A blog for those who enjoy going barefoot and living the barefoot lifestyle. Read about the joys of barefooting and why it's fun, cool, and healthy. Includes personal stories about going barefoot in public places such malls, stores, restaurants, school/college, and workplace.
by Tania WL One day my little sister Sharleen (when she was in 4th grade) went on a field trip to a forest reserve here on the island. It was really beautiful, and the weather was perfect. It was a little cool and sort of misty up in the mountains. Sharleen really loves nature, so while her friends were taking a break and playing games, she decided to take a walk along the creek and see what interesting things she could find. She felt her feet were getting hot and sweaty, so she sat down, untied her shoes, and took 'em off. Since she wasn't wearing socks, she was immediately barefoot. Aahh...it felt fantastic! That was actually against the rule since she was at a school function and wearing her uniform, but she didn't give a fuck. Her feet had to be free in such a wonderful place! She figured if she got caught, she would just apologize. No big thing. She didn't want to carry her shoes around either, so she just left them on the ground. She would put them back on ...
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Going barefoot - the basics
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by Jonathan Y
Going barefoot is fun and healthy
Going barefoot, even in public, is not against the law. You probably know that already; but did you know that it's also conducive to a healthier and happier life? Read on to find out how.
Bare your feet and live life to the fullest!
Here are some of the most common concerns people have about going barefoot.
Health concerns
Afraid to get your feet dirty? Of course, your feet are gonna get dirty if you walk barefoot outside your house but that's part of the fun. Believe it or not, quite a few barefooters (myself included) think it's fun and cool to have dirty feet. And if you don't like it you can always wash them as often as you like throughout the day which is no big deal.
Now compare that to wearing shoes all day long. If your feet sweat, at the end of the day you (and whoever else is near you) probably won't be able to stand the smell. Yuck! And how often do you actually wash your shoes? Not very often I bet, 'cos you would ruin them. So the inside of your $h0*s (yes, it's a dirty word to us barefooters :p) becomes a culture medium for all sorts of bacteria and fungi (germs) which love warm, moist, and dark places! So do you now see why going barefoot is actually healthier?
What about "athlete's foot?" Some say you get it by walking barefoot in locker rooms. Well, what happens is most people put on their $h0*s before leaving the locker room. So whatever fungus your bare soles picked up will thrive inside your $h0es and cause problems. But if you were to remain barefoot the fungus won't last long in dry air.
Another concern I keep hearing is that you can get parasitic (e.g. worm) infection by walking barefoot outdoors. This mostly happens in under-developed countries where parasites abound and sanitation is very poor, and you walk around barefoot on soil contaminated with human feces. I know, gross! So if you live in a modern developed country this shouldn't be a concern.
While we're on the subject of health, I should also mention that most, if not all, of the foot problems caused by wearing shoes such as calluses, hammer toes, bunions, and other foot deformities can be prevented and alleviated by going barefoot. In addition, some people who have flat feet have noticed improvements after they go barefoot for a while.
Yet another health benefit of going barefoot is grounding or earthing. It's a relatively new discovery that connecting to the earth's natural energy by going barefoot (or some other methods) can help you live a healthy and balanced life. We won't go into details about it here, you can Google it if you're interested. But the bottom line is, going barefoot is healthy!
OK, moving on... Stepping on sharp objects. I have to admit this is a tough one. Everything carries a risk but many people are willing to take risks for the fun and thrill of doing certain things like bungee jumping, sky diving, mountain climbing, or car racing. The risk of dying or getting seriously hurt from stepping on sharp objects while walking barefoot is much, much less than that of the aforementioned activities.
First of all, after going barefoot on a regular basis for a while, your feet become tough; the skin of your soles grows thicker and more resistant to sharp objects that they most likely won't even penetrate. Second of all, a seasoned barefooter is usually more alert and sensitive to the surrounding that often times they "instinctively" avoid stepping on sharp objects and other harmful or yucky stuff like chemicals, bugs, animal doodoo, etc.
