1970s vs 2020s. Why Did People Stop Going Barefoot?

As a teen in the 1970s I was barefoot all the time just like I am again in 2022. But unlike today, back then there were a lot of other barefoot people. A much higher percentage than in the wimpy 21st Century.

Are people today afraid to go barefoot? Have they been so indoctrinated by the shoe companies and podiatrists that going barefoot is bad?

I am so glad my teen years were spent in a barefoot friendly era. Back then we didn’t consider it a “lifestyle” or “look at me attempt” for a cause or charity, we simply went barefoot because we liked to go barefoot.

 

I'm a few years behind you, but my aunt and uncle who raised me were basically hippies and shoes were something we only wore to school. At home and during the summer we pretty much always went barefoot everywhere and nobody expected anything else. Then the 1980s happened and it seems like everything changed.

 

I can relate. I grew up during those times and yes, barefooting was more acceptable at least of what I remember. Many kids in my neighborhood went barefoot during the summer months except me. Unfortunately, I was too darn shy to go barefoot and envied those who had the confidence to do so. One of the killers of this pastime was the invention of the famous waffle print soled tennis shoe named Adidas. Seems like everyone had to have a pair of those fancy gym shoes. Bell bottoms jeans came in handy as you could go barefoot while your feet could be covered with those abnormally wide cuffs. Finally, the barefooting fad came to an end in the early 80's with the arrival of the AIDS epidemic, remember that one?? People were starting to become paranoid of germs with the possibility of stepping on dirty hypodermic needles even though most places were relatively free from them unless you were in a dirty inner city.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I am not against barefooting, and I applaud anyone with the confidence to do it. I am just too foot shy for it(Look for my first post back in 2021). I am not a barefooter, and I grew up with lots of problems in the feet department and I am just now getting over it and (Im almost 31). With being in the service and known by everyone I am surrounded by, I just don't have the confidence. I swear when I retire though im moving to a beach town lol. Its my biggest dilemma though, I absolutely hate shoes and socks, but I am still foot shy. It has gotten a lot better though the last 3 years. I have already delt with ridicule from friends just for going out in flip flops, but that is just their own insecurities showing.

 

I went from being extremely foot shy to hiking and even shopping barefoot. Not overnight of course, but the more you expose your feet around others, the easier it gets. Also when you get older, one tends to care less and less about what other people think, especially random strangers in public

 

This times 2.

 

agreed. Strangers and people i dont know, I tend not to care. Its being around people I know that I get all shy about it.

 

Same here. It took longer with family, especially my parents. Never went BF when visiting until maybe 3 or 4 years ago.. Actually just in the last year I got the courage to go barefoot when out walking with my 85 year old ultra conservative dad. He didn't say anything. And I have to admit I take my toe rings off when visiting family, except for my sister, which is also a recent "achievement" so to speak. You'll get there!

PS. I don't have a lot of friends, but no issues there anymore, rings and all.

 

Because they know your past, and are able to call you out for it, if they so choose. That's the irritation for me at least. All those unwanted comments.

 

When I was a kid, barefeet was somewhat taboo in my family and made me feel uncomfortable to go barefoot around my friends. As I got older, I would slip away on my on and go for long drives barefoot stopping at different stores, gas stations, etc. Once I was on my own and throughout my married life I was barefoot often. That was late 70's, 80's, 90's and even 2000's back in the northeast. I would come across others barefoot from time to time which was great. Now, I'm in what's considered the south by some and never see anyone barefoot. It's been years since I've gone barefoot outside the area I live and really miss that freedom.

 

Foot shyness or just being uncomfortable to be seen barefoot appears to be an exclusively male problem, I've noticed that. Why is it? Any females present want to chine in here?

 

I 10000% think it is a male thing. I think it is how we are raised, and to me it just never seemed masculine. I learned the past few years that doesn't really matter. But I feel like for woman, its just not a problem. A girl does something, its cute and acceptable. A guy does it and its weird of creepy. Just seems that how society sees it.

 

Just go barefoot, man. Just do it.

 

I am going grocery shopping right now…barefoot, of course.
Plus I am wearing a t-shirt that reads:

Shoes Suck
Go Barefoot

Hopefully it will result in somebody curious enough to ask about why I go barefoot 24/7. I enjoy those conversations.

 

Women going barefoot on college campuses seems to have been a minor trend in the late 40s and early 50s. By the late 50s, some women regularly went to the grocery store barefoot. This was about the same time short shorts were becoming popular among those who could pull off wearing them. Children often were barefoot in every era from late spring to the start of school until the late 70s/early 80s. Regardless of what the signs said, one could generally be barefoot in a mall up to the late 70s without being harassed. The first time I ever had a problem was in 1979. Many teens in the early 60s were routinely barefoot all summer, even before the hippie phenomenon became widespread. It all seem to die down during the late 80s. I have never been sure why, but it did coincide with the rise of "athletic" sandals, particularly Tevas. In the late 90s, some barefooters declared it was "coming back." I am still waiting....

 

My mom was barefoot all the time through the 50s and 60s. I was a barefoot kid in the 50s and 60s...I guess I got it from my mom. And I've just continued going barefoot...I can't stand the feeling of anything on my feet. Not socks, not toe rings, not nothing.

Cheers.

 

I have ran in to people that think if you’re barefoot you’re homeless or poor and I have had people try to buy me shoes . But I tell them I a barefooter and I don’t wear shoes or socks. And the think going barefoot is gross. I wish they wouldn’t judge right away just because you’re barefoot you might have a medical condition or it’s do to your religion not to wear shoes.

 

LOL once on a bus a woman offered me a pair of socks

 

Bottom of the 9th. Two outs. Based loaded. Down by three runs. And you just stepped up to plate and hit a grand slam.