History Main / PrefersGoingBarefoot

* ''Webcomic/TheWendybird'': When the Darling sisters head off to Neverland, Wendy and Maddie put on some slippers before leaving. This isn't the case for Maddie, who remains barefoot until she makes it out of Marooner's rock.

This trope is often used in visual media as an excuse to show frequent close-up shots of bare feet, usually due to {{Fanservice}} or AuthorAppeal (or both if you're Creator/QuentinTarantino or Creator/JossWhedon), which may explain why female barefooters outnumber males practically 2-1, or why [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished their feet are very rarely visibly dirty or calloused]]. Conversely, there's a little bit of TruthInTelevision here; women are more likely to go barefoot than men in a given context.

Characters may end up barefoot due to circumstances beyond their control (BarefootCaptives, BarefootPoverty, etc.), which is ''not'' this trope, unless they ''develop'' the preference for going barefoot if they enjoyed their shoeless experience.

And no, it is not this trope if a character only is only barefoot when it's expected. Being barefoot in the shower, in bed, or at the beach/swimming pool, or wearing sandals on a hot day are '''not''' examples of this trope. The character must be shown to specifically enjoy being barefoot and exploit any opportunity to do so. Likewise, most YouTubers film their videos in their homes; simply seeing their socked or bare feet once in awhile is not enough for this trope unless they specifically discuss a preference for going barefoot and/or it's an obvious character quirk.

Downplayed, but still ''broadly'' applicable, if a character has a notable preference for open-toed (or especially open-arched) footwear like sandals or flip-flops, particularly in circumstances when others usually put on closed shoes or boots (like in cold weather or on formal occasions); this version is often used to still convey the essence of the trope while sidestepping questions of practicality. Does ''not'' apply if none of the characters wear shoes and the work portrays a society or setting where shoes don't even exist.

Contrast TheOneWhoWearsShoes, wherein a character is the only one to wear shoes in a world of barefooters (usually {{Barefoot Cartoon Animal}}s).

And no, it is not this trope if a character only is only barefoot at common times. Being barefoot in the shower, in bed, or at the beach/swimming pool, or wearing sandals on a hot day are '''not''' examples of this trope. The character must be shown to specifically enjoy being barefoot and exploit any opportunity to do so, especially at times and in places you would otherwise expect one to wear shoes.

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%% Before adding examples here, keep in mind that most YouTubers film their videos in their homes. Simply seeing their socked or bare feet once in awhile isn't enough for this trope unless they specifically discuss a preference for going barefoot or it's an obvious character quirk.
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* In the ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' fanfic [[https://www.deviantart.com/reallyrosa/art/Angel-Sandals-869923364 Angel Sandals]]'', Pit explains that while he has closed-toe footwear for some occasions, he prefers to wear sandals almost everywhere he goes. This is because they give his feet both comfort and protection and the freedom to wiggle his bare toes whenever he pleases. He goes on to talk about the benefits he gets from wearing sandals, one of them that he really loves the most is having his exposed toes subjected to a FriendlyTickleTorture by pretty girls.

* Wrestling/MattRiddle wrestles barefoot since he is a former MMA fighter and became accostumed to fighting barefoot.

* Sydney Brooks, the titular character of ''[[Webcomic/SydneysPokémonAdventure Sydney's Pokémon Adventure]]'', is a happy-go-lucky and ever-barefoot tomboy who became a Pokémon trainer four years late at the age of fourteen. She's never worn shoes because she's spent nearly all of her young life at home and never needed to. As a very young child, she would wear shoes and socks, but switched to bare feet when she got older, presumably to emulate her lazy brother who is also always barefoot. She happily embarked on her journey while remaining barefoot, because it's simply just what she's used to and the most comfortable in. She eventually gets ''forced'' into a pair of shoes against her will -- a rich girl gave her and her friend Neison tickets for the S.S. Anne as thanks for helping her out, but insisted on giving Sydney a full makeover once aboard, declaring that it would be much too embarrassing for someone of her social status to be seen associating with someone dressed like ''that''. Sydney immediately changes out of the outfit after leaving the ship, though.

* Sydney Brooks, the titular character of ''[[http://sydneyspokemon.thecomicseries.com/ Sydney's Pokémon Adventure]]'', is a happy-go-lucky and ever-barefoot tomboy who became a Pokémon trainer four years late at the age of fourteen. She's never worn shoes because she's spent nearly all of her young life at home and never needed to. As a very young child, she would wear shoes and socks, but switched to bare feet when she got older, presumably to emulate her lazy brother who is also always barefoot. She happily embarked on her journey while remaining barefoot, because it's simply just what she's used to and the most comfortable in. She eventually gets ''forced'' into a pair of shoes against her will -- a rich girl gave her and her friend Neison tickets for the S.S. Anne as thanks for helping her out, but insisted on giving Sydney a full makeover once aboard, declaring that it would be much too embarrassing for someone of her social status to be seen associating with someone dressed like ''that''. Sydney immediately changes out of the outfit after leaving the ship, though.

