AIBU to not understand why people dislike seeing feet?

[NewNameW]

Why do people hate looking at feet so much and against people wearing flipflops, sandles with shorts/dresses.

Yes I get not everyone has 'beautiful' feet (i surely do not - and I only show them off when its absolutely needed, spa, remove your shoes in the house kinda deal) but it's more about the constant 'you can't wear that in the office' 'I don't wanna see your bare feet' comments that fly all around mumsnet. I have never seen anyone ever say anything negative irl at people showing their feet.

I'm so curious as to what the 'gross' part is. We all have fingers and finger nails and palms which surely touch worse parts of everything in the world than our feet ever do - am I the weird one for not caring?

If you don't like something, don't look surely?

IABU - You should know why feet are gross (pls explain)
AINBU - Feet are feet and no different to any other part of the body

This guy at work wore sandals all year round which I thought was curious. He had the type of feet some people here find disgusting. They don't bother me. I was more curious as to how he coped in winter with the cold. I was chatting to him one day and turns out he had a brain tumour. Sounded quite bad. The removal of which impacted his perception of heat and cold.

I think, coupled with the utterly hilarious comment comparing women to whales (oh how do you think them up!), that you imagine yourself to be some kind of devastating razor wit.

It is so ironic that you're doing it while attacking other people for not being self aware. It's a true bollock to behold.

You cannot understand that some people are not vain?

It's the smelly feet pong I can't abide. A lot of people just don't look after their feet or pay them the same amount of attention that they do to other bits of them.

You just can't roll out of bed, put your feet in sandals and go (into work).

As much as I dislike feet too, I think they're less likely to smell if you wear sandals.

Feet aren't actually a problem for me, but the state of some people's feet are. I tend to my feet weekly, to keep them in reasonable condition.

I just don't want to see unkempt feet.

Not all feet are created equal. I don't want to see young, pink, swollen feet with flesh growing over the toe nails. But equally don't want to see nail fungus, crusty yellowing old person feet.

I feel the same about nail polish and long nails (esp the fake ones). Winds me up when people talk about manicured nails as being cleaner, neater etc

I think this kind of thing is only really said by thick people with zero emotional intelligence. It doesn't actually affect them at all, its just attention seeking

Some people's feet are quite ugly. And they don't care for their nails properly. Or they have bunions, lumps, hairy toes, funny shaped toes, swollen feet/ankles, even smelly feet or athletes foot.

There's a lot that can look unappealing about some feet. But plenty of people really like them!

I personally don't really look at them but I feel neutral towards them. I feel sorry for people's who's feet look like they hurt or don't work very well. But not disgusted.

Fungal nails, dirty thickened, overgrown nails, fissured heels ingrained with dirt is hygiene not vanity

This is brilliant & tremendously true - an extremely excellent imperative point you've made & thank you

In short, sandals and open toes shoes are not suitable for work environments as they pose a health and safety risk. Drop anything on your toes and there is no protection

Confession: I do have a fetish for feet.
Answer to question: 100% understand why people don't like them. They're not all pretty, and if you've seen a lot of uglies or noticed some smelly ones in your formative years, for sure it's reasonable enough to want to keep them at a distance!

Why should a person be ashamed of having tinea pedis or onychomycosis? Should someone with rosacea hide their face for fear of offending you? I have a skin condition which sometimes makes my elbows gray and scaly. They can look really grubby and uncared-for when I have a flare. Should I cover them for fear that you will think they are dirty?

Anyway, hygiene standards vary. Just because you think hygiene = perfect grooming does not make it so. You cannot know how a person is looking after themselves from a glance at their feet (or their elbows). Or are you watching individuals' feet for weeks on end to monitor them? That's just creepy.

You can £*@& right off, I'm afraid! If you don't like feet, don't look at them. It's simple. I can't remember the last time I felt compelled to look at someone's feet. That's a WAF fetish to have!

In the hot weather we've been having I'll wear flip flips as much as possible. I'm autistic and have sensory issues so socks are always difficult, so any excuse not to wear them is a good excuse! I'll be dammed if I'm going to let someone else dictate what I'm going to wear (on my feet, or anywhere else, for that matter!).

And trainer socks are "ick"? Ick!!?? I thought mumsnet was for adults....

And trainer socks are "ick"? Ick!!?? I thought mumsnet was for adults....

Oh the irony! 😂

As a teenager I never wore shoes in the summer. I have sensory issues and socks particularly, but even most shoes, are a nightmare. So when I was about 15 I just stopped wearing them altogether until it got too cold. He may well have had a similar problem, and how dirty the shop floor was is immaterial. The pavement isn't the cleanest, as you may have noticed. It still strikes me as strange that people take such an interest in other people's feet! I can't remember the last time I looked at a stranger's feet....

I have runners misshapen toe nails and very dry skin but I disguise my nails with varnish and moisturise the heck out of them; only then will I wear open toes. But I just don’t look at other people’s feet!

I don’t mind seeing dry feet that are generally healthy and well looked-after.

I feel faintly nauseated seeing feet that are visibly moist, or have fungal toenails, athlete’s foot, cracked / infected heels, bulgy veins, toenails like rhino horns.

I find long toenails incredibly unpleasant to look at for some reason - there was an incredibly beautiful 30-something woman in my office a few years ago who was always impeccably dressed and looked amazing. She wore sandals one day and had the longest, thickest, most claw-like toenails I have ever seen - like she had dragon paws instead of feet.

I do not like sweaty feet in plastic sandals that trap the sweat and smell putrid.

My own feet have nasty veins around the ankles I don’t like looking at, so I try to make sure I don’t have to see them, let alone anyone else.

I work in an office. What's more dangerous for my feet there than at home exactly?

I do not like sweaty feet in plastic sandals that trap the sweat and smell putrid

I wear no leather or suede as I don;t use them by choice
My feet aren't sweaty or putrid thank you .

I love my kids feet, I honestly could eat them! But I do try not to look at other peoples’!

A

You obviously don’t know what a phobia is. It’s not a choice or a fear. It’s “an INVOLUNTARY flight/flight/freeze response to a phobic trigger “ . In previous years it was considered an irrational fear but many phobias are actually quite rational. If you've been in a plane crash then a phobia of flying for example developing is quite understandable

I was/am needle phobic for many years after having 197 stitches put into my face with local anaesthetic when I was twenty . LIfe was a nightmare. The sight of a needle could cause vaso-vagal fainting, vomiting or fleeing/fighting. I’ve punched a doctor in the face . It didn’t help that I have hellish veins that made blood drawing almost incredibly difficult.

Yes, I would have died rather than cope with an injection. I haemorrhaged after childbirth and couldn’t allow an injection to stop the bleeding . Luckily I lost consciousness and they then stuck an IV into me . I went for 12 years with a broken tooth that was agony and couldn’t face a dentist. No dental or medical contact for 15 years.

I finally found a psychologist to work with and with hypno and breathing techniques I can now tolerate a tiny butterfly needle in the back of my hand to draw blood. I can go to a very understanding and wonderful dentist and have coped with two fillings in the last five years . I can’t face another needing done but working on it. I still can’t cope with even the thought of an intramuscular injection and a vaccination would be completely out of the question . I cut myself with a knife while chopping veg and “repaired” it myself with superglue leaving a puckered scar because I could not have faced stitches .

Attitudes like yours are rife even among medical staff. MY GP is very understanding but I’ e had sneering from practice nurses. Needle phobia is actually a major cause of death. . Sufferers often avoid medical and dental treatment for decades and often the whole of their lives so illness is not diagnosed or treated . Luckily it is being better understood as a serious condition