Barefoot

Walking barefoot

Going barefoot is the practice of walking without shoes or socks.

As the very word says, it is a form of partial nudity, which in some cultural traditions is considered quite embarrassing.

It is more common in developing countries and among poor groups but less common, at least in public, in most industrialized countries due to greater availability of footwear and societal taboos against going barefoot.

Some people (often calling themselves "barefooters") enjoy the sensation of their feet in direct contact with the ground and make an effort to go barefoot whenever possible.

Contents

Activities

Barefoot hiking

People who enjoy the sensation of walking barefoot often go barefoot on hikes in the countryside, which offers a greater variety of different surfaces to experience than typical indoor or city environments. (Bare soil is considered particularly pleasant). In the United States as well as several European countries there exist barefoot hiking groups [link] which organize shoeless excursions. Several German-speaking countries have barefoot parks which are designed to be ideal for going barefoot.

Barefoot sports

Most martial arts are practiced barefoot, as well as many gymnastics and dancing disciplines. Barefoot beach volleyball and beach soccer have become the favourites of many young people.

Sports that make use of a swimming pool are usually practiced barefoot.

In sports like long-distance running, most athletes run in shoes, but Abebe Bikila set world records running marathons with and without shoes.

Some American football placekickers have also played with a bare kicking foot, citing better control over the contact between their foot and the ball as the reason. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Philadelphia Eagles had two placekickers who kicked barefoot: Tony Franklin and Paul McFadden. (The NFL rules stipulate that a kicker has to at least wear two socks. Barefoot kickers had one of the socks cut off so that they resembled tubes.)

Barefoot lifestyle

A significant portion of the population even in developed countries enjoy going barefoot and a few of them are resisting their society's taboo against doing this in public. They maintain their barefoot lifestyle as completely harmless to other people and desire tolerance of their choice not to wear shoes.

Parents for Barefoot Children

This is a group which promotes the barefoot lifestyle for children. The group advocates letting children go barefoot in most public places, including parks, museums, restaurants and shopping areas. Members also advocate the revision of school dress codes requiring footwear, allowing children to go barefoot in class. The group claims that such dress codes reflect the personal preferences of the administrators rather than health considerations or the requirements of decency. They claim that barefoot children are more relaxed and better behaved in public places.

Religious and cultural aspects

Acts of devotion

Many religious traditions consider removing shoes as a pious gesture of respect, especially appropriate when approaching holy places.

In Exodus, Moses had to take off his shoes before approaching the burning bush.
Muslims must be unshod for prayer (commonly on a prayer mat) or to attend services in a mosque.
Some Christian churches practice barefoot pilgrimage traditions – an example being the ascent of Croagh Patrick in Ireland.
In the Hindu religion, shoes are removed before entering temples.

Going barefoot is also a common form of mortification, often combined with others such as pilgrimage, either as penance or ascetism. Roman Catholic religious orders that permanently restrict the ability of members to wear footwear are known as "discalced".

Two of C. S. Lewis's Narnia novels, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Horse and His Boy, feature barefoot pilgrimages.

Symbol of peace

In ancient times, shoes predominantly served as military equipment. Therefore Isaiah announced that For every boot... will be for burning, food for the fire. For to us a child has come, to us a son is given. (Isaiah 9:5-6). Jesus advised his disciples to go out for preaching the Kingdom of God without taking along shoes -- and Jesus is shown barefoot on most paintings to demonstrate his peaceful mission. One way to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi, is to walk barefoot around his monument. Even Pope John Paul II paid him this honour.

Barefoot on stage

In dancing, theatre, and opera performances, bare feet often express emotions, fears, vulnerability, a down-to-earth attitude, and/or familiarity. It may often alleviate a performer's sense of nervousness or anxiety in such situations, as being barefoot tends to promote physical, and by implication mental, comfort.

Vietnamese girl's feet. Many people in Southeast Asia are too poor to afford shoes.

