Here's a forum for the "dirty sole barefoot girls" fetishists, hosted on a site (based in Russia I think) featuring girls going barefoot around town. As a confirmed barefooter, I have some worries about this. On the forum is a thread about "Do you approach barefoot girls?", also somebody advertising his site containing pix of outdoor barefoot girls which you can join if you contribute ten pix yourself. I've got a suspicion that one of the major reasons, perhaps even more important than NSNS, for people (especially girls) nowadays not going barefoot is because they draw sexual attention to themselves from fetishists and hence can get hassled. Perhaps worse, they may get photographed. As a barefooter, how would you like your image on foot-fetish sites? The girls' faces on these tend not to be obscured, and I understand that many straight foot fetishists are homophobic for some reason and want the girls' faces visible so as to prove they are not "fags" in drag with shaven legs and painted toenails. As a male, I've had some of this sort of thing from gays. In college, there was a group of gay foot-fetishists who scoped me out as a possible newbie for their "fun" when they saw me going barefoot, but left me alone when they realized I was straight. And I have been aware of being followed by men when out barefooting in towns, sometimes very closely. This creeps me out, and I suspect the girls have it worse.
I think you have probably been thinking about this too much. First of all, I can think of plenty of reasons why most people choose not to go barefoot, but the main reason is that they feel perfectly comfortable in shoes. Those of us who have a strong preference to go barefoot, one strong enough that we are prepared to go against the social convention and ready to argue our case when necessary are in a huge minority. Secondly the only people who actively consider that their feet might be a target for fetishists, either have a fetish or have or have had a partner with one and are very familiar with it. As a result, they're either into going barefoot anyway, or they're dead set against it and always were. I don't think worrying about there being other fetishists out there would enter into it. If it were common place and common knowledge that there's a high chance of being photographed by someone with less than honourable intentions then people would worry about it. But mostly people are worried about, probably in this order a) other people thinking they're weird, b) glass, c) dirt, d) getting trodden on. Being photographed is probably beyond the alphabet. Thirdly, if girls (or blokes for that matter) didn't want the attention, they would wear clothes that cover their whole body all year round, just with thinner layers in warmer weather. For every foot fetishist that is only interested if feet are properly bare, there's at least one more who likes flip-flops, open-toed shoes, heels, or even tights/stockings. And people who don't know much about foot-fetishes generally don't distinguish between any of those. Girls would have to go around in Wellingtons if they were really worried about that. Finally, probably least importantly, but perhaps most interestingly, there are probably quite a few girls who would be flattered by the attention. Perhaps not the photography, but, being able to walk past someone and notice that their attention is yours is quite a nice feeling. For some girls, they do really like having a partner into their feet, and if going barefoot advertises that then that might actually suit them. Even if all they're after is the initial attention, that would still be a reason for them to go barefoot more rather than less. Of course there are lots of perverts out there who look around for barefoot girls, and encourage them for their own pleasure, while never actually wanting to go barefoot themselves. But those sorts of people are the ones who are easy enough to find on the internet, hiding behind anoynymity and being able to communicate with people they'll never be likely to meet, but very rarely out of the closet in person. I set myself apart from those foot-fetishists because I'm a barefooter myself and the sexual and non-sexual side of things to me complement each other and go hand-in-hand. And yet I'll still admit my foot fetish only to people who I'll either never meet, or with whom I'll get really close and intimate. So two of my ex-girlfriends know about it, as do posters on this forum, and that's basically about it. We certainly don't talk about it on the SBL because while there are lots like me on there, there are also lots who are into barefooting purely for barefooting's sake. And what the SBL doesn't have, and is trying to continue to exclude, is a contingent of fetishists who wouldn't go barefoot themselves at all. Then again I'm in the UK (for the moment), and there aren't as many barefooters here as in the USA. It's probably about the same proportion but our population is a lot smaller. That does have it's up side, that people usually haven't seen it before and don't have a set negative reaction in place, so they tend to just ignore it. If we were more numerous it might frighten a few of the conservative types who'd start to try and crack down on us, BNP style. But before I digress half way around the world, I'd just say that the 3NS signs are the biggest threat to us by a mile, and will be for some time.
that is not the sole kind of harassment that you can stumble into when around. both women and men can get all forms undesired attentions from straight and gay people, from political opposers, common thugs, religious zealots, policemen, racists, etc. this is not a good reason to surrender one's own costumes and beliefs, lest one is a coward.
i've never been harassed by foot fetish people in person. i've had people online ask me to do certain things or to post on their site, but no thanks. i don't have a foot fetish myself.. it's that i HATE shoes. kinda like saying someone has a head fetish because they don't wear hats...
