Ugly Feet – What’s on the Inside?

Last week I gave a few interesting statistics about feet. I saved the last one for today. It’s good. To refresh your memory, here is the source. Back in July, Business Wire, a source of news on the Internet, ran a study done by BizRate Research study this past summer. Responses by 997 online buyers answered questions about their feet.
     The majority of people, 85%, think that the appearance of someone’s feet is not representative of their personality. Between men and women, the women were more likely, 17% vs. 12%, to compare the aesthetics of one’s feet with their personality.
     That amazes me. How can 17 out of 100 women (and 12 of 100 guys) believe that when they look at someone’s feet they can see the person inside? Is the pedicure that important? Does the color of the toenails really say that much about a person? How important are perfect toes, bunions, Morton’s foot, perfect skin rather than calluses? Those 17 women must be very superficial.
     I’d like to think that athletes and active people would be different. Whether man or women, athletes are different. When I see athlete’s feet, some things stand out. Black toenails, healing blisters, a few calluses, tightly clipped toenails, white feet with a tan line at the line of a crew sock—these all show me an active person. I see someone who loves the outdoors, who pushes their limits, who loves being a participant rather than watch from the couch. They show character.
     Feet like that are never ugly. They are “lived in” and their owners should be proud of them. I hope that’s your feeling.

Comments

[The Foot Blog Staff]

Nice site. Wanted to invite you to contribute to THE FOOT BLOG, a community based blog for people with knowledge about foot and foot disorders. I will link this site to ours, and if you would like to contribute, its also a great way to advertise your services.

Regards, The Foot Blog Staff

[acwinner]

i totally agree, there's a book named " reading toes", sucks.

[Erica]

But if you are saying that the callouses and blisters and toenail condition tell the story of the person's activities and perhaps some part of their values -- that the activities are more important than their ability to keep a polished pedicure -- then in fact you are among the 12% or 17% that does believe that the appearance of the foot is corelated to the personality. Why are the remaining 85% unable to "read" the information they are presented with, and insist that polished toes mean nothing?
It is not just good/bad, it is all the subtleties of all our decisions. Toenail polish could mean we value quiet time by ourselves, doing nothing but self-care. Or it could mean we are willing to expose ourselves to toxic chemicals, and pay to buy them while we contaminate ourselves and our planet. Squashed toes could mean we care more for looking good in fancy shoes than we care about being comfortable. Infected toenails could mean that we work or play hard and forget about our feet, or it could mean that we are so stressed we can't take time or money to take care of our most basic foot needs.
It isn't easy to interpret our feet, but that doesn't mean we should ignore them. It's the 85% who say that feet are not indicative of our personality who are either lying to themselves or are too willing to dismiss the facts in front of them.

[Jake K]

My toenails looked pretty awful after running a recent marathon (blue and black). My wife suggested painting them, she thought it would be a definite improvement over the aternative, so I let her. Now I'm wearing a rich burgundy and you know what, she was right. They do look better!
She's so smart...

[Rory]

For an awesome 'treat' go get a professional pedicure! Your feet will never feel the same. And, it makes them look great too. A pedicure is considered "standard procedure" for wearing sandals and showing your toes off, whether you're a girl or guy.

[Prettyfeets]

I have a new person in my life. One of the things that bugs me is he has really ugly feet. I don't think I have ever seen feet like this. They look like they morphed into something else. I feel really bad about not liking his feet, but in the same sense, I am turned off. How can I overcome this?

[John Vonhof]

A nice pedicure is on my Christmas list.