shoes, indoors
Mar. 20th, 2018 07:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deird1Fascinating stuff, I know...
I have seen quite a number of conversations on the internet in the last couple of years, all about people wearing shoes indoors. Inevitably, the conversation is split between two groups. Let's call them:
1) Sockpuppets (aka people who take off their shoes when they enter a dwelling)
2) Ruffians (aka people who wear shoes indoors, the barbarians)
What will happen is this.
A Single Sockpuppet: "...and people who talk at the theatre. Or, even worse, those people who wear shoes indoors."
Other Sockpuppets: "Huh? People do that?"
First Sockpuppet: *nods grimly*
Other Sockpuppets (in cacophonic chorus): "But... why? Why would you do that?" "WHAT KIND OF HELLSCAPE IS THIS?" "That's disgusting!" "It's so gross." "Eww. Eww! EEEEWWWW!" "What a horrifying thing to do!"
Ruffians: "...is that weird?"
The only similar discussion I have seen is the one about pissing in the shower. And even that seems to be less divisive.
So, I have some theories. They are less than scientific, but appear to hold up.
Theory 1: It's all about the weather.
My thought is that how your culture treats the practice of shoes indoors is largely to do with the climate your culture lives in. To put it simply: Sockpuppets are from places that get slushy, and Ruffians are from places that get dusty.
Not that I can actually tell where pseudonymous internet users are from, but as far as I can tell, if you're European or Canadian, you'll almost certainly be a Sockpuppet. If you're from Australia, you're probably a Ruffian (unless your family is originally from Asia). The northern USA? Sockpuppet. Southern USA? Ruffian.
Discussing the practical aspects of indoor shodness, the Sockpuppets will all start talking about "trekking mud indoors", and the Ruffians will respond with "What? Just... wipe your feet." Because, I surmise, the Ruffians expect outdoor shoe gunk to be wipe-offable.
Theory 2: It's about what you think the floor is.
Sockpuppets see the floor as substitute furniture. They talk about "not wanting gross stuff all over the place where I can sit", or similar. Not sure how much they actually sit on the floor, but they want to be able to sit on the floor.
Ruffians, on the other hand, see the floor as substitute ground. They expect the floor to be kinda mucky, and think of sitting on it as somewhat akin to picnicking. You can, of course, but you should expect to get a bit dusty from sitting there, rather than expecting it to be pristine.
Theory 3: It's about what you think feet are like.
Sockpuppets think feet are nice and clean, and don't want to stand on floors that will get mud all over their nice feet.
Ruffians think feet are smelly and sweaty, and don't want people to get gross foot sweat all over the floor.
Theory 4: It's about hospitality.
Are you being discourteous if you trek mud all over someone's floor? Or discourteous if you start undressing in someone else's house?
Sockpuppets tend to talk about inconsiderate people deigning to keep their shoes on in someone else's house. Ruffians, though, will often compare someone coming in and taking their shoes off to a hypothetical someone walking in and changing into pyjamas.
(This one actually reminds me of the generational split I experience when reading 1940s novels. Are you a bad host for not offering your guest an after-dinner cigarette, or are they a bad guest for not smoking their filthy deathsticks outside?)
...and for those of you wondering where I personally stand on this important issue, let's look at the facts:
1) I come from Australia, home of dusty dryness.
2) My floor is currently covered in dropped crumbs (from toddlers), dropped twigs (me building a fire), and random filth (me failing to clean properly). It has only recently ceased its daily adventures in being covered in baby puke.
3) Feet are gross and unsanitary. And often smell.
4) Guests who visit me will find a lack of luscious carpeting, and a very inviting backyard that you're going to need shoes for ...as soon as you've walked through the house to get to it.
I have seen quite a number of conversations on the internet in the last couple of years, all about people wearing shoes indoors. Inevitably, the conversation is split between two groups. Let's call them:
1) Sockpuppets (aka people who take off their shoes when they enter a dwelling)
2) Ruffians (aka people who wear shoes indoors, the barbarians)
What will happen is this.
A Single Sockpuppet: "...and people who talk at the theatre. Or, even worse, those people who wear shoes indoors."
Other Sockpuppets: "Huh? People do that?"
First Sockpuppet: *nods grimly*
Other Sockpuppets (in cacophonic chorus): "But... why? Why would you do that?" "WHAT KIND OF HELLSCAPE IS THIS?" "That's disgusting!" "It's so gross." "Eww. Eww! EEEEWWWW!" "What a horrifying thing to do!"
Ruffians: "...is that weird?"
The only similar discussion I have seen is the one about pissing in the shower. And even that seems to be less divisive.
So, I have some theories. They are less than scientific, but appear to hold up.
Theory 1: It's all about the weather.
My thought is that how your culture treats the practice of shoes indoors is largely to do with the climate your culture lives in. To put it simply: Sockpuppets are from places that get slushy, and Ruffians are from places that get dusty.
Not that I can actually tell where pseudonymous internet users are from, but as far as I can tell, if you're European or Canadian, you'll almost certainly be a Sockpuppet. If you're from Australia, you're probably a Ruffian (unless your family is originally from Asia). The northern USA? Sockpuppet. Southern USA? Ruffian.
Discussing the practical aspects of indoor shodness, the Sockpuppets will all start talking about "trekking mud indoors", and the Ruffians will respond with "What? Just... wipe your feet." Because, I surmise, the Ruffians expect outdoor shoe gunk to be wipe-offable.
Theory 2: It's about what you think the floor is.
Sockpuppets see the floor as substitute furniture. They talk about "not wanting gross stuff all over the place where I can sit", or similar. Not sure how much they actually sit on the floor, but they want to be able to sit on the floor.
Ruffians, on the other hand, see the floor as substitute ground. They expect the floor to be kinda mucky, and think of sitting on it as somewhat akin to picnicking. You can, of course, but you should expect to get a bit dusty from sitting there, rather than expecting it to be pristine.
Theory 3: It's about what you think feet are like.
Sockpuppets think feet are nice and clean, and don't want to stand on floors that will get mud all over their nice feet.
Ruffians think feet are smelly and sweaty, and don't want people to get gross foot sweat all over the floor.
Theory 4: It's about hospitality.
Are you being discourteous if you trek mud all over someone's floor? Or discourteous if you start undressing in someone else's house?
Sockpuppets tend to talk about inconsiderate people deigning to keep their shoes on in someone else's house. Ruffians, though, will often compare someone coming in and taking their shoes off to a hypothetical someone walking in and changing into pyjamas.
(This one actually reminds me of the generational split I experience when reading 1940s novels. Are you a bad host for not offering your guest an after-dinner cigarette, or are they a bad guest for not smoking their filthy deathsticks outside?)
...and for those of you wondering where I personally stand on this important issue, let's look at the facts:
1) I come from Australia, home of dusty dryness.
2) My floor is currently covered in dropped crumbs (from toddlers), dropped twigs (me building a fire), and random filth (me failing to clean properly). It has only recently ceased its daily adventures in being covered in baby puke.
3) Feet are gross and unsanitary. And often smell.
4) Guests who visit me will find a lack of luscious carpeting, and a very inviting backyard that you're going to need shoes for ...as soon as you've walked through the house to get to it.