a disability, or whether it's 'only' a choice of dress, haircut/color or piercings. I don't object to rules for protective footwear & hardhats in construction areas, but when a store arbitrarily decides to ban bare feet citing non-existing health laws, or claiming safety concerns while they would allow 6-inch heels, that just isn't right. I'm equally opposed to people being banned for other non-conformities that aren't causing any actual harm, like tattoo's, piercings, a green mohawk, etc, but of course that doesn't come up as often here (only as a comparison like this) since this is the 'bare it' forum and I generally try to stay on topic. Going barefoot is only a big deal when others make it so, just like sporting that green mohawk would be.

 

people like it because it's what they think a hippie ought to do...and it feels natural. Don't they ever get sore?

 

Don't WHAT ever get sore? If you talking about our feet, I can say that walking barefoot, especially on uneven surfaces, is like having a foot massage. Sure beats the cramped feeling of ill fitting shoes and the pressure points they cause.

 

I'm not a hippie and I walk barefoot...I think it feels fantastic! IF your feet have been cramped up in shoes during the winter and got soft, they are a bit tender at first...

 

I cannot speak for everyone here, but I think that one of the reasons is because it is a new way to experiance the world. You walk in shoes and what do you feel all day? The same thing: Your shoes! Nothing changes except that cramped feeling at the end of the day. I used to wear shoes all the time, and then I gave them up. I haven't worn closed toed shoes at all for any length of time for any reason for about 2 months or more. Before that, it only wore them to work when I had to, and they were VERY VERY comfortable (for shoes) and came off at the end of a 5 or 6 hour shift. But I used to wear Chuck Taylors all the time, and last time I tried to put them on, my toes were instantly screaming to get out.

To sum it up, I go barefoot for a few reasons: 1.) it is simply comfortable 2.) I love feeling the world through my feet 3.) I actually find people's reactions quite humerous 4.) I love to commune with Mother Earth this way 5.) It always puts me into an automatic ecstatic good mood. I feel more sociable, and just completely cheery all the time, even when I step on really sharp objects.

And it depends on how long and often you go barefoot if it makes your feet sore. I walked about 5 miles on a really rough road (like that tar and gravel type stuff, not asphault or anything like that) after little barefooting experiance, and yeah they were a little sore. But the more you do it, your feet get callused and don't get sore, but become more sensitive to the sensations.