It’s mid-August, which means we have arrived at the point of summer in which I must, once again, talk about sandals.

Yesterday, my colleague Simbarashe Cha published a photo essay of all of the open toes he encountered at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Some of the comments devolved into quibbles about whether some of the sandals were actually flip-flops (this is the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” debate for shoes). But mostly, they were split between those who see flip-flops as a sensible item to wear in the heat and those who, with self-possessed authority, declare that toes should never be seen.

When did we become so uptight about toes? My editors and I kicked this question around on yesterday morning. (One of us was wearing sandals. I will not name names.)

I landed on the notion that it’s not sandaled feet walking around in real life that bother us so much as it is images of those feet. Once sharing endless photos of oneself online became a norm, an outfit was no longer a fleeting thing.

The internet perpetuates a certain gawking over our bodies. You once wore flip-flops simply because it was hot. Now, long after you have kicked off those Tevas, your toes — yes, your slightly gnarled, maybe hairy, but probably perfectly fine toes! — live on, on Facebook or Instagram, and you have to contend with everyone’s strident feelings about them.