Sign of Poverty or Mourning

This tradition dates to Roman times, when it was traditional for prosperous Roman citizens to wear elaborate clothing, including footwear, while slaves and lower-class citizens went barefoot. In Medieval times, leather shoes and boots were expensive, so poorer people often either went barefoot or wrapped their feet in cloth. In art and literature, bare feet often symbolize poverty.

Just as 'sack and ash' or even full nudity, it was also a sign of mourning in Antiquity.

Symbol of Innocence

This largely American literary tradition dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, when going barefoot was a standard part of childhood play, especially in rural areas. It features prominently in the novels of Mark Twain and the poetry of John Greenleaf Whittier. Barefoot children are also common in the paintings and sketches of Norman Rockwell and William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Myths

There are many myths and popular misconceptions regarding regulations against bare feet.

Driving Barefoot

Many people like to drive barefoot, and argue that it is safer than wearing certain types of loose-fitting footwear, such as flip-flops. However, critics suggest that it may be dangerous in some situations. For instance, if a sudden stop is necessary and there is anything such as gravel or glass embedded in the brake pedal, the leg's reflexes may cause the foot to withdraw from the pedal, resulting in an increased stopping time.

Regulations concerning driving barefoot vary from one jurisdiction to another:

In the United States, widespread belief in the existence of laws against driving barefoot has been debunked as an [urban legend]. Members of the Society for Barefoot Living wrote letters to the highway patrols of all 50 states and were told by officials in each state that driving barefoot was not illegal.

In Germany, traffic laws do not forbid driving barefoot. For thorough study see [this page on German traffic laws] (in German language).

In Belgium, the driving code does not explicitly ban barefoot driving, but article 8.3 requires drivers to be "constantly able to perform any maneuver". According to the federal police, this implicitly bans barefoot driving (though there is no data to back up such a decision).

In Hong Kong, laws require drivers to be driving with appropriate footwear. Driving barefoot, or with sandals, is not allowed.

No shoes, no shirt...

In the United States, it is also frequently believed that OSHA regulations prevent people from going to stores, restaurants, and the like without shoes (or a shirt). In fact, the law (such as it is) refers specifically to employees and is designed to protect employers from lawsuits. There are no state health codes that ban customers from going barefoot in establishments, as is demonstrated by a [project] undertaken by The Society for Barefoot Living. Individual businesses, however, are free to refuse to serve customers without the footwear they deem appropriate. Individual cities and towns may also require certain footwear in public places.

Health issues

Risks

There may be regional risks like poisonous plants or animals, or parasites that can enter the body through the skin or cuts on bare feet. For instance, the intestinal parasite hookworm may infect humans who walk on soil containing hookworm larvae (typically in areas of poor sanitation).

Benefits

Some physicians who espouse natural healing traditions recommend going barefoot as a measure against flat feet, varicose veins, and dorsal pain. They believe that the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks. Currently this issue has not undergone any peer-reviewed study, the standard for a practice to be accepted by the medical establishment.

In the Far East, some areas have officially established reflexology paths; the idea being that those who walk on them in bare feet, stimulating the foot reflexology points, will get the same benefits as a reflexology massage.

There is some evidence that going barefoot inhibits the development of fungal infections like athlete's foot. Such infections proliferate in warm, moist places like the inside of a shoe.

Some evidence for the health benefits of going barefoot has been collected on the page [Parents for Barefoot Children], although again this is not a peer-reviewed, scientific study. People who promote a barefoot lifestyle, such as Richard Frazine and members of [The Society for Barefoot Living] maintain that habitually going barefoot makes the feet tougher and far less susceptible (though not immune) to commonly feared hazards; this is echoed by former NJ health commissioner [Len Fishman].

References

French language: B.F., [Tongs au volant : gare !] in La Dernière Heure, August 6th, 2003
The Barefoot Hiker by Richard Frazine. ISBN 0898155258