I had a boyfriend in my twenties. He used to tease me about my feet, calling them “prehistoric feet.” Back then, with my perception of “beauty,” I always wanted to bring my toes closer together.

Now, if my partner/husband/boyfriend made fun of any part of my body, I know exactly what to say, but I was young then. Besides, I’m incredibly uncomfortable with men constantly commenting on women’s bodies. Do we say anything about your fatty bellies? Why are ours the subject of criticism/mocking? Anyway, we’ll address that later.

That jerk used to tease me about my feet. Whenever I wore heels, my feet hurt terribly, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything if my feet weren’t comfortable. I always carried comfortable shoes with me. Over time, my feet absolutely wouldn’t allow me to wear heels or tight shoes anymore. My soul wouldn’t allow me to be with that guy either. I switched to completely flat, wide shoes because the bone of my right big toe started sticking out. When I wore tight shoes, it felt like my toe was being cut off from the pain.

In my anatomy classes, I learned that the shape of our feet, inherited from our ancestors and our genes, is naturally wide apart. This openness is one of the elements that helps us maintain balance in the body. The human body is very interesting. If there is even a 0.5-degree change in the foot or ankle that doesn’t conform to its anatomy, it tries to find balance elsewhere to stay upright. This, over time, causes inexplicable pains in the legs, waist, back, and shoulders. Our ancestors walked across continents barefoot. Anatomically, we are suited for this. What we are not suited for is shown in the image below. If our feet could talk, what would the left foot in the image say? 🥲

Perhaps the parts of our feet we pay the least attention to are our foot bones, joints, and toes. Yet, did you know that 1/4 of our entire skeletal system (in terms of number) is in our feet? I’ll make an exercise video for you to help relax your toes, but first, I wanted to address this shoe issue.

I’d like to continue the topic we started with “Freedom for Breasts” with “Freedom for Feet.” Walking barefoot as much as possible, spreading your toes apart, and wearing shoes that don’t constrict your toes are all helpful. When making choices, let’s focus on what’s comfortable for us, not what’s offered to us. I got the image next to this from @thefootcollective. Thanks to them. This account constantly discusses this topic. It’s an account I really enjoy following. You can check it out. I recommend it. With my warmest regards 🤗