Why do asians, most specifically woman, drag their feet?

Really? I have never noticed that, and I have been around Asian women all my life. I know some Japanese women shuffle their feet quickly when they walk——my Mom did that because she was very traditional, and traditional Japanese women take small, dainty steps, almost to the point of shufflling their feet, because it’s considered unfeminine and grotesque for a woman to walk with big mannish steps. My paternal grandmother, who is Chinese, had her feet horribly broken and bound when she was a little girl, to keep them small, but this incapacitated her to the point where she couldn’t walk normally. I’m not really sure, perhaps Asian girls just walk more consciously and daintily than their Western counterparts, and that is somehow misperceived as dragging their feet. Or that their efforts to walk in a feminine manner sometimes ends up looking labored. Lol.

Seriously, though, I have never noticed a difference between Asian women’s walking style and others. I think it is just a coincidence that you came across a few Asian ladies who did that, and came to the conclusion that most do. ;)

I live in Hawaii where Asians are a majority in some places and I have no idea what you’re talking about.

Huh?

@MRSHINYSHOES I think you are probably right. I think I know what @Ponderer983 is talking about and it is essentially the small dainty steps. However, I wouldn’t say that most Asian women I know do this… but just that I’ve only noticed it among Asian women (in part, perhaps, because I was aware of the tradition you talked about among Japanese women, though I suppose I was wary to taking it too seriously for fear of stereotyping).

What? Never have noticed such a thing.

I have lived in Japan for years and I know exactly what you are talking about.

Many (but not all) Japanese women “shuffle”, for the reasons @MRSHINYSHOES points out.

There is kind of a “dumb blonde” way of walking that is girly-feminine, and endearing. (other Asian cultures unknown, I don’t see this in the States)

I don’t know if this is still the case, but I remember reading some time ago that in some Asian cultures it is impolite to show the sole of your foot to someone, and so a shuffling gait keeps the foot close to the ground. I hope someone can say authoritatively if this is so or not.

@roundsquare You are correct, most Asian women, even in Japan, do not do this, only perhaps the older generation and the traditional ones still do, like my mother. I remember she once told me that it was not proper for girls to walk like men (lol), with big, boisterous steps, and that when girls sat on the floor (as they did in most traditional Japanese homes), they had to sit with both legs “off to one side and close together. It seemed somewhat constrictive (and oppressive) to me at the time, but now I appreciate what my mother told me. I wished more girls would walk and sit like that these days. Lol. ;)

There are lots of Japanese women (in Japan) who (purposefully?) walk pigeon toed as part of the deal. (I say purposefully because I’ve seen them momentarily walk “normal”.) There are zillions of videos showing this phenomenon.

It always seemed to me to be a kind of lame attempt at a proper Geisha shuffle, which is beautiful when done right!

Yeah i’ve noticed this too

I live in Portland, Oregon. We have a fair amount of Asians here. I have noticed it and I know just about all of my friends have noticed it including my Asian friends. My daughter who is 9 noticed it while at the Asian market.
I don’t know how you can live around Asians and not notice this?

He uh, looka like a man!

@MRSHINYSHOES thank you for the insightful response. Maybe this is the case, although I noticed it thorughout all ages of women, from when I was in school (elemtary through high school) until now, so it’s not just elderly Asian women. It is young ones too, and even ones born in the US.

I’ve seen no Asian women under the age of 70 do this and I live around lots of Asians. Asians in L.A. talk like Valley girls and wear fancy shoes. No shuffling.

Interesting.. I never noticed this with Asian women even though I worked with a whole mess of them when I was in the lab on overnights a couple of years ago. Yet I currently work with an Asian man who drags his feet and it annoys the bejesus out of me.

Not that I am AT ALL an authority on this, but I once read that that manner of walking was developed back when kimonos were worn regularly. They tended to come open if women didn’t walk kind of pidgeon-toed and so it became considered feminine to walk like that, even now when kimonos aren’t worn commonly.

@Mariah Yes, that and the fact that kimonos are very restrictive——they hinder a woman’s movements quite a bit, sort of like the ancient practice of footbinding.

