When we hear the term “foot fetish” we all think of the same thing, America’s resistance to adopting the metric system.
Historically, the foot measurement was used by many civilizations ranging from ancient Greece, China and the British Empire. Never universally standardized but standardized within the context of the civilization’s measurement system. The disconnect leading to such propaganda as Napoleon was short. This misconception is due to the foot measurement of Britain being different than the foot measurement of France at the time.
It’s said the foot length we use today is based on King Henry I standardizing the measurement around his own foot. Which I’m assuming saved him a ton in not having to buy a ruler.
Which brings us to the fetish aspect of the article’s title. Every foot is made up of twelve little guys known as inches. American society is very attached to these inches. Measuring snowfall, Al Pacino’s Every Given Sunday “life is a game of inches” speech and of course men’s confidence is usually measured in inches. Using an old slang term for a detective, America calls it big dick energy.
Would you rather boast of 5 inches or 12.7 centimeters?
Viral marketing is already underway to transition the United States to the metric system. For example, we run 5Ks not 3.1 miles. The appeal of the larger number is catching on.
This slow multi generation transition to the metric systems has not been without confusion. Americans have begun giving their grandparents metric nicknames. Gram.
It’s not clear how it occurred but somehow this grandparent naming debacle has bled over to underground drug trafficking. I still don’t know what the dealer meant when he asked me how many grandma’s of coke I wanted. Why would I buy my coke in grams?
Back to the foot thing. It seems like America’s foot fetish may be dying down and thanks to no small part in the rise of Sneaker culture. The wide promotion of stylish sneakers with a multitude of variation has made it cool and fashionable to keep your feet hidden. The hope is this trend of hiding the foot will lead to us fetishizing the metric system.
While the United States seems to be making grounds with the metric system there is still a lot of resistance to its adoption. Since its inception, the United States has never been a fan of foreign rulers.