Party requesting guests to take shoes off

[Anonymous]

My family and I would be happy to take our shoes off in your home. It's your home after all and we want to be respectful particularly since you are taking the time and energy to host us.

[Anonymous]

We're a shoe free household but don't make ppl take off shoes when we host a party.

For the most part, ppl are nice about it. We follow the custom of the host when we visit others.

The only thing that make me cringe to no end is women who wear pointy heels to a private house. They really ding up the floor. That's a level of self centeredness that I find breathtaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Stupid analogy

[Anonymous]

It's so bizarre to me that literally the rest of the world seems to manage removing shoes just fine. Like asian grandmas are without shoes and sitting on floors until they are 100, but everyone in the US has such ailments that going without shoes for 5 minutes is detrimental to their health. Honestly, maybe more americans should not wear shoes indoors to relieve some of these extreme issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Not nearly the same thing, PP. This is not done anywhere (and I think might even be illegal) but I'd say in about half of the homes I am invited to, people do not wear shoes. Most of the time the host doesn't ask. me to remove my shoes but if I see the host and family are not wearing them, then I will take mine off. It's no big deal to me. I do appreciate advance notice when going to a party so I can make sure I wear socks and that those socks are in decent shape!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Sure. There are traditional restaurants in Japan where you take your shoes off when you arrive. There are cubbies for everyone's shoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to admit, as a Canadian, American’s requirement to wear shoes inside is completely bizarre to me. It’s another difference that, like circumcision and guns, I feel the complete polarities in our culture. I live minutes from the border so it’s not like the disparity should be so great, but it is.

This is part of why I love DCUM.

Do you know what requirement means?

I have also never been in a Canadian house in which I was asked to remove my shoes (barring the obvious removal of wet or muddy footwear, which shockingly Americans will do as well). Canadian gymnasiums will often have a pile of shoes outside the door, but about half the people inside the gym don’t bother to remove their outdoor footwear, so what’s the point?

Just typical Canadian pretending to be better than Americans while not actually doing a simple task correctly or completely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Sure. There are traditional restaurants in Japan where you take your shoes off when you arrive. There are cubbies for everyone's shoes.

This should be obvious, but the question was not in regards to a restaurant in Japan. How about a restaurant in DC? Or Baltimore? Or Springfield, VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Sure. There are traditional restaurants in Japan where you take your shoes off when you arrive. There are cubbies for everyone's shoes.

This should be obvious, but the question was not in regards to a restaurant in Japan. How about a restaurant in DC? Or Baltimore? Or Springfield, VA?

The whole point of this thread is different cultural norms. If I'm in a country where cleanliness dictates removing shoes, I'm not going to argue. Clearly Americans are riddled in filth and would not properly clean their restaurants to the same standards.

Same goes for your homes. I bet you sit on furniture with your shoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Not nearly the same thing, PP. This is not done anywhere (and I think might even be illegal) but I'd say in about half of the homes I am invited to, people do not wear shoes. Most of the time the host doesn't ask. me to remove my shoes but if I see the host and family are not wearing them, then I will take mine off. It's no big deal to me. I do appreciate advance notice when going to a party so I can make sure I wear socks and that those socks are in decent shape!

Actually I think it’s very similar to the event as described by OP. She is not talking about a party for which the guest list is comprised of people she knows and who in turn know her. There are going to be dozens of people there who do not know each other and do not know OP. These are not friends or neighbors. They don’t have the slightest idea how clean OP’s floors may or may not be.

Just let it go for one night, OP, and clean your floors extra well the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To all the shoes-off (even though you’re hosting a gathering for a large number of strangers) people:

Would you be comfortable if you showed up to a restaurant and the hostess demanded you remove your shoes at the door? Why or why not?

Sure. There are traditional restaurants in Japan where you take your shoes off when you arrive. There are cubbies for everyone's shoes.

This should be obvious, but the question was not in regards to a restaurant in Japan. How about a restaurant in DC? Or Baltimore? Or Springfield, VA?

The whole point of this thread is different cultural norms. If I'm in a country where cleanliness dictates removing shoes, I'm not going to argue. Clearly Americans are riddled in filth and would not properly clean their restaurants to the same standards.

Same goes for your homes. I bet you sit on furniture with your shoes.

I mean, this is exactly my point. OP knows she keeps a clean house with clean floors, but her guests don’t know that because they don’t really know her. So maybe they might think it’s gross to walk around on HER floors that are quite possibly “riddled in filth”.

[Anonymous]

I’m a flexible shoes off person, and Asian American fwiw (so is my European American husband). What I find interesting about these threads is how many (white American?) posters truly seem to view feet as obscene, like a private body part. Similar to the NYT style article recently complaining about men wearing sandals.

In my suburban neighborhood, dog owners frequently fail to pick up after themselves and it’s easy to get large, non microscopic bits of poop on your shoes. (Distinct from the microscopic bits of fecal matter probably everywhere in the bathroom and on phones.) We generally teach our kids to take off our shoes inside. But we don’t require guests to take their shoes off. And I’m not remotely offended by the sight of bare feet, pedicured or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's so bizarre to me that literally the rest of the world seems to manage removing shoes just fine. Like asian grandmas are without shoes and sitting on floors until they are 100, but everyone in the US has such ailments that going without shoes for 5 minutes is detrimental to their health. Honestly, maybe more americans should not wear shoes indoors to relieve some of these extreme issues.

Ding ding ding . Americans are fat pigs with chronic health issues and live like slobs with multiple pets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so bizarre to me that literally the rest of the world seems to manage removing shoes just fine. Like asian grandmas are without shoes and sitting on floors until they are 100, but everyone in the US has such ailments that going without shoes for 5 minutes is detrimental to their health. Honestly, maybe more americans should not wear shoes indoors to relieve some of these extreme issues.

Ding ding ding . Americans are fat pigs with chronic health issues and live like slobs with multiple pets

And yet you want to walk around in their houses with no shoes on?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's so bizarre to me that literally the rest of the world seems to manage removing shoes just fine. Like asian grandmas are without shoes and sitting on floors until they are 100, but everyone in the US has such ailments that going without shoes for 5 minutes is detrimental to their health. Honestly, maybe more americans should not wear shoes indoors to relieve some of these extreme issues.

Ding ding ding . Americans are fat pigs with chronic health issues and live like slobs with multiple pets

And yet you want to walk around in their houses with no shoes on?!

I am a shoes-off person and I do NOT remove my shoes for homes where people leave their shoes on because I assume their house is gross.