To want to walk barefoot in the summer (including into shops)

[nomorequotes]

I don't understand why in this country it is considered so bad to be barefoot, I have been told I am not allowed to walk into Tescos barefoot, or Waitrose, they claim it is a 'health and safety issue' because something might fall on my feet. Well if that is the case shouldn't they be banning flip-flops too? Flip-flops are pretty dangerous things really, accountable for many broken toes, ankles and feet in the summer. I have a friend who broke his ankle so badly it was like he had been in a car accident and all he had done is twisted wearing flip-flops.

So why the intolerance to bare feet? They have been outside the same as shoes so it can't be a hygiene thing and they are much safer than flip-flops.

I am sick of having to have shoes in the car just so I can walk into shops, it makes no sense to me, if I want to be barefoot I should be allowed to be!

Maybe you'll start a new supermarket trend Quotes. Bare feet could be the next 'onesie and curlers'.

Even with laminate I do start to get slightly fed up with the stuff (leaves etc) trodden in via my dc's bare feet. (When wearing shoes, they take them off when they come in). I'm wondering if footbaths on the front and back steps (a la mad cow disease) would help.

You say it isn't attention seeking, which I could believe if you just got on and did it and didn't question the restrictions but you aren't. You seems to think the majority are odd for wearing shoes and you've started a thread on it because we are all somehow lacking by not going bare foot and you are the only one who has it right.

Pretending it is summer and already hot and the rest of us are making a fuss over nothing for wanting to keep our shoes on is also a 'bit look at me, aren't I fun?' It is on a par with men who take their shirts off and wear shorts the minute the sun shines. Very odd.

As for being 'very aware of the environment', don't you find you have to look down all the time? If you didn't you would step in all sorts of things you don't want to. Surely that is massively depressing? Put some shoes on, walk tall and look up!! You'll feel better for it.

I do agree with one thing though - flip flops are an abomination.

Um, I've not really said anything about anyone else wearing shoes and that being a negative. Please quote me if you can?

I do get on and don't question the restrictions, in that I wear shoes when I go into shops, this is 'just' a discussion forum and a good place to have a discussion, I can't see why discussing something I wish I could do and can't is 'attention seeking' anymore than any other thread is.

You have twisted my wish to be barefoot into me suggested you should all be barefoot, I couldn't care less what you wear on your feet, just be comfortable and happy.

I quite like being aware of my environment, better than standing in shit whether barefoot or no.

More I am sure somewhere there are more barefooters like you, maybe you could all stage a bare foot protest like the BF ones?

Eurgh....can't stand other peoples feet! I even hate my own!

If I saw your feet in a supermarket I would think you were a dirty individual, walking around the streets where I'm sure dogs once took a shite, people spat or urinated.....

I don't think looking at the ground all the time is really 'being aware of the environment'. If you are always looks down at where you are going rather than looking around you, you are missing a lot.

'I don't understand why in this country it is considered so bad to be barefoot' - you didn't ask why some people think it is bad, you said the whole country thinks its bad like we are all wrong and you are the only one who is right. Sorry but drawing attention to how different you are is attention seeking.

As for not being able to get your head around cultural differences - well as many have said before in poor countries where you seem to think of shoe wearing is the norm, it is only the poorest people who go bare foot. Anybody who can afford to, wears shoes. NZ seems to be the only exception to this. It isn't just the UK being a silly little island that goes against the norms of the rest of the world. Then there are the health and safety issues which you don't think count but even flip flop wearers are given protection from sharp, slippery or unpleasant things on the floor. That is why they are acceptable and barefoot isn't.

But it is a national thing, that much has been proven by this thread, anyone with any experience of living in NZ or a handful of other countries said that they would not find it anyway strange for people to be bare foot.

I think that a lot of the issues raised would only be a problem for me, so there might be a bit of glass on the floor (not that it would get through my foot) so what? Who does that hurt but me?

High heels cause untold damage to knees and backs, yet I don't begrudge people wearing them, or look down on people that do. They might be causing damage to themselves but that doesn't affect me.

I have asked why people in the UK don't like barefoot walkers and the only answers I have got is that people dont like looking at feet, yet sandals don't cover them so that is irrelevant, that I might hurt my own feet, which frankly is my own problem unless I am in a shop, or that, bizarrely I am 'attention seeking' by not wearing shoes. Well today I have taken the kids to nursery, gone to Waitrose and I put shoes on as I left the car so I could walk in, do the shopping and then took them off when I went back and drove away, surely if I wanted to 'seek attention' I would have waited til I was next to the shop to put my shoes on? Who have I sought attention from exactly? I have seen basically nobody all day other than in the shop and when I went into work, where I also wore shoes.

Seems very strange to accuse someone of being attention seeky when you have absolutely no evidence of that.

I'll never be able to visit New Zealand now.