I notice this all the time and I know exactly what you are talking about. I went to school on the east coast and an asian girl in my class did this. also the last two asian girls that just boarded the bus I am on (seperately ) did this.

this is why I googled it. and the girl from my class was definetly chinese. I am not sure if these two are japanese but I would guess not.

u nailed this comment. un real how some people dont know what you are talking about. I think it is the vast majority of asian women who do this, especially the ones that are not very westernised

this is not a phenominon only for asian women, asian men do it to. I find it very annoying, becuase walking is not something new. Shoes have been standard in asia for centuries. The shuffle is mainly due to class and family upbringing. Lower classes do this shuffle, as opposed to upper class asians whose families did their best to include as much western culture into their lives to help them succeed in life. I personally can’t stand the shuffle and hate it when my co-worker does it.

Thanks for this question and some good answers, though like others I am quite stunned that people who profess to having lived around Asians most of their life have never noticed this.

I have just spent 10days in Asia and am again reminded how prevalent this habit is. Young, old, female, male, no distinction. I now just refer to them as shufflers.

I’ve lived in Vancouver Canada for over 22 years. It’s sometimes known as Hongcouver, because they make up the majority of the population now. When I was growing up, my parents told me to “Pick up your feet!” (I’m caucasian). I can’t believe the people who responded that they’ve never noticed such a thing. Likely, they’ve never actually been in a city where with a huge population of Asians. Hell, they don’t even put their feet fully into the shoe, it usually crushes the heel, like wearing slippers. Now, certain companies are making shoes without the heels, so don’t tell me this is uncommon or nonexistant.
It drives me up a wall when I see/hear them shuffling on by. I want to tell them top “Pick up your feet!” just like my parents taught me.
It’s part of a larger problem. They don’t want to assimilate, it’s as if they’re not aware of or don’t give a damn about blending in with the country they are visiting, or have moved to.
Another very common thing with Asians, is on the bus or skytrain. They always take up two seats by sitting in the aisle seat. They will not move over to let anyone sit down, even when the bus is standing room only. I’ve come up with a solution to that. I tell them to “Move it or lose it” then I push by them to sit in the window seat, I don’t care if my giant bag hits them in the head. I respond to their rude behaviour in kind. I’ve tried asking them to move over, telling them to move over and that’s when they conveniently don’t speak English. Later on, I hear them speaking it, so they don’t fool me.
The coughing into someone’s face and not bothering to stop a sneeze or cough with their sleeve is what they do. It’s not only rude, it’s unsanitary. I’ve noticed that in the winter months when I take the bus often and the windows are closed, I often get sick. In summer, I very rarely do.
This is a matter of arrogance and being totally oblivious to the people around you. My family lived in Japan for a year and we tried to fit in. We observed their behaviour and did our best to not offend. If only they’d respond in kind. I’m not holding my breath.

Some of the people claiming they’ve never noticed this may simply be very unobservant but I think many are bei dishonest for fear that admitting this phenomenon exists would make them racist. It wouldn’t, & it does exist.
Amongst chinese girl students in the UK it’s almost ubiquitous, widespread but less so amongst those born here. It seems much less common amongst Japanese girls here. I’ve spent time in Indonesia recently and it’s very common there too. When I urged a female indobesian friend to lift her feet while walking she said it hurt her muscles. I believe it is a hangover from very paternalistic, chauvinistic cultural mores, when women belonged to the house and would have no need or justification to walk any distance. As with foot-binding, it emphasised a woman’s femininity and in a warped sense, the value her family placed on her.

I discovered what may (stress ‘may’) be the reason after watching a Pacific rim in-law and her relatives. Whereas European babies are given a great of freedom to roll around the floor, pull themselves up on furniture, and generally exercise their leg muscles, Asian children are confined, often these days in ‘walkers’ and ‘bouncers’. The result seems to be a tendency to toe-walking and a general lack of balance when they (eventually) do walk.

I do know that Asian children walk on average several months later than other children, which tends to support my thesis that the damage is done in the first year of life, rather than being an affectation developed only by girls later in life.