I have never been a big fan of flip-flops. I lived in Florida for many years and wore them at the beach and around the pool. But I never liked wearing them. Functionally, they seem similar to wearing flippers to me and also have zero aesthetic appeal.
Then there are the health hazard aspects of flip-flops...
You might as well be wearing a Petri dish on each foot. (Not to mention the countless accidental injuries they cause each year and the foot/bone/muscles/tendon damage that can result from wearing them on a regular basis).
Flip-Flops as a bacteria magnet
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009...ococcus-aureus
18,000 bacteria on just one pair of flip-flops
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/324535...-today_health/
But hey, enough said about all those good qualities.
While surfing around for more information in my whimsical investigation of flip-flops, I discovered what may be a connection to crossdressing! Basically, in several discussions about flip-flops exposing the skin to absorption of everything from staphylococcus to feces, there were references to the potential dangers of absorbing phthalates into the body when wearing flip-flops.
Apparently there is evidence that phthalates can enact change in hormone levels in a young male child that produces feminization characteristics. If this is the case, then it seems logical to me to suspect that this could potentially have some causative connection with the development of the compulsive desire for crossdressing behavior.
Phthalates in your flip flops causes male child feminization via changed hormone levels
http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/phthalates-flip-flops/
Wikipedia's explanation of endocrine disruptors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthala...ine_disruption
So, what do you think?