Barefoot (also barefooted) is the state of not wearing any footwear.The deliberate wearing of footwear is exclusively a human characteristic and has been a standard sociocultural feature of human civilizations since early antiquity. Besides the practical aspects this societal convention has set the present-day standard in most cultures, accordingly the utilization of footwear represents the prevailing social norm and going barefoot is generally regarded to be an uncommon state. Therefore it is usually perceived as a particularity and attracts a certain degree of attention.While footwear is generally worn for functional, fashion and societal reasons, many people deliberately choose to not wear shoes in privacy and go barefoot in situations where the mentioned aspects are regarded as non-essential. At this the state of being barefoot is usually voluntary and remains temporary with the practical option to revert to footwear by choice.Contrary to popular assumption the state of poverty has never been an actual reason for unwantedly having to go barefoot in any civilized culture, as simple forms of footwear could freely be handmade with disposable materials throughout all ages and in all surroundings. In this regard early forms of overall fully developed shoes made from natural materials already emerged during the Mesolithic age. During the Middle Ages the sight of bare feet or even parts thereof was generally deemed disreputable and for the female gender denigrated as obscene, so it was meticulously avoided to show unclothed feet at any time. Therefore even people suffering under severe penury usually made every effort to attire themselves at least in basic footwear. Accordingly shoeless feet were scarcely seen during that historical period, even in contemporary depictions people were mostly shown vested in footwear. This traditional mindset still has an effect on the common opinion about the sight of bare feet in today's world, where it is still conceived as peculiarity in the greater part of societal settings.This valuation is essentially derivative from the aspect, that it has often been imposed upon defined individuals to go barefoot as a visible mark of a subordinate legal or social status throughout most parts of human history. Usually in settings of significant imbalance in power specificly categorized people were intentionally subjected to this detail by prevailing authorities. In this context bare feet mainly served as a distinguishing mark for the loss or absence of personal freedom due to imprisonment or other forms of judicial captivity and in particular designs of a social order also as a byproduct of slavery. Hereby the difference in status was accentuated by setting up a striking visual contrast to the traditional civic appearance, that did not escape notice in any case. As bare feet effortlessly delivered the most apparent difference in outward appearance to any other passable form of modification in clothing, this simple attribute has been used in most cultures rather congruently. In some cultures a barefooted semblance also served as an identifier of a servile or menial status in a similar assessment of this attribute. From this generally accepted classification shoes have become a traditional manifestation of freedom and authority in most civilizations while captivity and subjection are often linked with the imagery of bare feet.The mentioned effects of general perception and special attentiveness elicited by shoeless feet are still used within penal institutions in many countries of today where prisoners are constrained to go barefoot by regulation (see below). Besides the practical objectives of visually tagging individuals as prison inmates and weakening acts of resistance as well as impeding escape from custody this situation naturally causes a certain extent of humbling for the detained person, as in respective cases the state of being barefoot is involuntary, mostly reluctant and often perceived as stigmatizing. By implication the person is forced to remain barefoot during situations where footwear would normally be in order for practical and notably for societal reasons, at this contrasting the conventional visual appearance. The purposefully withheld protection of the feet often causes a certain level of persistent discomfort within regular confinement surroundings due to unpleasing ground temperatures or textures and usually sets up a variety of obstacles in everyday situations. The striving to avoid painful collisions and impacts onto the unprotected feet forces the individual into a considerably more cautious mode of movement and general action, typically also unfolding an effect on situations of personal interaction. Hereby the prisoner's actions are restrained by nature, also complementing the restrictive effect of additional physical restraints such as ankle shackles. For a person subjected to a barefoot constraint within a confinement setting it is generally impossible to obtain items of footwear altogether, also it is usually not possible to make some sort of foot protection by hand either. This curtailment distinctly sets the prisoner apart from any free person even in ancient times, that could at the very least resort on making some kind of usable footwear by hand as an option to circumvent unwanted barefootedness. As a resulting side-effect the mentioned circumstances of enforced barefootedness deviate from normality in freedom to an extent, that they often elicit near constant awareness of the prevailing captivity situation. Hereby the virtually permanent sensory input through the tactile sensitive soles complements this effect as a steady reminder. In the context of imprisonment the imagery of bare feet is typically also used to showcase the prisoner's status within the respective hierarchy structure.Many stores, restaurants and other public venues in the United States employ dress codes prohibiting bare feet. While private business owners are free to set their own policies, many cite different health regulations, though these typically are occupational safety requirements that pertain to employees only. Contrary to occasional belief it is not formally prohibited to operate a motor vehicle barefoot, as long as the apparatus can be operated with adequate safety not putting other people in danger.There are health benefits and risks associated with going barefoot. Footwear provides protection from cuts, abrasions, bruises and impacts from objects on the ground or the ground texture itself, as well as from frostbite and parasites like hookworm in extreme situations. However, shoes can limit the flexibility and mobility of the foot and can lead to higher incidences of flexible flat foot, bunions, hammer toe and Morton's neuroma. Walking barefoot results in a more natural gait, allowing for a more rocking motion of the foot, eliminating the hard heel strike hereby generating less collision force in the foot and lower leg.There are many sports that are performed barefoot, most notably gymnastics and martial arts, but also beach volleyball, barefoot running and water skiing. In modern language, someone who tends not to wear shoes in public or is participating in the afore mentioned sports may be described as a barefooter.