I’ve been going nearly-continuously barefoot for about 17 years now. Yet, I have to admit that, when I see another barefoot person in a non-beach environment, it still looks weird to me.
It’s all about the odd way the brain works and what its expectations are. It’s that what we see every day is “normal” and there is something about the rest that just doesn’t look quite right.
This is something that fashion deals with all the time. What’s fashionable right now often isn’t fashionable 20 years down the line. But it certainly isn’t rational; it’s just what gets popular suddenly looks “right”.
One example is Tom Selleck in the TV show Magnum PI from the early- to mid-eighties.
Those shorts looked just fine back then, because we were used to them. But the fashion these days are shorts below the knees. The fact that I wear shorter shorts (a ways above the knee) tags me as an “old man”. (I have noticed, though, that shorts for men are starting to get a bit shorter again.)
Another good example is speedos. Men in Europe wear speedos and they look just fine. Translate that across the Atlantic and people seem to think it’s something that they can make fun of. Again, it’s all about what we are used to seeing and one’s expectations. Here, the expectation is board shorts.
In fact, with speedos it’s acceptable to make all sorts of nasty comments that would be downright sexist if applied to women. For instance, from 15 Dumb Dude Fashions – The Speedo, we get this:
The speedo is like the polar opposite of the thong. Everyone wants to see a thong on the right female body. But nobody wants to see a speedo on any dude, ever. There is no way to pull this off. It looks like a slingshot full of walnuts. It’s gross.
And a lot of women say the same thing—until they see a hunk in one, and then it’s OK, but only then.
How’d they feel if they were constantly criticized for wearing bikinis unless they had the perfect body.
Take a look at this picture.
Guess which one gets criticized? That picture is from the blog One Sister’s Rant. Of course, the guilty person is the man for pulling up his shorts a bit to look slightly speedo-ish. But you don’t see any criticism of the woman. If an older man wore that, you’d get the “slingshot of walnuts” comment.
OK, “One Sister” is writing snark; it’s deliberately exaggerated. But she does a good job of portraying the attitudes: Is that a banana hammock I spy?.
Well, I believe no one should come near the dreaded Speedo.
Nevertheless, men of all ages, sizes, and shapes feel it’s their God-given right to subject the rest of the population to “feast” their eyes on their goodies.
* * *
As I lay my towel down, a newcomer made his way to the beach. He was wearing the finest pair of board shorts I have ever seen. Thankfully, it shed light on the fact that not all men have the desire to parade in public wearing Spandex underpants.
First, it’s just what she’s used to. Second, there is the cultural assumption that men are supposed to simply hide such “bananas” from view by wearing baggy (and truth be told, uncomfortable) clothing. Just like women are supposed to hide their “melons” under extremely loose-fitting sweatshirts. Oh, wait. They don’t have to. And they don’t get criticized for wearing titslings.
It’s silly that people mistake what-they-are-used-to for the-way-the-world-is.
Back to Europe, here’s a picture of Giorgio Armani from a few years back (on a European beach).
The American reaction? Ugh. After all, it’s a speedo, and speedos are bad (and we’re not used to seeing them). The European reaction? Hey, he looks pretty good for a man in his mid-70s.
To emphasize just how cultural it is, and how it is just what we are used to, here’s a picture of some Bushmen (!Kung).
They just look right. Because that’s what we’ve seen before. You don’t hear anybody bitching about a bag of walnuts. You don’t hear them saying that these men are parading around. You don’t hear anybody saying that the man on the left has too much belly to pull off the look. It’s just people; that’s what humans look like.
And that is true on either American or European beaches.
So, let me get back to my original point. (What, you say, you had and original point?)
Oh, yeah. When I see a barefooted person (besides at a beach), they still look weird to me. It’s because I don’t see them very often at all. (Of course, I rarely see myself when I am out and about.) So it looks odd when I do see a barefooted person. But it doesn’t mean I criticize them, just because my brain has embedded itself into a cultural expectation. Because I realize the trick my brain is playing on me, I resist that.
What prompted this was a really nice picture posted on facebook by Stephen Bloor, a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. The picture was of his son Christopher.
It’s a great picture (used with permission of Stephen Bloor). He’s got a great-looking kid.
But it still looked odd to me to see a barefooted person.
And that’s because my brain is trying to betray me. It’s trying to tell me that what I don’t see every day is odd and worthy of note.
But it’s not.
Heck, even the hat didn’t bother my brain—you’re more likely to see hats like that than people out on the street in bare feet.
That highlights the idea that we are ambassadors for barefoot living, and why it’s a good idea to strive to go places barefooted where we can be seen, including many place that might try to keep us out.
The more people see us out there, the less we look odd. We are gradually infiltrating their minds. And the more “normal” we can look, through familiarity, the fewer battles we’ll have to end up fighting.
We’re ambassadors.
You’re not the only one. I also give a funny look when I see someone barefoot in an unexpected place. However, I can usually quickly turn it into thinking of it’s nice to see someone else bare footing.
It’s good to know it’s not just because I’ve only been barefooting for a few years and find it strange to see other people barefoot, it’s embedded in most of us.
Fascinating perspective.
Well that 15 fashion things seemed to be more like 15 dumb and closeminded opinions thing. But that pretty much sums up how I feel about fashion. When I was kid, my mom forced me to wear jeans. Back then, t thought they were just uncomfortable lousy trouser. My opinion haven’t changed since then, nowadays there just isn’t anyone forcing me to wear anything. 🙂
Speedos… Does americans swim at the beaches at all? With any kind of loose shorts drag of water is just too much.
