Here on this blog, we’re obviously big proponents for the barefoot lifestyle. That said, we’re not oblivious to the fact that going barefoot can create some obstacles, especially in public. What kinds of obstacles are we talking about?
Here are some potential problems to stay abreast of when walking barefoot in public:
- Potential injuries
- Hygiene troubles
- Decrease in social reputation
- Disallowed on public transport
- Prohibited from entering stores, restaurants, etc.
- Could cost you your job
In this guide, we’ll expound further on what could transpire if you walk barefoot in public. If you’re looking for a solution that helps you prevent or overcome these issues while still enjoying that barefoot groundfeel, we’ll discuss that as well. Keep reading!
6 Risk of Walking Barefoot in Public
To you, nothing feels better than ditching the shoes and taking a stroll. You can enjoy an assortment of sensations across your bare feet, including the dewiness of wet grass, the malleability of sand, and the tough support of asphalt.
Depending on where your travels take you, you can even walk barefoot across turf, stone, hard flooring, plush carpeting, soft dirt, and more. It’s wonderful, but maybe it’s not the best idea.
Per the intro, here are six problems you might face when you go walking barefoot in public.
Potential Injuries
Most people have no trouble going barefoot in their own homes, as they know the surfaces that they walk on are safe (such as tiled floor, hardwood, or carpet). Beachgoers also have no qualms ditching their shoes since the sand is soft and the ocean softer.
Yet when you’re walking around your neighborhood or visiting a park, the surfaces you meet are not going to be soft. If you step on a stick or miss a loose nail in the parking lot and hit it with your heel, you’re going to experience worlds of pain, let’s not sugarcoat it.
With shoes on, the protective heel would safeguard the sensitive soles of your feet from damage. A stick would snap off under the sole and never touch your foot.
Although nails can sometimes puncture into a shoe sole, if the sole is thick enough, your feet would remain uninjured.
You could be in for many more scrapes and lacerations if you walk around without shoes. Broken bones or fractures could be in your future as well if your foot connects with a hard surface like a big rock.
You might also want to get current on your vaccinations. Not only would stepping on a nail without shoes be miserably painful, but you’d need a tetanus shot as well.
Hygiene Troubles
Feet sweat as you go through your day. There’s no way around that except to sit in one place all the time, and no one’s going to do that. That’s not living!
If you call a warm climate home, then the rate of foot sweat you accumulate throughout the day is going to be greater than someone in a cooler climate. In climates that experience four seasons, you can expect your rate of foot sweat to go up in the balmy spring and hot summer.
With sweat comes odors. If you’ve ever taken off a pair of gym socks after a particularly sweaty workout, then you know just the odors we’re talking about. These odors tend to linger in your shoes too.
At least one benefit of walking around barefoot is that your shoes won’t stink. What shoes usually do though is mask the odors somewhat, or at least trap odors in the shoes so not everyone can smell you.
When you walk barefoot and work up a sweat, you can be sure that your odors are going to follow. People could potentially smell you before they see you, and they’re going to be most perturbed.
You can deodorize your feet the same way you do your armpits, but once you start walking, the deodorant is going to wipe away. That would happen if you used spray deodorant or a stick.
The only solution to combatting the odors would be to go home and shower off the day’s sweat. That’s not something that most people have time to do except for once a day, which means that odors will be near-constant if you walk barefoot in public.
Decrease in Social Reputation
There are certain social rules we’re all expected to abide by, especially if we want to be perceived as socially presentable by just about anyone.
For example, we’re supposed to wear a shirt and pants (or shorts, skirt, etc., just some sort of bottom). Shoes are usually part of that equation.
People will notice when you’re not wearing shoes since the social regulations require it. Then they’re going to wonder where your shoes are.
Some people might even ask you. Usually, it will be in a jokey manner, but some people might go straight to the point, which can come across as a little rude.
If you tell these people that you’re not wearing shoes by choice, they’re going to judge you for it. Sorry, but that’s how it is.
They’re also not going to believe you. Instead of assuming that you want to be barefoot because you like how it feels, they’ll wonder if you can afford shoes. They might even make a jump and assume you’re homeless because a lot of homeless people don’t have shoes.
We also must address the foot odors that you’ll carry with you wherever you go. These odors–which are commonly called BO or body odor–are not something that people want to be around.
You can become a social pariah if you ditch the deodorant, and that’s true as well if your feet always smell.