On the rare occasion that you do step on a sharp object and get hurt, it's really not that big a deal. You most likely won't die :) Just wash the wound clean with soap and water, alcohol, or other antiseptic solutions you have and then put on some antibiotic ointment and a band-aid to cover it. If it's a small cut, you most likely can continue walking barefoot with the band-aid on until it heals completely. Otherwise, you may have to put up with wearing sandals for a couple of days.
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, and I'm not giving you medical advice. The above is based on my personal experience and what I learned from various sources.
One very important thing is to keep your tetanus shots current. This is important even if you don't go barefoot regularly. Hey, even your finger could get cut doing manual things, right?
Let's take a little break and watch this short video about The Barefoot Book.
Social concerns
What about being ridiculed or looked down upon by others? Well firstly, there is nothing immoral, disgraceful, or even improper about going barefoot, even in public. It's not like you walk around with no clothes on. Your feet are bare and just like your hands, they are NOT private parts although some people like to think they are (it's their loss, though!). Going barefoot is not against any religion. In fact, some religions actually encourage it.
Secondly, while it's true that in many third world countries people are always barefoot because they can't afford shoes (that's actually one way they enjoy life despite their circumstances), there are places such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, most parts of Hawaii, and some parts of the Southern US where going barefoot in public is quite common and accepted.
People walking barefoot in public in New Zealand
These are not poor countries or regions, and folks walk around barefoot in public as a matter of personal choice, and others are ok with it. In Hawaii I very often see people driving nice cars and wearing nice clothes walk barefoot into stores. Besides, most homeless people actually wear something on their feet.
Now, what about being considered "crazy" for going barefoot in public? If by that you mean being eccentric or a little weird, so what? Most people have their own idiosyncrasies that make them different from others. Just look at the celebrities :) It's no big deal to be different and actually cool as long as you don't hurt anyone.
If by "crazy" you mean mentally ill, that's a little different. But how many barefoot mentally ill/disturbed people have you seen? Again, not very many I'm sure, as most of them wear shoes. I've heard stories of other barefooters being stopped by police because they went barefoot in public, not because it was illegal but the police just wanted to make sure they were "sane" and doing ok. Cool! :)
Lastly, who cares what others think anyway! It's just their opinion. There are gazillions of opinions in this world and if we let all of them dictate the way we live our lives we won't even last a day.
Even Sesame Street encourages you to set your piggies free which is great!
Legal concerns
Is it against the law to go barefoot in public? Absolutely not! At least not anywhere in the US. Those that say otherwise, are either totally ignorant or are lying to you to cover their own prejudices against bare feet. There is not even a health code that says you can't enter establishments barefoot. I'm sure you have seen signs posted at the door of stores saying you can't go in barefoot "By Order of The Health Department." That's a complete lie! You can check out the following link to verify that going barefoot is legal in the US.
I understand that establishments have the right to set their own rules as to how their customers should dress, like certain fancy restaurants require men to wear suit and tie but they don't say it's by order of the government! Therefore, they should not create "phantom laws" concerning bare feet! *They* should actually be prosecuted for using the government's name to lie!
But it's not all bad for there are barefoot-friendly stores that, believe it or not, have No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem signs. In this particular story, the sign was seen on Kauai, Hawaii, but I have also seen something similar in Galveston, Texas. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me at the time. I wish there were more of them to counter the negative ones.
