The Changing of the Guard: A Sociological Analysis of the Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Movement

Search

// you’re reading...

Bare Feet In Society

The Changing of the Guard: A Sociological Analysis of the Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Movement

By Nicole Gauthier ⋅ September 4, 2010 ⋅

Email This Post ⋅ Post a comment

This is an interesting essay on the progression of barefoot and minimalist running.

This article was originally published on Barefoot Chronicles

The Changing of the Guard: A Sociological Analysis of the Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Movement: “

Human behavior fascinates me. Human behavior in relation to barefoot and minimalist shoe running fascinates me even more. I have been in a position to observe the progression of this phenomenon for a number of years. The entire movement can be framed within the context of the sociological/anthropological concept of the diffusion of innovations.

The concept outlines the progression of any given innovation within a society. It is somewhat odd to consider barefoot (BFR) and minimalist shoe running (MR) as an ‘innovation’, but it does represent a significant change in our societys collective thoughts on running. After all, we ran barefoot or in minimalist shoes for tens of thousands of years. The modern running shoe has been around for thirty.

The idea of framing BFR/MR within the context of the diffusion of innovation came from repeated discussions with individuals within the running shoe industry. Over the years, Ive had the opportunity to discuss BFR/MR with shoe marketers, designers, sales representatives, and retailers. My interactions with the general running public confirms what Ive learned from the running shoe industry… we are in the midst of a significant paradigm shift.”

(Read the full article / article originally published on: Barefoot Chronicles.)

Original Article can be found here: Barefoot Chronicles

Buy Vibram FiveFingers at these quality online retailers:

___________________________________________________________________________

About Living Barefoot Reviews:

As you read our reviews, please keep in mind that our reviewers review shoes in terms of their suitability for those looking to find the highest quality minimalist shoe products. All reviews are as factual as possible. In an effort to be transparent and ethical, we will point out any defects found, even if these do not affect the usability of the product. Not all defects will be present in final production shoes as we are sometimes offered “seconds” or pre-release products in an effort to provide you with reviews in a timely manor. In the event that serious issues are found with a review sample we will give every opportunity for the manufacturer to replace to explain the review samples before the final review is released. We never accept payments for reviews. We do not guarantee a good review for any products sent to us. We do not review products that do not claim to be minimalist or “barefoot like” unless we receive a significant number of requests from readers or listeners.

Should you have any questions about our review process or would like your product reviewed on our site, please do not hesitate to contact us using our contact page.

___________________________________________________________________________

Featured Interview: Christopher McDougall – Author of Born to Run

Listen HERE

Christopher McDougall is a well-spoken, humble man who has through the popularity of his book brought about some of the biggest changes in the perception of feet and running in recent years. Join us in learning about how this talented author wrote his book, discovered his feet, and how he feels about barefooting and running. This interview should not be missed.

We Talk about:

- Chris’s recent appearance at the TED Conference

- Thoughts on Interviews In General

- His first exposure to barefoot running

- How he came to find the Tarahumara while on assignment for the New York Times.

- He thoughts on his influence over barefoot running and ultra running

- How he struggled with writing Born to Run

- This thoughts on minimalist shoes

- And much more!

To learn more about Christopher McDougall visit his website: http://chrismcdougall.com

Buy His Book: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Download the Audible Audiobook

Find “Living Barefoot” in iTunes and download it onto your iPod / iPhone or listen online

___________________________________________________________________________

Keep Yourself Connected:

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed, Listen to or download our Podcasts, subscribe to our RSS feed, or Subscribe to our email updates.

___________________________________________________________________________

Recent Minimalist Shoe Reviews:

Stay updated by being notified when we release a new reviews. Subscribe Here.

___________________________________________________________________________

Give us your support!

As Living Barefoot continues to grow our costs keep increasing. In order to cover the many costs necessary to provide our readers and listeners with the great quality reviews and content on Living Barefoot we would like to request your help.

If you like what we are doing, we are asking for a tiny contribution to show your support. We guarantee you won’t notice the missing contribution, but if enough people participate, it can be a significant contribution to help continue to innovate and bring you great reviews, news, and personalities through the Living Barefoot Show.

What will we do in return? We’ll continue to offer you great free news, reviews, and guest interviews on our show. We will also decrease the amount of advertising on our site as subscriptions increase.

Donate as little as $1 monthly. The subscription will simply deduct $1 from your bank or credit card monthly. You can cancel the automatic withdrawal at any time. You won’t notice $1, but we will!