I had a interesting experience recently at the Denver airport. I approached Security wearing thin flip-flops. After getting past the 1st TSA guy (the one who checks your boarding pass versus your ID), I went to the screening line. I took off my flip-flops and was barefoot. A guy (another passenger) came up to me and commented that I had the right idea about footwear for airport Security (referring to my flip-flops). I just said yeah, and kept moving. When we got through the screening, I was claiming my things and the same guy came up to me and started going off about my comfortable footwear (all I could think of at the time was that I'm often barefoot with flip-flops in my backpack rather than on my feet). Anyhow, he seemed very strange - and very obsessed with discussing my feet. I just grabbed my things and got away.
I'm not aware of being followed by fetishists, but a few weeks ago i went on an organised hike (on the walking for health programme). I was, of course, the only barefooter, and one of the other hikers asked me if she could photograph my feet once they got muddy! I agreed... She didn't ask for a date, unfortunately.
Maybe it's just me, but the only extra attention I get, in terms of people regularly coming up and talking to me, is that I get asked for directions a hell of a lot more often when I'm barefoot. It's possibly because people see me and assume that my house can't be very far away and I therefore know the area really well. (Often I get to see the bemused look on their faces when I tell them that I don't know the area at all, being from miles away). But I'd imagine that a big factor in it would be that I'm usually barefoot in warmer weather, and it's during the summer months that people tend to go on holiday, or visit people in other parts of the country/world, which is why you don't get asked for directions in winter that often. On the other hand, I definitely get the impression that people somehow find me more approachable when I'm barefoot.
you dont mind being a little more explicit, don't you? don't get me wrong, i'm a member but not any longer a posting and reading one because basically i wanted to share more than the mere barefooting thing and i feel way more relaxed and at home in the hip forums than there, so i am a little curious to know about your point of view, of course if you please. you may also want to sneak me a private message if you dont feel like talking in public about such issues.
The dictator who runs their mailing list does not allow dissent. Anyone who disagrees with the opinion of this self-made potentate either has their posts to the list removed or is banned outright. At one point, the grand poo-bah decided to promote Vibram Five Fingers. In my infinite unmitigated temerity, I made the outrageous assertion, albeit in a most respectful tone, that these were shoes and therefore unbefitting the lifestyle of a full-time barefooter. For my pains, I was summarily excluded entirely from the discussion. This type of behavior was repeated in several more threads, after which point I canceled my subscription to the Yahoo group (and eventually made my way here). A review of my postings on this board will demonstrate how I express dissent. The exclusion of those who respectfully and politely disagree is a distinguishing characteristic of a tyrant. A self-professed barefooter who promotes footwear while suppressing the opinions of those who disdain it is a blatant hypocrite. That said, the SBL is still a good resource, since they have 10 years of accumulated research done by various members posted on the site. As far as fetishists go, I've never run into any. I'd imagine my general attitude and bearing may help to make them keep their distance. While friendly and outgoing, I make it clear that my personal space is my own. Either that or I'm so blasted ugly that they run the other direction when they see me coming
I had an intersting experience in a supermarket a couple of weeks ago. Due to a foot injury, my left foot is almost always bare (I can wear a flip flop on it, but only just, so bare is best),so I don't often wear anything on the other foot either. I am on crutches regularly It was a very cold wet day, and flip flops and crutches on a wet floor don't work too well, so it was bare feet for me. As I crutched down to the customer services desk, I looked over my shoulder to see my single wet bare footprint on the floor. I noticed a guy watching me pretty intently. I was wanting to borrow the supermarket wheelchair as it is diffcult to carry much when using my crutches. As I was getting into the chair and adjusting the foot rest to put my injured foot up, the same guy was now just in front of me, looking straight at my feet. As I wheeled around the shop, every time I turned a corner, there he was watching me... Very odd! .
lol. this is outrageously... fun. a barefooters' mailing list who promotes shoes is more hypocrite than the roman church. unfortunately i missed that gem. now i feel just like joining back the "debate" in the SBL and find out if i can get fired out with ease. ah, being in the public list once resulted in being contacted by a journalist of the italian national radio for an interview about the barefoot lifestyle. too bad that when it was broadcasted i couldn't record it , because i was at work. p.s. those five fingers shoes look damn insane. they make the difference between getting looks and being laughed at.
