Sex and Going Barefoot

Sex is the BIGGEST non-secret people share. Everybody does it or thinks about it, yet nobody talks about it (SHHHH). It is brought into public conversation only with great preparation. And, not coincidentally, it feels great.

Going barefoot is the SECOND BIGGEST non-secret. Everybody does it at some time or place, yet nobody dare say its name ("Where are your shoes? Did you forget/lose your shoes? You can't be in here without shoes.") And, not coincidentally, it feels great.

Ah, the pains of pleasure....

 

lol what part of the world are you from? Sex is talked about openly in the media and other venues in most of the USA I think.

 

Indeed...as to who's "dating" whom and those naughty bits in Cosmo. All nicely sanitized.

 

last time i knew, people didnt have any problem with talking about barefoot

 

Society AT LARGE tends to be rather prudish about sensual activity like sex and going barefoot. It was meant only as a general observation---there are ALWAYS individual exceptions (such as the barefooters here).

 

I think what ns was saying is, most men and women *usually* don't talk about the details and episodes of their sexual life in public or with strangers. People on the media can debate over sex in general but it is quite rare hearing someone describing the particulars of his/her own sexual life with the same ease as of talking about e.g. the servings of his last meal.

 

Bene, bene!
A rational response. Grazie.
My other thought was/is that people KNOW how good bare soles feel, which is WHY they stare when someone "takes them out" for a walk. Jealousy!

 

I talk about sex openly, and openly go barefoot to class, work, etc, and talk about it with anyone who asks.

I have no clue what you're talking about. Maybe you're a fetishist and WISH you could build some big taboo thing with your feet?

 

First I come across this post ("Much Ado About Nothing"), which contains the following:

and now this thread.

Hmm.

 

Y'all ARE aware that I'm commenting how silly people are for making sex "dirty" and making bare feet "dirty"?

 

No, no---that should be "Gladly my feet always get dirty...." It's the FACT of going barefoot that people consider "dirty." Obviously, the ACT of going barefoot usually involves dirty soles (unless you're swimming or snowfooting or walking blissfully barefoot in the rain puddles---but even then...).

 

I just think it's largely your own opinions being projected back. I felt the same thing with dreadlocks. If you go in smiling and radiant and ready to blow off any stupid criticisms and address any legitimate ones, you won't have a problem with most people, but if you're always feeling repressed and targeted, you WILL be repressed and targeted.

Of course this can be a cause for resentment on another level, like I'll have whatever attitude I want, but ehh..... life gives back what you put into it.

As far as barefoot, if you're very conscious of it, everyone else will be too. If you don't act like it's a big deal, most people will adjust very quickly. I get raised eyebrows, I smile back, and often end up in a friendly conversation about why that person should ditch their shoes (some people on my campus have copied me, without even talking to me, in fact) when otherwise they would remember me as that strange jerk who wanted THEM to hurt THEIR feet too.

Some can't be won over, and idealism usually drives people off. If they ask if my feet hurt, I mention that I use the right tool for the job, and don't need shoes at the moment, but if I'm say, dropping my transmission, or welding, I'll wear my boots...... Don't attack THEIR way of life or they'll attack YOURS, just present the happy medium. You'll be suprised how many people understand and even join you.

That's all I got.

 

yeah that kinda seems like the basis of all fetishes to me, the "oh gosh i shouldn't be doing this" factor

and same here, trying to get my friends to be like me even though it's better for them never worked. but when i gave up they all started trying it for themselves and realized the way i live -is- more comfortable

as far as being barefoot and sex as being 1 topic, i thought this thread was going to be about how your partner is grossed out by dirty feet i know my boyfriend wont touch mine until i clean them

 

Well hello, ain't seen you 'round these parts in a good bit:sunny:

 

yeah i've just been doing my lurking thing until recently. started posting again with the belief that i'm not going to change anyone's opinion of anything on here but i like throwing in a "hey i agree with what you say" here and there

 

Not a coincidence, I think. Both are highly sensual experiences.

But not so much in polite society, and definitely not in the business world. Most ordinary people in America have little opportunity to bring up the subject, except with a few of their closest friends, and in online forums.

Don't say that too loud! Somebody around here might propose a ban on sandals!

But seriously, I think some of them do get the sensuality connection, and it makes them uncomfortable.

 

I've already done the sandal ban.

People suggest that I wear them places I've been banned from going barefoot (like my cafateria, where the head honcho lied to my face, even while I called him on it, about a health restriction) but I see that as compromise.... I'm the hard headed all or nothing type..... I carry converse in my backpack, slip them on without socks or laces, and throw them in with the laundry weekly.

I mean, the fact that I COULD wear sandals clearly invalidates any health restriction, because wearing open-toed shoes is basically the same as barefoot with a sole, but I still don't do it.

 

wait a sec, wearing flip flops is against some health code?

 

What some people cannot differentiate is "sensuality" versus "sexuality" although I think you get it.

Sensuality is stimulating to the senses. For the topic at hand, being barefoot brings one into contact with a sensory perception often denied. Feeling the warmth of concrete under your soles, the smoothness of a tile floor, the softness of grass, or the texture of pavement - those are all sensory stmulations. With feet, we are too deprived because society's expectation is that we keep our feet covered, at least the soles, so there's no longer a tactile sensation. It's like trying to feel something when wearing gloves; the stimulation is shielded.

Sexuality is just that - it stimulates sexual responses. Feet may be a secondary or tertiary erogenous zone, but so are necks, the insides of elbows, and the backs of knees. Society does not dictate those body parts must be covered.

The confusion may be because when one is barefoot, there's sensory overload. Because the feet are so often covered, the skin is soft and the nerves are sensitive. That's why the initial experience of walking on a rough surface can be so uncomfortable - the nerves are sensitive, the skin is soft, and the unevenness or sharpness overloads the system. Once one gets some callouses or toughens the skin appropriately, that acute sensation is dulled or eliminated.

The sensory overload of being barefoot may cause a sufficiently strong stimulation that it may be confused with sensory overload associated with sexual stimulation. Just a thought; I have no data or studies to back it up. What I do know from my own experiences is that when I started going barefoot it was somewhat erotic, but once it became common for me to do it, that side subsided and I enjoyed the purely sensual, tactile experience. I don't get aroused being barefoot, but it's an experience I enjoy. One doesn't get sexually aroused by having bare hands after removing gloves (okay, maybe there are a few). The same holds true with feet. Once you're used to it, it just feels good or "right" to be without shoes - the same as it's more comfortable to not wear gloves or any other sensory depriving garment.

 

I totally agree/this response is totally correct.
Either way.....

 

I think in the first instance to say openly in mixed company - is only if you let it
As for barefootin', I can equate with it's stigma - as in work the Health and Safety aspect of doing so is continually told to me - it is at this time that I take the opportunity to promote the pleasure that this freedom gives