the naked foot : beauty or the beast?
By David • Oct 17th, 2008 • Category: Random •
Why is the naked human foot viewed as less attractive then the rest of our body?
Who can we thank for this? Fashion designers, footwear companies, the effects of wearing shoes all day (read: stinky feet)….. I don’t know…
The reasoning and source of this anti-foot propaganda has always interested me. What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!
[ the image is courtesy of Gabor ]
David is an instigator and barefoot runner since 2002.
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it has to do with ignorance, its quite sad. i dont think fashion designers are too blame.
I also think squeezing foot in tiny pointed shoes do deform shoes and nails over time. Its quite sad really.
@ nyhemant. It’s not only sad, but disturbing. Great observation.
I would guess it is something to do with evolution. As humans started walking on the ground the use of the toes became less important. Other than the big toe which is used for balance, the other toes are pretty useless. They are devolved stump type things and have diminished due to lack of use, much like the arms of the T-Rex. It is only natural that we as a species should be ashamed of such a futile physical feature.
I think it has to do with vanity.Bare foot is subliminally connected with poverty and wearing shoes with prosperity.So the more fashionable the shoes (and here comes the fashion designers) the more prosperous you are.
But it’s not only this.Resently I heard a proffessor of psychology state that we,as people, detest whatever reminds as of our animal nature and belies our delusion as a unique and exceptionally advanced species.And definitely shoes differentiate as from the rest of the animal kingdom which uses only what nature has provided them.
So the sight of a bare foot in everyday social life activities declares what we as humans stragle to forget!
Perhaps nyhemant’s point can be taken further? Many people, even those who take athletic care of their bodies, do not take such care of their feet. When they train, they will be wearing ‘hi-tech’ running or gym shoes so even as the rest of their body is being exercised, the feet are unable to benefit at the same time. So the body may be toned and beautiful, but the feet may be the feet of someone unfit - and are recognized and held unbeautiful as such?
Ill-fitting toe-box designs of most shoes (athletic and fashion) which cause foot disformations are part of the blame. Let’s face it, some people DO have ‘ugly feet’. This ugliness is caused by toes that are jammed in unnatural forms for prolonged periods of time in the name of ‘fashion’.
I am an agreement with the the last couple of posts and the notion that some feet are just ugly.
I think that strong, “natural” looking feet are actually quite beautiful/attractive.
However, feet that have obviously been stuffed into overly constraining shoes for most of their lives tend to look ugly to me.
Perhaps the perception of “ugliness” is triggered instinctively when we see the human form in an unnatural/unfit state. This probably can be said for all aspects of the human body. I suspect that in the interest of producing the best offspring possible, humans are fundamentally aware of what fit attributes look like, and unfit attributes are seen as ugly or repulsive.
In our society, feet are the body parts that are most commonly subjected to deforming stresses over long periods of time and thus the most likely to stray from our ingrained expectations of the ideal. As such, they have earned a widespread (and quite possibly deserved) reputation for ugliness.
I also think that it’s about maintenance. Women tend to maintain their feet - pedicures, scraping off dead skin, etc. Mostly I don’t think women’s feet look bad. Men for the most part do not care for their feet, and it shows.
Maybe this ignorance come from some kind of empathy and compassion with other side, even I”m afraid on first look on someone bare feet. More off it because they take uncommon risk in footwear fitted environment
Why is the naked human foot viewed as less attractive then the rest of our body?
same reason dirt is viewed as dirty.
also, to everyone blaming shoes for making feet look ugly, take a look at unshod feet of third world people. They are not the beautiful forms you seem to think they are. They are just as nasty as my Toe-boxed american feet, if not worse.
@ Dan: If we think that useless features of our body are ugly, then why are men’s nipples (which serve no evolutionary purpose) considered sexy/attractive? — likely because of their high density of nerves… and our toes also have a high density of nerves. Go figure.
David, hats down for your work!
First tempting answer, just another question: Beside me (or you), who else really cares about how beautiful my feet are?
A second approach:
The title of the discussion (the naked foot : beauty or the beast?) is fair and well balanced, but from the same perspective, the question in the sub-title is faulty: it is leading the reader to believe the general opinion is that the human foot is less attractive than other parts of the body.
To me, the beauty or non-beauty of human naked foot is a personal experience. Now I see a subject to talk about. Personally, I’m in total fascination when I think of any part of my body or the whole “thing” working together. As the question wants to be specific on the foot, my very specific answer is: the bare naked human foot it is a total beauty.
What do you think about your naked feet?
I can’t say that I agree with your premise.
Although it does not come up in conversation often, I do not know anyone who has expressed disgust or dislike of feet in general or in specific. I also do not know anyone with a foot fetish either. I tend to think based on those observations that, for most people, feet are like elbows…unnoticed/taken for granted unless they get hurt.
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I love feet - ankles too. My husbands feet have always been attractive to me and I think mine are also lovely. We do not pedicure or pamper them but they are fit, strong, tan, and able. I love the volume of bare feet on the beach and at the pool - the only two places where most of society allows them to be seen. Imagine lining up for a race with not a shoe is sight. I would be in heaven.
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