shoes, indoors

[deird1]

Fascinating 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.

Comments

[the_rck]

Some of it has to do with what the floor is made of and/or covered by. I'm in Michigan, so northern US. We have hardwood floors. I tell people they can keep shoes and boots on if they wish. My MIL lives an hour north and has white carpet. No outdoor shoes on that for fear of stains. For a while, her kitchen floor was some sort of wood that could be easily damaged by scuffing.

(I have no idea why people with young grandchildren, the oldest five, who visit weekly would choose any of that, but they did choose it.)

Most people in my friends group will ask about shoes in good weather and assume they should remove them in wet weather. The problem around here isn't mud so much as snow and salt. Most adults coming to the house haven't walked anywhere muddy because there's pavement all along.

I suspect that the surface walked on outside matters a lot, too. If someone is coming from a park that's full of geese, I'd like them to take their shoes off because there's zero chance they didn't step in goose shit.

[deird1]

Good points, all. :)

In my houses, the main living area has usually had a hard floor. It makes a difference, I agree - no carpet stains, and quite often it can be a bit cold walking on it with bare feet.

[beer_good_foamy]

There's another very good weather-related reason not to wear shoes indoors up here right now: Gravel Season.

Basically, with 4 months of icy roads and sidewalks in a row, the city dumps tons and tons of gravel everywhere so people don't slip and break their butt.Which means your shoes drag endless amounts of gravel everywhere you go. My hallway could currently be mistaken for the BBC Quarry. "NO SHOES BEYOND THIS POINT" is pretty much a survival method.

[deird1]

Interesting. That didn’t seem to happen in Stuttgart. Too far south?

Aussie roads are remarkably boring and clean, really. Just wipe off the dust at the door, and you’re good to go.

[megpie71]

I'm an Australian Ruffian, simply because I'm from Perth, which is sand down to doomsday. It doesn't matter how diligent you are about wiping your feet or leaving shoes at the door, at least some sand is going to get into the house and get onto the floor, and sand is uncomfortable to walk on. Also, come winter, you *need* shoes in most Australian houses just to keep your feet warm, because while we do tend to worry (to a limited degree) about keeping our houses cool in summer, we don't tend to expend anywhere near as much effort on thinking about keeping them warm in winter. You have not been cold until you've walked barefoot on an unheated tile floor at 6am on a chilly winter morning. Once was quite enough for me.

[deird1]

True! I don’t think Europeans really get how cold our houses are.

[eleanorjane]

I have all the markers for Ruffianry - Australian, English parents, etc - but I'm a Sockpuppet through and through. To the point where I will sometimes take my shoes off at work if I can get away with it. ;)

(Nothing more transgressive than standing at the photocopier enjoying the feel of office carpet on stockinged feet!)

I wonder if it's generational? My mother's a Ruffian, my dad varies, but I and my friends are all dedicated sock puppets.

The idea of wearing shoes in my own home is just totally weird and uncomfortable to me!

[deird1]

I wonder if it’s generational?

Possibly. But I’m pretty sure you’re in the same generation as me... Mind you, my bestie is also a dedicated Sockpuppet.

Admittedly, shoes are less comfortable than bare feet. But they’re such a pain to put on that I tend to leave them there...

[lyr]

Huh. I like my floor pristine, and I think of my feet as pretty clean. On the other hand, I wear shoes inside most of the time. Mind you, they are my indoor shoes; I change into my house-slides from my outdoor shoes first thing when I come in the door. And when I go over to someone's house, I take a quick look by the door and at my host's feet to get some clue what they'd like me to do about my shoes. I'm cool with doing whatever my host seems to want.

[thenewbuzwuzz]

Hello, I'm a Sockpoppet from Europe. The outdoors is muddy, and the floor should be good for sitting or doing yoga. This is a good post. :D