* Music/{{Shakira}} almost always performs barefoot, and even called one of her albums ''Pies Descalzos'' (Spanish for "bare feet"). In her biography, ''Woman Full of Grace'', she indicates that being barefoot makes her feel like she has removed the facades from her personality and allowed her true self to shine through. Also, it's traditional for belly dance}s (she's a lifelong ''raqs sharqi'' dancer).

* Music/{{Shakira}} almost always performs barefoot, and even called one of her albums ''Pies Descalzos'' (Spanish for "bare feet"). In her biography, ''Woman Full of Grace'', she indicates that being barefoot makes her feel like she has removed the facades from her personality and allowed her true self to shine through. Also, it's traditional for {{belly dancer}}s (she's a lifelong ''raqs sharqi'' dancer).

* Marine, the protagonist of the ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' webcomic ''The First Human'' takes off her boots shortly before falling into the Underground, and spends the rest of her adventure barefoot, much to the confusion of Flowey and other monsters.

* Xanna (and later Naruto) in the ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9920512/1/Reaching-for-a-Dream Reaching for a Dream]]'' series hates wearing shoes. Even when wearing rather impressive looking (if impractical) armor, she always goes barefoot because she finds it more comfortable. It helps that she's a demon and by the end of the story both she and Naruto are gods.
%% ** Naruto exploits this in a later story by making a bet where the loser has to wear an outfit he selects that includes high heels. Xanna hates them so much that she doesn't ask about the rest of the outfit, which includes a collar that negates her powers. '''Integrate with the above'''

* Once she gets feet, Ariel in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' goes barefoot more often than she wears shoes. Her daughter Melody in [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea the sequel]] is a dedicated barefooter, only wearing shoes when she's forced to.

** In the storybook version of ''Tangled Ever After'', she's still barefoot, even at her wedding. (In the short film, her dress is too long to tell.) The later storybook ''Ghosts of Christmas Past'' then shows that while she'll shun shoes most of the time, she'll renege to them if it calls for walking in snow.

* Maria Vargas, Creator/AvaGardner's character in ''Film/TheBarefootContessa'' could practically be the trope namer. She goes from [[BarefootPoverty poor peasant girl]] to internationally famous actress, but never loses her love of going barefoot. When a statue is commissioned of her, she insists on posing for it barefoot, and at the end of the movie, after her husband murders her, Creator/HumphreyBogart's character removes her shoes to bring her soul some peace.

* Cricket on ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'' hates wearing shoes. Even at a dance, when he's otherwise in formal wear, he's barefoot. The only time he willingly wears shoes is in cold weather, treating it the same as wearing a jacket, or when playing a specific sport such as football or baseball.

* Several sports are performed barefoot: aquatic sports like swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and diving; beach volleyball; martial arts like judo and karate. Gymnasts often perform barefoot as well.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* The [[AnthropomorphicObjects fruit ninjas]] of ''WebAnimation/BananaNanaNinja'' don't wear shoes because their legs (when they have any) are stick figures. Except during a SuperMovePortraitAttack.
* In ''WebAnimation/HanazukiFullOfTreasures'', some Moonflowers like the titular heroine go barefoot. Others wear open-toed shoes.
[[/folder]]

* Nyarai from ''Webcomic/FurryFightChronicles'' is barefoot inside and outside of the ring contrasting the other humanoid characters who wear shoes. Since she is a humanoid cheetah with fur and paw pads, shoes are not really necessary. A flashback even reveals that she was a barefooter as a child.

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka says in the first [[FourthWallMailSlot Q&A strip]] that she goes barefoot because she was never given any shoes, but she likes walking barefoot anyway.

* Shiro Watanabe of the webcomic K9 is only seen wearing shoes when forced to, to add to his crazy demeanor.

* Marine, the protagonist of the "VideoGame/UnderTale" webcomic "The First Human" takes off her boots shortly before falling into the Underground, and spends the rest of her adventure barefoot, much to the confusion of Flowey and other monsters.

%% Before adding examples here, keep in mind that most Youtubers film their videos in their homes. Simply seeing their socked or bare feet once in awhile isn't enough for this trope unless they specifically discuss a preference for going barefoot or it's an obvious character quirk.

* Several sports are performed barefoot: aquatic sports like swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and diving; beach volleyball; some martial arts like judo and karate. Gymnasts often perform barefoot as well.

* Several sports are performed barefoot: aquatic sports like swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming and diving; beach volleyball; some martial arts like judo and karate.

* Marine, the protagonist of the "VideoGame/Undertale" webcomic "The First Human" takes off her boots shortly before falling into the Underground, and spends the rest of her adventure barefoot, much to the confusion of Flowey and other monsters.