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Barefoot

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Walking barefoot Going barefoot is the practice of not wearing shoes, socks, or other foot covering.

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 who live in areas where going barefoot in public is more or less uncommon nonetheless choose to go barefoot in public part or all of the time. Some of these people call themselves barefooters and make an effort to go barefoot as much as possible. Popular surfaces include grass, sand and warm pavement. Many enjoy the sensation of their feet in direct contact with the ground and/or may have other motivations such as perceived spiritual or health benefits. People who self-identify as "barefooters" tend to be those living in developed countries, as the term itself has been popularized primarily via the Internet.

Contents

[edit] Activities

[edit] Barefoot hiking

Some people who enjoy the sensation of walking barefoot go barefoot on hikes in the countryside, which offers a greater variety of different surfaces to experience than typical indoor or city environments. (For example, bare soil, moss, and fallen leaves are considered particularly pleasant by some.) In the United States as well as several European countries there are barefoot hiking groups [1] which organize shoeless excursions. Several German-speaking countries have barefoot parks which are designed to be ideal for going barefoot and to encourage the activity.

[edit] 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.

Barefoot skiing is waterskiing without skis -- on the bare feet. This sport may also be referred to as footing, barefooting or barefoot water skiing. The participant is a footer or barefooter. Barefoot waterskiing is an international sport with world championships held every two years. More info can be found at World Barefoot Council [2].

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. Zola Budd trained, raced, and won the World Cross Country Championships barefoot, twice.

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.) Ironically, in the 2006 college football season, there was a punter at the University of Southern Mississippi named Britt Barefoot, but he wore a kicking shoe.<ref> ESPN telecast, So. Miss. at Memphis, Nov. 5, 2006. Comment by color commentator Trevor Matich.</ref>

[edit] Barefoot lifestyle

A significant portion of the population even in developed countries enjoy going barefoot and some are resisting their society's taboo against doing this in public. In the United States social folkways that frown upon bare feet in public are more pronounced in certain parts of the country than others, where they can hardly be said to exist at all. In some industrialized nations such as those of Oceania, people of all ages and backgrounds, while a minority, are seen walking barefoot for pleasure, comfort and style as they go about their daily business in settings where people dress in blue jeans, shorts, t-shirts, sandals or other informal/casual attire. Upscale restaurants and most pubs, however, generally require shoes.

Some barefooters and social historians old enough to remember American life before the 1960s have theorized that the often inaccurate but nonetheless persistent stereotypical image of the filthy, unkempt, barefoot hippie from the later part of that decade has contributed to an overall change in society's attitude toward the practice of going barefoot in public. The widespread appearance of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" signs can be traced to this era, and some decidedly non-hippie individuals and even families who had gone barefoot in public on a regular basis opted to begin wearing shoes, lest they be indentified with opposition to the Vietnam War and other causes associated with the counterculture.

People who prefer walking barefoot to wearing shoes maintain their barefoot lifestyle is a matter of personal choice that harms no one, intends no disrepect and is consistent with the tradition of individual self-expression that has historically been a cornerstone of liberty in democratic nations. Many barefooters are optimistic that with increased awareness, education and visibility, social acceptance will return to pre-1960s levels and in time, the illogical anti-barefoot sentiment of the late 20th and early 21st centuries will be little more than a footnote in the history of footwear.


[edit] Religious and cultural aspects

[edit] Acts of devotion

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

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".

"The Barefoot Path in the Western Contemplative Tradition" by Ken Rice (link below) provides a good overview of the subject.

[edit] Regional traditions

In many cultures it is considered inappropriate, even rude, to wear shoes indoors. It may be acceptable to wear shoes in public places ( e.g. museums or libraries ), but people are usually expected to go barefoot, or wear socks, inside dwellings. This is usually true for countries where inclement weather is frequent, such as Japan, China, or Canada, and serves the purpose of minimizing the amount of dirt and mud brought in from the outside.

[edit] 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 and George W. Bush paid him this honor, as shoes are banned within Gandhi's memorial site, Raj Ghat.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Sign of Poverty or Mourning

Image:Bare feet.JPG 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 cloth and ashes' or even full nudity, it was also a sign of mourning in Antiquity.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Myths

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

[edit] 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 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. (However, barefoot drivers dispute that lack of shoes impairs their ability to perform maneuvers. It is not known whether this dispute has been tried in Belgian courts).
  • In Hong Kong, laws require drivers to be driving with appropriate footwear. Driving barefoot, or with sandals, is not allowed.
  • In New Zealand, traffic laws do not forbid driving barefoot. At least one member of the public has emailed Land Transport NZ, who confirmed that no existing legislation requires drivers to wear footwear.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Health issues

[edit] 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 known as hookworm may infect humans who walk on soil containing hookworm larvae (typically in areas where people have direct contact with soil that contains human feces)

[edit] Benefits

A primary factor for going barefoot is that humans evolved without wearing shoes and that wearing shoes is the abnormality. Some believe that society's habitual wearing of shoes actually leads to a weakening of the feet as a result of the support they provide. It is also believed that shoes impede the natural biomechanics of the foot therefore leading to many health problems seen today involving the feet, knees, and back.

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.

A study by Dr. Najia Shakoor and Dr. Joel A. Block, from Rush Medical College, Chicago, was published in the September 2006 issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism. The study found that adults with osteoarthritis can benefit immensely from walking barefoot. Findings "suggest that modern shoes may exacerbate the abnormal biomechanics of lower extremity OA," and that "modern shoes, and perhaps our daily walking practices, may need to be reevaluated with regard to their effects on the prevalence and progression of OA."

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.

[edit] References

<references/>

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

it:Barefoot jbo:jmalub ja:裸足 ru:Хождение босиком zh:赤脚

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