20+ years ago, 6 was a boy's shoe size, and 7 was a men's shoe size. There was no debate, that's how all shoes were set up. I clearly remember this when I was in the 6.5 transition sizing, but there were literally no shoes in that size for boys/men.
About 10 years ago, I was in a department store and noticed their kids shoe on display looked huge, much more like a men's size than for a kid. Upon further investigation, I saw that it was a size 7 and was very confused. Why was a 7 in the kid's section? My mind was blown, but I just figured it was put in the wrong spot and it's one of those shoes where they just manufacture a continuum of sizes.
That was all good and well until I went into the men's shoes and found that 8's were the smallest anywhere for all their men's shoes. I later checked online and most places still had 7's as a men's size. I was sure that this 1 store had just messed up.
Little did I know that it was at the forefront of re-classifying sizing. Nowadays, it's common, not the exception, to see 7s listed as a boys size. Places like Walmart still have boys sizes only up to 6, but 7s are curiously absent from most of the men's sizes.
I had a crisis of identity. I had always thought "well, at least I'm not the smallest men's size" And now I am. I fear that in another 10-15 years, I will be a boys size 8. Already, many adults just accept 8 as a boys size, not a men's size. ebay auctions of pre-owned shoes show that parents just classify their growing boys' size 8s and sometimes 9s as "boys size"
We live in an ever-increasing foot size world, and us small-footed men are being left behind with every generation.
