# Barefoot and Pregnant- on the train **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064 "2006-10-11T15:44:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/1 "2006-10-11T15:44:56Z")
Ok, I ride the commuter train. They have a rule- “no feet/shoes” on the seats. Makes sense, who wants to sit down in where either nasty sweaty feet have been, or dirty shoes? But yesterday, there was a preggers woman, who had her feet up. The conductor came by (twice)- one who I know enforces the rule, and said nothing to her. Well, of course, pregnant women have good reasons for needing their feet up- their ankles swell, and so forth. But OTOH, their feet are just as sweaty, and I don’t want to sit there afterwards, preggers or no. So, what do you dudes/fellow members say? Preggers get special pass? Or “feets is feets and rules is rules”? ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/2 "2006-10-11T15:57:25Z")
Pregnant women definitely should get a pass. So should the handicapped who need to for some sort of medical reason. At some of my local stores (supermarkets, superstores, etc.) they even have pregnant parking right next to the handicapped parking spots. It makes sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/3 "2006-10-11T15:59:09Z")
I swear I read this thread title as **Barefoot and Penguins on the Train**. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/4 "2006-10-11T15:59:24Z")
More on the pregnant woman in a minute… But I can _totally_ see the conductor’s point of view, and no way in hell would I expect him to say anything to a pregnant woman, nor would I say anything myself, unless she was obviously wiping something dirty from her feet onto the chair. Say poop. As for the pregnant woman, sure, I think they should keep their shoes on. Am I going to begrudge them once or twice when they absolutely must? Nah. I would actually prefer their feet to some skanky guy who’s peed himself - although I see that more on the bus. I think it would be nice if the pregnant woman just carried a little cloth and wiped the seat down afterward if her feet would be particularly sweaty. And I don’t think it’s incredibly onerous to ask that…but again, I wouldn’t say anything at the time. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/5 "2006-10-11T16:04:41Z")
I’m torn. I’m always inclined to cut pregnant women some slack, but on the other hand, no power on earth would ever have made me take off my shoes and/or put my feet up on the train. I guess I’d leave her alone, but I also wouldn’t blame the conductor if he decided not to. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/6 "2006-10-11T16:15:38Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] …I’m always inclined to cut pregnant women some slack, but on the other hand, no power on earth would ever have made me take off my shoes and/or put my feet up on the train… [/QUOTE] Exactly. This isn’t common, regardless ofwhether or not you’re pregnant. I’ve probably seen hundreds of pregnant women on the train since I began commuting and can’t recall any of them taking off their shoes, let alone putting their feet up. The people that usually do this are drunk guys, sleeping teenagers or kids. If I was a conductor, I would at least ask her for an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/7 "2006-10-11T16:41:55Z")
I’m assuming you mean the Caltrain- when I rode that to work a few years back, they would let you put your feet up on the seats if you took off your shoes. Now I guess its no feet on the seats period, which sucks when you’re tired and are making the hour plus trip from SFO to Santa Clara, especially when you have one of those prime two seats facing each other setups to yourself ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/8 "2006-10-11T16:43:50Z")
And what’s so bad about putting your stinky butt where someone has had their stinky feet? I would rather be sitting in stinky feet residue than stinky ass residue any day, and people do that every time they sit down anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/9 "2006-10-11T16:45:45Z")
I don’t know about you, but my butt’s not stinky. I suppose it would be if I encased it in nylon and covered it with leather, but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/10 "2006-10-11T16:51:39Z")
Pregnant snakes on a train! ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/11 "2006-10-11T17:08:31Z")
I think barefoot is better than keeping shoes on to rest feet on train seat if pregnant. Shoes get all sorts of shit on them, bare feet are no more nasty than the bare ass that sat on the public lavatory before you used it. Only if there were open sores or obvious smell on the feet would it be polite to offer to place a newspaper for her to rest her feet on (assuming there are always unowned newspapers left in train compartments). ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/12 "2006-10-11T17:18:39Z")
She’s a woman and she’s barefoot and pregnant, what’s the problem? The question is why did she step foot outside her kitchen? ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/13 "2006-10-11T17:45:48Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] I don’t know about you, but my butt’s not stinky. I suppose it would be if I encased it in nylon and covered it with leather, but I don’t. [/QUOTE] Never? Not even once? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/14 "2006-10-11T17:46:59Z")
Not without showering before I get on a commuter train! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/15 "2006-10-11T18:05:03Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] She’s a woman and she’s barefoot and pregnant, what’s the problem? The question is why did she step foot outside her kitchen? [/QUOTE] She probably ran out of steaks for her husband’s dinner and was hurrying to go pick them up. Oh, and the right kind of beer. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/16 "2006-10-11T18:18:42Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] She probably ran out of steaks for her husband’s dinner and was hurrying to go pick them up. Oh, and the right kind of beer. [/QUOTE] She’s pregnant. It’s more likely that he’s headed out for pickles & ice cream… never get in the way of an emotional preggers woman’s needs… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/17 "2006-10-11T20:04:59Z")
Oh god. Does no one here have a memory? This can’t end well. ---
**Author:** ![Sad\_and\_Deranged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Sad\_and\_Deranged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sad_and_Deranged)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/18 "2006-10-11T21:42:14Z")
It’s not a big enough deal to warrant a confrontation, but in my mind, I would be going _Just because you are pregnant does not excuse you from common courtesy for others_. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/19 "2006-10-11T22:01:58Z")
[QUOTE=ShelliBean] Oh god. Does no one here have a memory? This can’t end well. [/QUOTE] 😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![knightrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9a28c/32.png) [@knightrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knightrabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064/20 "2006-10-12T00:00:25Z")
I’m in NYC, where all manner of detrius collects on the subway seats. The sleeping bum on the A train the other day, downwind of whom I sat for about 30 blocks, probably let loose more nastiness into a 10-foot air radius than 30 of that pregnant chick’s feet combined. Therefore, personally, I have no problem with regular people’s feet on subway seats, in a relative sense. That being said, however, if that is the accepted cleanliness standard on your magical commuter-line of nigh godliness, I’m loathe to give this (pregnant) woman the pass to put her feet up. It’s not as if the feet are some emergency issue, and she’s already sitting down! She can wait until she gets home to let it all hang out, just like everyone else. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barefoot-and-pregnant-on-the-train/376064.md?page=2)