Do more men than women (give a guess) reach out for help going barefoot? Are women more secure, or do they have some inner circle to support them? Are guys given to reaching out to "impersonal" others who share the same inclination?
I believe that women generally are more certain than men of their position with respect to a lot of issues, and going barefoot is definitely one of them. Women who like going barefoot don't seem to need to ask permission. I've noticed that when a girl/woman takes her shoes off, not only will she doing it not worrying about what other people will think, but she's often confident enough to announce that she's about to do it, or that she's just done it to reinforce the idea that it's what she wants to do and everyone else is just going to have to accept it. Even if her tone is apologetic about it, that message is still carried. On the other hand there are plenty of people of both sexes who are very much against the idea of going first, and women will generally be more inclined than men to voice their negative opinions on the matter. I think women will reach out to each other, as they often like to talk about things with each other, the more personal those things may be, the closer it seems to bring women together and the more satisfaction they get from the sharing. However I don't think they open up to communities of strangers online as often. Having said that there are plenty of forums geared towards facilitating discussions between women about things just for women. I think a lot of women still view computers and the internet in the same way that men view dolls and costume dramas. They understand perfectly well how they work, but just don't see the point in them.