I started thinking about the issue of foot fetishism when I read Rossi's "Sex Life of the Foot and Shoe" 1976 as part of psychology studies. In it he states that Vassar College in the 1960's imposed a regulation that no girl was to go barefoot in class or on campus "because the traditional regulations against indecent exposure must be maintained". (Non-Americans: Vassar is a very prestigious ladies' college near New York). Note that this regulation was imposed on women by women, with the obvious motive that going barefoot was a sexual signal. Two years ago, when flip-flops were high fashion, a London broadsheet ("The Times", I think) published an article on women going to work in the office wearing flip-flops, and how this was sexually aggressive. Now, I just happen to like going barefoot, and am not interested personally in any sexual aspect of it. For that reason, I appreciate the existence of the SBL as a ring-fenced non-fetish site; after all, the fetishists have an enormous array of online resources -witness "Wu's Feet Links" for example. I do find foot fetishism psycholgically interesting (anatomically too, as I wouldn't have believed that the human rectum could accommodate a whole foot to the heel until I saw the evidence online), and I have no problem at all with fetishists doing their thing as consenting adults in private. It's when people assume that my bare feet are to do with sex that I get uptight. Tried asking why "NBF" notices are put up? The two reasons are always "Health & Safety" (dirty, dangerous), or "The customers won't like it". If you ask about the latter, in my experiece you get either "It's counter-cultural", "It's a sign of mental illness", or "It's a sexual signal". Now, I prefer dressing in designer sports casual, so I haven't had many people accusing me of being a hippy or a flake when I'm going barefoot. But I have had people assuming that I'm a gay fetishist out cruising, and I ask the question why.
I had no problem whatsoever with the exclusion of fetishists from the SBL list. I also have no problem with ignoring them here. The only problem I have with SBL is the suppression of ANY posts that don't lock-step with the opinions of the list mod. In terms of public perception, I'd say that negative attitudes towards bare feet have deeper, older roots: poverty and cultural imperialism. In the not-to-distant past, folks who went barefoot often did so because they could not afford shoes, especially in rural areas. The "barefoot bumpkin" became a symbol of poverty and ignorance (ala: 'lil Abner). Also, the "barefoot savage" was a racial stereotype perpetuated by popular media until quite recently. Both stereotypes have served to create and maintain a negative public image of bare feet. The association of bare feet with hippies and fetishists is more recent, and has done nothing to improve the image of the barefoot lifestyle for the general public, even though most here would think the hip aspect a positive thing. Our way of life is persecuted because of historical momentum, the secondary effects of sexual repression, malfeasance and plain ignorance. Every barefooter is an ambassador, and with reason, compassion and patience, we can help dispel, to a small extent, negative attitudes towards barefooting.
I think some of the previous posters have already explained what I don't like about the SBL. About the Vibram FiveFingers, I was at one point involved in the discussion, as I reviewed them. And I don't think there is anything hypocritical in discussing shoes. Mind that I definitely don't want to reanimate that discussion on here – to each his own feelings. About the matter at hand, yes, the SBL bans all sorts of sex-related comments. And I'm very OK with that. Except that I always had the feeling (almost even proof) that this public phobia of sex/fetish issues is made to cover up some of the rulers' own inclinations. And that is what I call hypocrisy.
You're absolutely correct in that there's nothing hypocritical in discussing shoes. There is, however, a great deal of hypocrisy (not to mention superficial childish tyranny) in suppressing all of the posts of those who express a dissenting opinion regarding said footwear. Furthermore, were this an isolated incident, I'd have simply blown it off. When this behavior was repeated on other unrelated threads, however, I stopped participating in the list.
I completely agree. I was on the SBL twice in the past 10 years. The last time I left, last year, was exactly because of a similar incident. I had my post "moderated" (read: removed) while I was trying to reply to something obnoxious someone had sent my way publicly. But this person was a long-time member, and I had the feeling that the moderator on duty kind of "feared" him – you know, one of those people who are super nice only as long as you blindly agree with them. I decided that putting up with such fundamentalism wasn't worth it anymore.
I'm going to play the devil's advocate here, but it sounds to me like you're being a little overdefensive on the subject, as if you weren't completely insensitive (albeit just subconsciously) to the fetish side of barefooting. Personally, I've never had anyone associate my being barefoot to any kind of (para)sexual activity, and have definitely never been followed or stalked because of that (I have been followed once or twice, but I wasn't barefoot, and it was still creepy). So maybe your experience beats all odds. I don't think you should take it personally: if you're not into it, just go on living and don't overthink it.
Hahaha, Russians own you all But seriously, when you are in public, PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU. I don't see a problem of someone taking pictures of me while I am barefoot. It's not as if I'm doing anything shameful, illegal or otherwise objectionable. As for comments, I get one or two a day usually. It's usually something harmless, like "hmm, no shoes?" (thank you Captain Obvious). And I always carry flips with me to go into NSNSNS places.
