Barefoot

Barefoot children, in a slum area, in Great Britain, during the First World War.

Hans Thoma, Der Kinderreigen (1872) shows barefoot children playing.

Footprints of a girl that regularly walks barefoot

People who do not wear shoes and socks or tights are said to be barefoot. Being barefoot is a natural way of walking. There are many receptors and muscles in the foot, which help sense the ground people are walking on. There's a thick layer of skin on the feet. This layer will get even thicker in people who often walk barefoot. This protection has its limits. Likely shoes were developed to protect against heat or cold. The oldest known traces of shoes date to about 8,500 years ago. People think some kinds of shoes were used when Europe was settled about 40,000 years ago.

Going barefoot has many health benefits. Improvement in balance and coordination, better food mechanics that can also benefit other parts of a person's body, and a feeling of better mental well-being are some reasons to consider going barefoot.

On the other hand, risks of injury and disease mean that people should exercise caution when choosing when and where to go barefoot.

Other than at home, popular places to go barefoot are beaches and parks. Some college campuses are open to students not wearing shoes. There is also a trend toward barefoot hiking.

In some parts of the world, children cannot go to school unless they have shoes. This has resulted in nonprofit projects to give these children access to shoes, such as TOMS One Day Without Shoes. However, it was common for children not to wear shoes at school in early America and is still common in certain places such as Hawaii, South Africa and New Zealand.

Australia particularly has a strong culture of going barefoot.

Historically, boys would go barefoot more than girls did. If a girl did go barefoot, she was viewed as a "tomboy." In recent decades, the situation has reversed, since women's fashions now make it easier for girls and women to be without shoes.

Some musical celebrities like to perform barefoot. These musical artists include Joss Stone, Amy Grant and Belinda Carlisle, as well as the worship singer Jenn Johnson.