Barefoot is the most common term for the state of not wearing any footwear. Barefootedness is not regarded as unusual in many domestic environments, but is subject to criticism in public spaces in many urban environments.
Wearing footwear is an exclusively human characteristic. It has been normal in cold climates since early antiquity,[citation needed] and has since become a convention in most cultures. This is particularly the case in most urban situations, where going barefoot is unusual. While footwear is generally worn for functional, fashion, and societal reasons, many people[who?] do not wear shoes at home.
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.[citation needed]
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.[1