the big island of hawaii is a fun place to go barefoot. i've seen more barefooters there than on any of the other islands. on the windward side, hilo is the main city and it's very barefoot friendly especially in the local areas. many people go into stores and other establishments in bare feet. on the leeward side, kailua-kona is the main town and it's kinda touristy, so you may not see as many barefooters there but i have seen a few. and there's a town called waimea up on the hills more inland which is also very barefoot friendly. it's a small town with many quaint little stores and restaurants, a nice place to stroll in bare feet. while i was there i saw many barefoot kids in the stores as well as s few adults. in one of the chinese restaurants there was a guy dining in his bare feet. cool! :)
by Tania WL One day my little sister Sharleen (when she was in 4th grade) went on a field trip to a forest reserve here on the island. It was really beautiful, and the weather was perfect. It was a little cool and sort of misty up in the mountains. Sharleen really loves nature, so while her friends were taking a break and playing games, she decided to take a walk along the creek and see what interesting things she could find. She felt her feet were getting hot and sweaty, so she sat down, untied her shoes, and took 'em off. Since she wasn't wearing socks, she was immediately barefoot. Aahh...it felt fantastic! That was actually against the rule since she was at a school function and wearing her uniform, but she didn't give a fuck. Her feet had to be free in such a wonderful place! She figured if she got caught, she would just apologize. No big thing. She didn't want to carry her shoes around either, so she just left them on the ground. She would put them back on ...
believe it or not, it's almost that time of the year again. halloween is actually a great time to be barefoot without experiencing too much opposition from others since you can dress as a barefoot character and everyone will think that's the way you're supposed to be :) so, who are some of the barefoot characters? Tom Sawyer and his buddy Huck Finn, as well as the Incredible Hulk come to mind. can you name some others. oh yeah, Tarzan of course. how can i forget about him! :) one time i went to a halloween party dressed as Tom Sawyer and i had a ball! it was at a restaurant that normally would require shoes, but since it was halloween and i was Tom Sawyer, i didn't get any hassle :) oh, i just remember another character that was originally barefoot but has been presented shod in modern times and that is none other than peter pan. i just love the latest peter pan movie where he, tinkerbell, wendy and some of the other kids were all barefoot. that's the way it ...
one of my favorite things is to ride on the bus barefoot. it was kinda nerve wrecking in the beginning 'cos most of the time i would be the only one barefoot and most other people were well dressed getting home from work. but i had seen a few other barefooters on the bus so i decided to give it a try. after that it became easier every time. i would get a few looks but i would just ignore them and assume that they were all jealous :) like one time it was a rainy day and i rode the bus home from school barefoot; there was an older man sitting behind me wearing tennis shoes, but when he got off he was barefoot and carrying his shoes in his hand. that proved my point, right? :)
a barefooter from germany wrote the following in my guestbook: I'm a barefooter from germany and try to live without shoes at least half of the year. Usually I start in april and walk on bare soles till end of september. At work I have to wear shoes, but flip flops are ok. The rest of the time I'm barefoot without any break in this six months. I prefer to go barefoot in the city and love to harden my soles by walking on rough surfaces like asphalt or gravel. The dirtier a street, the better for walking barefoot. So usually my soles are grey and sometimes black. I enjoy very much to be barefoot in public, particularly when all the other people are wearing shoes. It's great to show them my bare, dirty feet. pretty cool huh? again it shows that there are people who love going barefoot in many different countries. are you from germany? is it common to see barefooters there? please share your experiences going barefoot even if you're not from germany :)
My favorite thing about Hawaii is the lifestyle. Partly because of the warm climate and natural beauty, the lifestyle is very casual and laid back. Outside Honolulu the pace of life is slow, and people take time to appreciate and enjoy the kind and beautiful nature that surrounds them, and attempt to be one with it. I'm a very casual person, and therefore, I really love the lifestyle here! Suit and tie are out. Most professional and businessmen wear aloha shirt which is a dress shirt with Hawaiian/tropical design. The women wear either regular dress or, if they prefer, muumuu which is a long dress also with Hawaiian/tropical design, supposedly very comfy. The most prevalent attire off work consists of T-shirt, shorts, and rubber slippers (flip flops). You can dress so casually just about anywhere, whether shopping, dining, or even flying! It is also customary to take off all footware before entering a home. Being so comfortable, sometimes you forget to put them on before go...
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