For many down under, going barefoot is a way of life.
When we’re not getting around in thongs (flip flops, for the dirty-minded), we often forgo shoes when going for a quick trip to the supermarket, the petrol station or Maccas.
But now, the rest of the world has discovered our collective shoelessness, leaving many stunned and even horrified.
A video montage of Sydney locals walking around barefoot has gone viral on TikTok, racking up over 4.4 million views, 200,000 reactions and 7000 comments.
In one clip, bikini-clad locals can be seen wandering barefoot around a Woolworths in Bondi Beach while they picked up their groceries – grubby soles on full display.
In another, a group of teens hung outside the Boost Juice on Campbell Parade, all similarly shoeless on the pavement.
Residents strutted down Hall Street while walking their dogs, again, without footwear, and were seen wandering across zebra crossings, barefooted with their trotters on the asphalt.
The video exposed our dirty habit, with the poster saying: “POV: You’re in Australia” with a crying emoji.
Even though we pride ourselves on being a clean country, people still seem to take issue with our nonchalant attitude towards the hygiene and safety of our feet.
“But why?? So many insects, broken glass, urine etc.,” one comment, with 1500 likes, read.
“There is glass everywhere in the Eastern Suburbs,” someone else claimed.
Even our fellow countrymen chimed in, with one saying, “I’m from Melbourne and can’t think of anything filthier than being barefoot on public floors.”
“I don’t know what is worse, America wearing shoes at home or Australia walking barefoot,” said someone else.
Other international commenters thought it was a joke.
“Can someone please confirm if this is real?” one confused viewer asked.
“What?! Do people not have shoes??” another shocked man wrote.
“Aren’t there bugs, snakes and weird plants everywhere?” someone else replied.
However, a few locals defended our national habit, saying that it’s not as bad as it seems.
“As a born and raised Aussie, this is true, but only in beachside suburbs, more people wear shoes than not but definitely have memories of hot days barefoot in the supermarket getting ice cream,” one said.
“It’s only acceptable if you’re close to the beach,” someone wrote.
Others went so far as to specify the exact radius from the beach it’s acceptable to go sans shoes.
“10 km or less,” one said.
“Nah, it’s 5 km,” a second quipped.
Others couldn’t see the issue and even argued that it was our “natural state of being.”
“We weren’t born with shoes, why is this so strange to some people?” one questioned.
“It’s ‘grounding’,” another joked.
Actor Jacob Elordi made headlines this time last year for putting our free-foot behavior on the world stage when he decided to go on a coffee run in Malibu with his huge feet pounding the concrete as though he was back in Brisbane.
Chris Hemsworth is another A-lister who is known for getting his clip clappers out when wandering around Byron Bay, and his wife Elsa Pataky is also partial to some skin-to-skin time with the pavement.
There isn’t a clear reason why it’s so common to go barefoot in Australia.
Some have put it down to the influence of our Indigenous culture.
Others see it as a reflection of our casual, laid-back society.
