History Main / BarefootPoverty

DoesNotLikeShoes may be a result of this if the character manages to get out of their poverty. A SisterTrope to BankruptcyBarrel and PauperPatches. Compare EarthyBarefootCharacter, BarefootSage, BarefootLoon, MagicalBarefooter, and UndeadBarefooter.

* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer'', Tom envies Huckleberry Finn for not having to wear shoes. Tom doesn't seem to realize it's because Huck doesn't have any shoes, or even parents to make him put them on if he did. Not that bare feet are really a sign of poverty, as Tom and many of his classmates only wear shoes to church when weather permits, and Tom thinks a new boy overdressed when he wears new clothes, a necktie, and shoes on a Friday.

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': In the "Book Of Ages" arc, after Shendu rewrites history so the demons rule the Earth, Viper goes from a posh, ClassyCatBurglar to a barefoot, in rags slavegirl.

** Other orders {{took a third option}} and allowed shoes -- these shoes being VERY simple sandals.

** The "Your mother wears army/combat boots" came to be due to this trope, as it actually means "YourMom is so poor, [[CampFollower she has to prostitute herself to soldiers so she can wear shoes!]]".

** This becomes a plot point during the final arc: The denizens of Soul Society's worst districts are disappearing en masse, leaving only footprints, including some shoe prints. [[spoiler:It's revealed that people who live within Districts 50-80 are so poverty stricken, none have been known to wear shoes for 550 years. This clues in [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Lieutenant Kira]] to the fact that the conclusion villagers killed each other is wrong and that entire villages are being slaughtered by shinigami. Thanks to Kira's revelation, it's discovered that, because a huge number of hollows were annihilated by Quincies, [[MadScientist Mayuri's]] men comitted mass murder to avoid a pan-dimensional disaster that could destroy entire worlds: killing spirit-dwelling villagers counter-balanced the destroyed hollows in a case of BalancingDeathsBooks.]]

* In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', all the slave characters are {{Barefoot Captive}}s almost all the time, except for the gladiators when fighting in the arena.

* In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', all the slave characters are barefoot almost all the time, except for the gladiators when fighting in the arena.

* Mentioned repeatedly in the LittleHouseOnThePrarie show, as Pa says "I can barely afford shoes for my own girls" when he gets frustrated. Having shoes was considered a big step up for the family in the original books as well.

* Truth in Television, logically. Poverty at the level of hand to mouth (or worse) doesn't leave money for things like shoes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' has a briefly downplayed moment of this trope mixed with a possible FetishRetardant in "[[ItMakesSenseInContext Evil GLADIS, MUCH?]]" when [[spoiler: Mandy is sitting with bare feet on the sidewalk [[AlasPoorVillain because her mother sold the boots she and Clover have been fighting over all episode.]]]] [[note]]Though Sam says that it's 87 degrees, so the snow she's sitting in clearly fake.[[/note]] [[spoiler: It's hard not to feel sorry despite her usual QueenBee status, so Clover decides to give her the boots [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext that she stole from a stranger]] before [[TractoExCulo pulling out a]] ''[[KickTheDog better]]'' [[AllWomenLoveShoes pair out of her shopping bag]].]]

Originally, nobody wore shoes, though in colder countries people might wrap their feet in cold weather. In the last few thousand years, shoes gained prevalence through their association with status. Making shoes requires skill and wearing them meant you were above such things as [[TooImportantToWalk walking on the ground]]. Thus those who wore shoes were the nobility, and those who aspired to be nobility (this is also how [[http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2007/07/11/suffering-for-beauty-graphic-photos-of-chinese-footbinding/ foot binding became]] [[http://www.neatorama.com/2010/07/07/the-bygone-practice-of-foot-binding-in-china/ so popular in China]]). Urbanization is another factor; going barefoot in a pastoral setting is one thing, but cobblestone streets can cut and abrade one's feet severely. These are the same factors that led to the development of the horseshoe.

* African teenager Frangie Marr from the book ''Literature/FrontLines'' by Michael Grant. She's outgrown her last pair of shoes and can't afford to wear any until she arrives at military boot camp (Frangie notes the irony in that name). It's stated how utterly humiliating going barefoot in public is for her.

* {{Invoked}} in ''Anime/MichikoToHatchin''. Hatchin briefly does a self-imposed version of this in "Like a Frantic Pinball," when she refuses to wear a pair of stolen shoes until she can properly pay for them.