People will start standing a greater distance from you when you talk to them. Your social invites will begin to wither. Friends might have excuses not to hang out, and colleagues won’t want to be spotted talking with you (if you even keep your job, which is something we’ll talk about in more detail later).
Even if you have a big social circle, you could watch it vanish to nothing just by ditching the shoes and living barefoot.
Disallowed on Public Transport
Do you have a car? We hope so, because traveling any other way might not be an option once you stop wearing shoes in public.
Public transportation options such as buses, cabs, trains, and airplanes all require passengers to wear shoes to get on the vehicle and then the entire time they’re riding the vehicle.
Even if you snuck on without shoes, once the conductor or flight attendant spotted your barefoot state, you would be told to either a.) wear shoes or b.) get off.
If you don’t have shoes to wear, then you’re stuck with Option B every time.
Maybe you could get around in an Uber or Lyft, but the passenger requirements are at the discretion of the driver, so it’s hard to say.
Mostly, you’d have to drive yourself around. The accelerator and brake pedals feel strange on your bare feet.
This is one of those few sensations in which barefoot isn’t better. Until you adjust, you could be at a higher risk of causing or getting involved in an accident.
Prohibited from Entering Stores, Restaurants, etc.
Your lack of public transportation options won’t really be much of a problem considering that you can’t go many places once you walk barefoot in public.
You know the old saying of “no shirt, no shoes, no service,” right? Although businesses don’t explicitly print that sign on their doors anymore, the implication is that it’s still in play. Even if you’re wearing a shirt then, if you’re barefoot, you probably can’t get into many stores.
Those stores will include retailers of all kinds, from the grocery store to your local mall to a clothing retailer, electronics store, you name it. Even in beachside communities, the expectation is that you at least have flip-flops on.
Maybe on a boardwalk, you could get away with not wearing shoes and entering a store, but the further away you get from the beach, the less welcome this behavior is.
You can’t even grab a bite to eat if you’re not wearing shoes. No restaurant is going to allow you into their building, as your presence isn’t hygienic by their standards. Other customers will complain, and you could lose the restaurant business.
If you can get food from a restaurant via a drive-through, then that’s one thing, but you can’t go inside.
Could Cost You Your Job
We saved what is arguably the biggest consequence for last.
If you work from home exclusively, then it doesn’t matter what you wear. However, if your job requires you to go into an office, even once or twice a week, and you don’t have shoes on, what do you think will happen?
Your boss is going to call you in for a conversation. There, they’re going to try to get to the bottom of why you’re not wearing shoes, especially if you’ve been known to do it all the time until now.
You’ll probably be sternly warned to begin wearing shoes. Should you comply, then the matter will come to an end, although it probably will not be forgotten by the entire office.
If you don’t comply, then it will only be a matter of time before you’re back in your boss’ office again.
You could be warned a second time, perhaps even a third time, but this won’t go on forever.
You have to think about it from your boss’ perspective. Undoubtedly, your coworkers have complained. You don’t look very professional when you’re barefoot, even if you’re wearing formal slacks and a button-down shirt.
Plus, there’s the ever-present smell of feet that lingers around you. Your coworkers are trapped in a cubicle with you and can’t escape the odor, and it affects their productivity.
If you don’t change your habits, you will probably be fired.
How to Enjoy the Barefoot Feel in a More Socially Acceptable Way
While we wish the world embraced the shoeless lifestyle more, at current, that’s just not the way it works. Until the world realizes that most shoes can be constricting and cause long-term damage to your feet, you should wear shoes when out in public.
That doesn’t mean you have to wear the traditional definition of shoes though!
Barefoot shoes are the ideal solution. This style of footwear features thin soles that allow you to better enjoy the groundfeel you adore.
Your feet will be protected from injuries, and your covered feet will make you socially acceptable enough that you can keep your job, use public transport, and enter stores and restaurants. Your social reputation will survive too.
You can select from every barefoot shoe style under the sun, from sandals to mukluks, boots, sneakers, athletic shoes, winter footwear, and more. Many barefoot shoe brands use sustainable designs and vegan products when possible.
Our blog is an excellent resource for barefoot shoes, and we even recommend our favorite brands on the site. Give it a read!
Conclusion
While it would be great if we could all walk around barefoot, the world just isn’t ready for that yet. If you don’t wear shoes, you could cause calamitous circumstances in your life, everything from foot injuries to a narrowing social circle to losing your job.
Barefoot shoes will allow you to feel like you’re shoeless even though your feet are fully covered. It’s the best of both worlds!