I hate sandals too. I'd ban them if I could,with exceptions for medical issues. But at least some styles of sandals provide some cover.

If people are going to start wandering around Sainsbury's sans shoes. I'm sticking to online shopping.

Well, going against something as conventional as wearing shoes is going to get you attention. It's very noticeable, it's something most people would not choose to do for hygienic, as well as other, reasons. Apart from possibly in the height of summer, it looks a bit bizarre to be dressed in normal clothing - especially if it's long sleeves or cardigan or even a jacket! - but not wearing anything on your feet.

So while you might not be setting out to be deliberately attention-seeking, your actions clearly are going to get you quite a bit of attention.

I think in the UK barefeet are associated with being poor or uncared for and that is where the social stigma has arisen. Britain is not as tolerant as its self-image suggests. We like people to conform so we know they won't challenge the status quo too much and make everyone else change (this is irespective of whether the "different" people care if others change too).

I think barefeet in the UK are associated with 'my captor left the door open and I had to make a run for it'.

I don't think it's associated with poverty in the UK, actually. It is in many of the countries other posters have mentioned.

My feet get hot first though, if I were wearing shoes today and the few times I have worn shoes today my feet have got sweaty and itchy yet I have fancied having a jumper on for some parts of today.

My friend gave me some boots actually, unrelated to me being barefoot although perhaps that sparked her to ask me what size my shoes are and then give me a pair of awesome winter boots!

Some of us know others who do this. We know that those who do it areattention seeking. And you know it too, no matter what words you use to try and say otherwise.

I like being barefoot, not to the point of doing the weekly shop without shoes but I do like wearing something in summer that can be slipped off and carried.

I've never stepped in shit but I have stood on slugs a few times, mainly when I'm taking the dog out for a late-night pee in the garden and can't be fagged finding my shoes. I potter round the house for hours barefoot. I think the furthest I've walked without shoes is a couple of miles.

Grass is lovely and soft on your feet, warm pavements are pleasant, sand can be all different textures. It just adds a little sensation to some days.

I think some of the comments stem from people thinking about themselves walking about barefoot.

For a start most of us don't have hobbit like feet and would simply find it painful to walk about outside on anything but grass, sand or a very smooth pavement.

Secondly not all of us suffer from hot feet all the time. If anything mine tend to be cold rather than hot. We have had 20 degrees today and I am still in socks.

You are very lucky to live in an area that either doesn't have many dogs or has lots of considerate dog owners.

We live in a nice area and have a massive problem with dog owners not picking up after their pets so walking around in bare feet is risky.

I don't dislike barefoot walkers at all, but I admit that I would find it odd to see someone waiting for a train or walking around town without shoes on.

I lifted this from the Driving Standards Agency

suitable shoes are particularly important behind the wheel. We would not recommend driving barefoot because you don’t have the same braking force with bare feet as you do with shoes on.
They also list guidelines as to which types of footwear are the most suitable for driving in.

I remember well the first day I was in the UK when the neighbourhood children lined up to watch me walk the 20 metres to the local shop, buy some milk then walk back again. I was nearly at the door when one of them got up the courage to say to me

"Hey Lady. You know you ain't got no shoes on?"

It's a whole other world.

Whilst I love the sensation of being barefoot, I am far too precious about my feet to do it out of my home. I am ridiculously vain about my feet - I have just about every foot gadget on the market and use an electric foot smoother at least twice a week. I always were nail polish.

I work as a dog walker and walk, on average, five miles a day and I have a morbid fear of getting hard skin on my feet I know I am sad

Having said that, I did once whilst drunk run down a long pavement barefoot and loved the feel of the tarmac on my soles. It really was almost erotically pleasant.

I think the suggestion that everyone who is barefoot is attention seeking, is as ridiculous as the suggestion that everyone who wears shoes is embarrassed by their feet.

Of course it is attention seeking. You know that by doing it, attention will be drawn to it. Walking the streets of this country barefoot is not normal. You wouldnt walk up and down your high street or go into tesco in a bikini on a hot day would you?

Whether you mind or not is irrelevant. It makes people look at you and wonder if you are slightly crazy.

But the point is that I don't do it because people might look at me, that thought does not cross my mind or I would be far more likely to not do it. As it is I find it more comfortable and that is 100% my thought process. Its got nothing to do with people looking at me, I hate lots of attention, had a really small wedding and don't bother with celebrations where I would feel center of attention.

I would feel a lot comfier walking down the road in my pyjamas but that doesnt mean I would do it. Because I dont want people to stare at me.

And you should not be driving without sensible footwear on. It IS a safety risk and you should be more responsible if you are driving your children around in that car.

Your youngest is barefoot at nursery. Why?

Do you like to be seen as different?
Or you just enjoy being different?
Or alternative
Or you like to make a fuss?
Or you like to make a scene?
Or you want people to talk about you?
Or you want to keep your husband's Australian heritage?
Or you want to feel special?