Saturday, April 11, 2015

Barefoot nakedism

Barefoot, naked, and hardAlthough activities involving public nudity are always welcome to us nakedists, many of the participants are not technically naked. Cyclists in the World Naked Bike Ride events, runners in naked races, and even streakers very often wear some clothing, especially shoes. And of course you can't blame them for wanting to protect their feet from sharp terrain or rough bike pedals.

Still, to go out in public with nothing, not even shoes, is not only more brave and daring — it is also just more naked.

I learned this myself many years ago when attending a men's naked dance in my home town of Seattle. It was great fun hanging out with other naked men and letting our bare bodies sway to the music. But it wasn't until I took off my shoes and felt the hard dance floor on the soles of my bare feet, that I really felt connected to my nakedness and to my environment in a totally exposed and vulnerable way.

Indeed, I would venture to say that any nakedist activity — stripping games, nudism, CMNM, CFNM, naked dares, forced nudity, and more — becomes more intense and erotic when the naked individual is not only nude but barefoot.

For example, I'll never forget how my voyeuristic interest was peaked when, while riding my bike (nearly) naked at the Solstice Parade, I saw one man running alongside the many cyclists totally nude from head to toe. He didn't even have a bicycle on which to make an escape. But there he was, jogging along the hard pavement, his feet as bare as the rest of him. It was a hot sight to see.

Any nakedist
activity becomes
more intense and erotic
when the naked individual
is not only nude but
barefoot.

Fellow nakedist EB, who wrote an amazing account of his walking miles from his clothes stark naked, has voiced a similar sentiment. In a comment on that story, he wrote, "A few weeks after I did this walk I repeated the first part of it on a slightly different route but this time barefoot as well. Adds to the rush knowing I could not easily run."

I had a similar experience once when visiting Southern California. On a dare, four of us walked around the block naked, except for our shoes. It was a warm night, and almost too easy. So, after a couple of them had left, my remaining friend and I decided to do it again, this time in bare feet. It was much more satisfying, not only because of the elevated risk, but also because I felt more engrossed in the experience, feeling my bare skin touching the sidewalk every step of the way.

Finally, there are, of course, those foot fetishists who enjoy bare feet just for their own sake. Several years ago, as favor to one such friend, I took some naked selfies in a way that featured my feet prominently. In the spirit of barefoot nudism, I'm sharing them here on Nakedism for the first time, in a gallery call Feet First. Check it out, and the next time you decide to strip down outside, be sure that you also remove your shoes.