* In ''ThievesOfTheWood'', Anne Marie is a barefoot orphan.

-->--'''Beggars''', ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' [[note]][[GameplayAndStorySegregation They keep saying this no matter how many coins you give them.]][[/note]]

** This becomes a plot point during the final arc: The denizens of Soul Society's worst districts are disappearing en masse, leaving only footprints, including some shoe prints. [[spoiler:It's revealed that people who live within Districts 50�80 are so poverty stricken, none have been known to wear shoes for 550 years. This clues in [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Lieutenant Kira]] to the fact that the conclusion villagers killed each other is wrong and that entire villages are being slaughtered by shinigami. Thanks to Kira's revelation, it's discovered that, because a huge number of hollows were annihilated by Quincies, [[MadScientist Mayuri's]] men comitted mass murder to avoid a pan-dimensional disaster that could destroy entire worlds: killing spirit-dwelling villagers counter-balanced the destroyed hollows in a case of BalancingDeathsBooks.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boy_sitting_barefoot_and_hatless_by_john_sell_cotman.jpg]]

** In the Literature/BookOfExodus, there was a law that stated that if a man died without any [[HeirClubForMen male heirs]], his widow was to marry his brother, and the brother would [[LineageComesFromTheFather carry on the family line]] for him via the first son he had with her. If the man refused the marriage, she was to publicly humiliate him ([[FamilyHonor and all]] [[SinsOfOurFathers his descendants and relatives]]) by removing his sandals, spitting on him, and publicly declaring that he refused to do his duty to his family and society. Because of the shame, it would lead to ostracism and financial ruin for him, and he would NeverLiveItDown.

* In Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/RobinHood'', the rabbit family exemplify both this trope and the BarefootCartoonAnimal.
* ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'': The titular character, being a poor thief, is barefoot until he becomes a prince.
* Esmeralda from ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is a poor Romani girl who runs around barefoot. At the end of the film, she falls in love with the clearly wealthy-looking Captain of the Guard, Phoebus, and in the sequel she gains shoes.
* Inverted in ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'': The hero is a very poor archaeologist from the surface world who wears shoes, while his love interest is a wealthy but barefoot Atlantean princess. At the end of the film, the two marry, and as a result ''he'' ends up barefoot instead while said princess, er ''[[TheHighQueen queen]]'' gains sandals, which are concealed by her dress.
* ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' from the self-titled film wears the typical mountain man outfit, appearing barefoot with tattered overalls.

* Katia Managan from ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' starts out barefoot and without a single Septim to her name. Most of her outfits have been supplied to her by others, not purchased herself, and they don't always include boots. Factor in how often she loses all the clothes off her back, and she ends up spending most of the comic barefoot. Like the rabbit family from ''Disney/RobinHood'', she combines this trope with BarefootCartoonAnimal.

* Esmeralda from ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is a poor Gypsy girl who runs around barefoot. At the end of the film, she falls in love with the clearly wealthy-looking Captain of the Guard, Phoebus, and in the sequel she gains shoes.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' has a briefly downplayed moment of this trope mixed with a possible FetishRetardant in "[[ItMakesSenseInContext Evil GLADIS, MUCH?]]" when [[spoiler: Mandy is sitting with bare feet on the sidewalk [[AlasPoorVillain because her mother sold the boots she and Clover have been fighting over all episode.]]]] [[note]]Though Sam says that it's 87 degrees, so the snow she's sitting in clearly fake.[[/note]] [[spoiler: It's hard not to feel sorry despite her usual QueenBee status, so [[LovableLibby Clover]] decides to give her the boots [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext that she stole from a stranger]] before [[TractoExCulo pulling out a]] ''[[KickTheDog better]]'' [[AllWomenLoveShoes pair out of her shopping bag]].]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Film--Animated ]]

[[folder: Film--Live Action]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling ]]

[[folder: Religion ]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* ''NamespaceGoesHere/TheMagicRiddle'': Cindy, except in her dream sequence.

* ''TheMagicRiddle/NamespaceGoesHere'': Cindy, except in her dream sequence.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Due to the feudal setting, many background characters are poverty-stricken villagers. The cast, however, are either shoe-wearers or DoesNotLikeShoes examples, with Rin bein introduced as this trope before being saved by Sesshoumaru, whereupon she joins the rest of the DoesNotWearShoes cast.