The word shoe (scoe) is Anglo-Saxon, meaning 'to cover'. According to Rossi (1993) this is not in a protective sense but rather to hide an erogenous zone. Body parts play a key role in non verbal communication and may be decoded as cortically meaningful (Givens, 2002). Simply put shoes outwardly represent a non-verbal sign of gender, presence, and personality. According to Sonja Bata (founder of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto) "Shoes hold the key to human identity." They appear unparalleled in their ability to reveal the personality of the wearer. Many believe this is due to the encoded messages they contain which are recognised by our primal subconscious. Where this is most obvious perhaps is related to shoe choice and our psychosexual make up and personality. Pond, reminds us shoes are totems of disembodied lust, in some cases so strong as to magically transform us into beautiful, handsome, confident, or heroic persons. They appear true talisman and worthy of a fetishism. Today footwear communicates general values, personality traits, roles and goals. Our psychological, cultural and expression of our spirit are all well served by our footwear. They influence the way we think, feel, act as well as react to others.(Podiatry health science,Curtain,html)
Are we also influenced by inherited cultural beliefs?

Sorry- i was suppossed to be asking
'does culteral influence affect our footware choice'
and if so
could you share your experience , and/or view of these culteral influences on yourself or other people/organizations
an example might be taking shoes of when entering the house
or place of prayer
as an uninformed white australian i heve little knowledge of culteral footware practice and meaning
thank-you for your feedback

I prefer hats.

Hey, Mariah, interesting topic.

Here in China, of course, no-one binds their feet any more (though I have seen a very old lady with tiny, bound feet. Horrible!) but shoes are really important. Chinese women are infantisised here until they are married and the footwear reflects that: lots of lace, buttons, bows, faux jewellery etc. and in all the pastel and pearly colours you can imagine. Once they are married, however this seems to change and they wear sturdy "sensible" black or brown court shoes or horrible plastic slip-ons. So you can usually tell a married or unmarried woman from her footwear.

Many people are requested to take off their shoes when entering private houses - and there is always a line-up of cheap plastic or cotton slip-ons at the door for one to put on. Being a foreigner, however, these usually are far too small for me which causes much concern as bare feet are totally unnacceptable: this could bear out the eroticism you mention.

There are also, of course, shoe shops which stock in the West are termed "feck me" shoes or boots and associated mainly with sex workers. I originally thought there must be a helluvu lot of prostitutes here because there are so many of these kinds of shoe-shops, but they are considered "cool" and are worn by the most respectable women to go out at nights to clubs etc.

At the university where I teach most people - male and female, simply wear running shoes. Usually fake brand names - they are a kind of uniform for really cool people. The uncool people don't wear brand names - just like in the West except that here Nike are hotter than Diesel.

Any of this help?

this may be one better left to females, but as a recovering foot/shoe fetishist, i can't resist.

first, leaving your shoes at the door happens in many cultures, and in my estimation has more to do with hygiene than eroticism. it's just your mother's "don't track dirt into my parlor" taken a practical step farther. that's why bare feet are unwelcome, they either fear your tinea or worry that you might pick up something from their floor.

second, those young women who wear male-pleasing, hour-glass victorian gowns, and lots of make-up (goths?), used to put a smile on my face until i discovered doc martin jack-boots underneath. i'm pretty sure that was psycho-sexual display, but i couldn't figure out who was supposed to respond. in the end, i had to remove those wearing long gowns from my list of prospectively receptive partners.

of course shoes are part of courtship, even tenny-runners might be a powerful tool when the pheromone content of smelly feet is factored in. and shoes might be more significant in this way: many female executives dress in severe trouser suits, with high-heeled "do-me" shoes peeking out. this is 'unfair' female-style seduction supplementing the official "we're all serious execs here" dress-code.

This attracted me because I could never relate to any forms of shoe fetishism - no offence intended DEMOS and good wishes towards your ongoing recovery. And, you’re right of course - this must be, to a significant extent, more a female fetish than a male one - apart from you, I don’t personally know any males with such fetishist issues, but I have heard of its existence.

I’ve always wondered why females would put their feet and legs (and bodies) through such torment and how any self-respecting feminist would ever allow herself to be seen in 10cm do-me stilettos, that simultaneously shout "I am woman, hear me roar!", but also, that I am very vulnerable as I cannot really walk, let alone run (and if by some chance your basest masculinity was to kick in due to some testosterone imbalance you may be experiencing for example, I may not be able to move quickly away from such a clear and present danger).

Then there’s the noise. Not just visual, but loudly audible, noise. This, I presume is an aid for the blind amongst us. And possibly for those deprived of a sense of smell, those cautious of pheromone overdose, autistic or gay, or just to counteract the indeterminate nature of wind direction in relation to the position of potentially sensory deprived prospective observers.

Dents left on your previously perfectly smooth polished timber floors? That’s just to remind you in the days to come that “she was here”. This is probably a good enough reason to respect the cultures that demand you leave your shoes at the door.

thank-you for your response to this discussion everyone, your input is valuable as i cannot replace your personal experience or views.
My recent research on the physiology of the foot is also interesting as this area is rapidly growing regarding the prosthetic foot, with remarkable technological development enabling those that loose their legs/ feet to regain a prosthetic leg that is almost as good as their own. In fact the guy that has come up with the most advanced 'foot' lost his own legs in the snow, and he still mountain climbs. His comment regarding leg loss is that he can always update his legs where at 80 most of us will be limited by ours. What do different cultures feel/believe regarding artificial limbs.
Is this type of prosthetic device allowed? Are their any myths behind limb loss and Kama etc?