“Body acceptance” is a term thrown around frequently in nudist circles. In short, nudism is concerned with accepting the human body as it is naturally. Size doesn’t matter, color doesn’t matter, body hair (or lack thereof) doesn’t matter, etc etc.
But how much do we nudists really know about the external parts of our bodies? We see bodies all the time. Do we ever stop and think about what we are seeing? What does culture as a whole think of our body parts? In this series I’d like to explore our bodies, from the soles of our feet to the tops of our heads.
Source: my own image
As much of a student as I am, this is still going to be a learning experience for me. I’ve never delved deeply into a study of the human body.
This week I’ll start with a somewhat controversial part of the body: the feet.
Bare feet get a varied response from the world. As I have explored before, feet are sometimes despised as ugly or dirty. Some people fetishize them. Personally I think they are some of the most beautiful parts of the body.
Dirty? Yes, sometimes.
There are “26 bones, 33 joints (20 of which are actively articulated), and more than a hundred muscles, tendons, and ligaments” in the human foot (Source: Wikipedia) .
Source: my own image
The sole of the human foot lacks hair or sebaceous glands. There is however a large concentration of sweat glands. When sweat is trapped in shoes it collects bacteria which feed off of it and releases noxious odors.
Our feet are very sensitive to touch and pressure and allow us to “read” the ground underneath them. This is one reason I love being barefoot, as it makes me feel more in tune with my surroundings. There has been a bit of research done on “grounding” or “earthing” which suggests that barefoot contact with the earth can have positive health effects. Though, like anything in the science and health world, this is debated.
I hope you have enjoyed this little exploration of the body part that is most in contact with the world around us. Stay tuned for next time’s topic: legs.