I remember shopping for bathing suits around 1990. The neon colors were hot, and displays showed a wide range of lengths for the same style, from speedo, to just past that length with a bit of a fringe, to high on the thigh, then mid thigh, then long to just above the knee. Then a few years later, it’s like that never happened. They were all baggy and long below the knee in both shorts and bathing suits. Suddenly all the guys were wearing shorts that appeared to be many sizes too big and made for someone much taller. They thought they looked tough, I thought they looked like they were wearing a skirt. And it made anyone who had strong athletic legs look like toothpicks. But to anyone who was a kid then, and did not remember the change, the tight short shorts look weird to them.
I saw two barefoot kids with their mother in Walmart the other day and, although I was really surprised, i thought gee, that’s good to see. It did catch my attention because you hardly ever see this anymore where it once was common. (Well, maybe before Walmart came to town.) I was also glad to see that the local store managers did not kick them out.
Reblogged this on Steve Bloor's Blog and commented:
A good example of cognitive bias.
Its funny that you mentioned that, I feel that I look strange when I see myself in pictures. Also I saw a guy my age at a strip mall walking barefoot and thought how cool it was to see another person in bare feet, but also how odd it looked at the same time.
I roamed around the farm, the woods, and down dirt and gravel roads barefoot as a kid a lot, but it really wasn’t a good practice. There were quite a few injuries (although minor), but thinking back, maybe I was lucky that something worse never happened.
Now, I go totally barefoot all the time pretty much only around my house (inside and outside), and at the beach. Any other place and I think you are putting yourself at risk.
Just my opinion, of course.
Vikingz: As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been barefoot for around 17 years, including hiking the Grand Canyon twice, Yellowstone, and all over southeast Ohio. If I’ve been putting myself at risk I’ve been doing a really lousy job of it. Opinions should be based on fact, not fears or speculation.
@Bob Neinast
There was no speculation when about two or three months ago or so, I was walking barefoot in a public park (in an affluent area, I might add) when I just happened to look down (sixth sense or guardian angel?) and spotted a hypodermic needle sticking out of the grass within about an inch of where I was about to step. That is a “fact”. The Grand Canyon, and places like that, sure, perhaps not the same kind of risks. But the point I am making is based more upon experience and reasonable thinking in that some places pose more risks than others while walking in bare feet, therefore you might want to re-consider sometimes.
Vikingz2000: minor injuries, scratches, cuts and bruises, are inevitable, even normal in kids living a healthy active outdoor life. You should not regret your barefoot childhood. Instead, you should be happy and proud to have had such a great time.
Good news: you can still enjoy barefoot living as an adult, I do all the time in summer.
I know that exact feeling. Whenever I go to the park and walk around barefoot, I normally see people walking and running with sneakers on and the only place I am supposed to see barefooters are kids playing on the huge jungle gym surrounded by white sand. But quite a few times, I have seen a couple of barefooters also walking in the park’s jogging trail. For me, I feel like I’ve seen a UFO because with me and little kids in the playground as the exception, I am not supposed to see another person being barefoot outside the norm.
The shorts I’m now wearing day by day all summer are just as long as Selleck’s (and I’m constantly barefoot, I really enjoy being self-employed!)
Not sure how that makes me an old man. I’m in my 40s and still feel more like 30.
And of course “15 DUMB DUDE FASHIONS” rages against “mandals” (man sandals?) on page 11, suggesting “If you have to dress up in the summer, man up and wear nice dress shoes” – it’s depressing that the expectation of men still seems to be that they are miserably hot and have sweaty feet hidden away in their coffins, but does it have to be that way?
I’ve never much liked speedos, but that is a personal preference from a time when I was forced to wear them and found them unattractive. I’ve never like Y fronts or thongs either. Or knickers. That whole shape, in fact.
However, I know and realise this is a personal preference. I don’t much like those hats either, but I’m not going to say anything about them. People nowadays speak of things like that hat they way they once did about the ruff. One day they will find it deeply hilerous, but that just fashion all over.
Bell bottoms are back baby! Wear them with your bowtie and fez!
@vikingz2000 in my experience (2 years of 80% barefooting), you look where you step and rarely actually find something like that. It does happen, but very rarely. Think about this too. If it is a hypodermic needle well planted vertically, what good would an inch of rubber do? Nada? A little something? Complete protection? Or what?
Just got a pair of very short shorts last week for barefoot walks, runs. Without the built-in cup they would not be wearable in public. It’s not normal for an American man to wear booty shorts or be barefoot, but I’ve got the physique to pull it off.
Ever notice how most of the people against this type of stuff are the one’s you wouldn’t want to see doing it anyway?
tbeer: So, what exactly is the physique required to pull off being barefoot? 😉 (Just joking—I know what you’re saying.)
The thing is, putting a pair of board shorts on that guy in “15 Dumb Dude Fashions” won’t make him look any better. He’ll still be fat with an enormous gut hanging out there. So why not let him be comfortable? To tell you the truth, I kind of find it interesting to see all the shapes and sizes humans come in.
Hey Bob, couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve been barefoot 24/7 10yrs and still find myself kind of rudely shocked when I see someone out in public barefoot. My instinctive reaction is to think: “oh put some shoes on would you!” – probably something my mother would’ve said.
You’re right – it stands out because it’s rare, not because it’s wrong. It’s a shame people confuse the two.
I agree, Bob. I was referring to short shorts. Men should step out of the paridigm no matter their body shape (if they want to).
There shouldn’t be shame in showing legs or feet for anyone. It’s great to walk around without the “swish, swish” of every step in baggy shorts or pants. Summer can be a short season and we’ll all be back to “longs” and pants soon enough.
I´m surprised, especially when I see the first barefoot person of the year. But it´s a happy surprise. It´s like seeing someone doing the right thing.