Sitting with legs wide apart...something for the guys ;) - Page 7

DemosDemon · 07-28-2006, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talleh

Note: I am female.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FEMALES ON THE INTERNET! LIAR!

07-28-2006, 03:41 PM

I think raynforce's experiments highlights a good point, the natural resting position of a person feet based on the structure of their legs. The basic problem itself is independent of sex. But males seem to be prone to this problem.

All babies are born bow legged, and then the bowing gradually decreases and between the ages of 2 and 3, kids get knock-kneed and they remain knock-kneed until about the age of seven. Bow legs, knock knees, bow legs, knock knees; the legs change during the early years. Most adults are either very slightly knock-kneed or very slightly bow legged. This variation contributes to the natural resting position of the legs and feet.

Very few people have either perfect feet size or perfect arch on their feet. Only a very small percentage of the population have feet that are a perfectly matched for a manufactured shoes. The closest that most people can get to a perfect fit is to wear a custom orthotic shoe, or discard the shoe's arch support and replace it with a custom orthotic insert. However, most people do not need to use orthotics, because the foot-shoe interface doesn't have to be perfect for the human mind to adapt and effectively control bipedal motion.

So it is not surprising that for some people, it is very unnatural to sit with the legs together because it requires them to lift their weight off the inside edge of their shoes, which leaves their remaining weight on the outside edge of the shoes. Doing this may also put stress on the ankles. The most comfortable resting position for them is to point their toes outward at a slight angle, so that the weight is distributed evenly across both the inner and outer edges of their feet. This outward turning of their toes will cause their legs to spread apart. It is normal for the gap between their legs to be as wide as twice the width of their knee. (The greater the outward pointing, the further the legs are spread apart.)

In situations where these people have to bring their legs closer together, they have one other choice. They may plant one foot flat and cross the other leg over the knee of standing leg. In tight situations, this works when one is sitting next to the wall that the free foot will be pointing to, or when one is sitting next to people who are also crossing their legs in the same direction. (NOTE: Crisscrossing the legs below the knee is a variation of the lifting the weight off the inside edge.)

As for the scrotum being in the way, I have seen guys put their hand between their legs, lift their scrotum up and then closed their legs. Now perhaps this is behavior is normal in some cultures, but I normally would not expect men sitting on the New York City subway to do such a thing.

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07-28-2006, 03:41 PM	#62 (permalink)
jinjin Posts: n/a Points: 0 Bank: 0 Total Points: 0 Donate	I think raynforce's experiments highlights a good point, the natural resting position of a person feet based on the structure of their legs. The basic problem itself is independent of sex. But males seem to be prone to this problem. All babies are born bow legged, and then the bowing gradually decreases and between the ages of 2 and 3, kids get knock-kneed and they remain knock-kneed until about the age of seven. Bow legs, knock knees, bow legs, knock knees; the legs change during the early years. Most adults are either very slightly knock-kneed or very slightly bow legged. This variation contributes to the natural resting position of the legs and feet. Very few people have either perfect feet size or perfect arch on their feet. Only a very small percentage of the population have feet that are a perfectly matched for a manufactured shoes. The closest that most people can get to a perfect fit is to wear a custom orthotic shoe, or discard the shoe's arch support and replace it with a custom orthotic insert. However, most people do not need to use orthotics, because the foot-shoe interface doesn't have to be perfect for the human mind to adapt and effectively control bipedal motion. So it is not surprising that for some people, it is very unnatural to sit with the legs together because it requires them to lift their weight off the inside edge of their shoes, which leaves their remaining weight on the outside edge of the shoes. Doing this may also put stress on the ankles. The most comfortable resting position for them is to point their toes outward at a slight angle, so that the weight is distributed evenly across both the inner and outer edges of their feet. This outward turning of their toes will cause their legs to spread apart. It is normal for the gap between their legs to be as wide as twice the width of their knee. (The greater the outward pointing, the further the legs are spread apart.) In situations where these people have to bring their legs closer together, they have one other choice. They may plant one foot flat and cross the other leg over the knee of standing leg. In tight situations, this works when one is sitting next to the wall that the free foot will be pointing to, or when one is sitting next to people who are also crossing their legs in the same direction. (NOTE: Crisscrossing the legs below the knee is a variation of the lifting the weight off the inside edge.) As for the scrotum being in the way, I have seen guys put their hand between their legs, lift their scrotum up and then closed their legs. Now perhaps this is behavior is normal in some cultures, but I normally would not expect men sitting on the New York City subway to do such a thing.

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