Sometimes the facts of women's history provoke searing debate. Did you know that wearing high heels can be dangerous to your health? According to a team of Harvard researchers, wearing high heels is linked to "knee osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of the cartilage surrounding the knee." Wide high heels are no better: "The researchers decided to look at the chunkier heels now in fashion to determine if they too are harmful to women's knees. The latest study, which appears in the April 7, 2001, issue of The Lancet, demonstrates that wide heels increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis in the knee as much as, or more than, spindly-heeled stilettos."
The recent vogue for incredibly high heels worn by the likes of Victoria Beckman makes us wish that she would read the radical feminist Shelia Jeffreys incredibly hard-hitting, sobering critique of dangerous trends in the beauty industry, Beauty and Misogyny Harmful Cultural Practices in the West. Jeffreys argues against the notion that Western cultural practices should be exempt from the United Nations' condemnation of "harmful traditional practices" outside of Western Europe, America, Australia, and other so called "developed" nations. Jeffreys says that "[..] Western beauty practices from makeup to labiaplasty (and much, much more...her book is exhaustive) do fit the criteria [for harmful practices against women's health] and should be included in UN understandings." How can contemporary feminists who revel in practices of adornment, or who view make-up, high heels, and other practices as empowering or erotic reconcile their tastes with the studies that note how dangerous to women's health such effects as high heels are?
Sometimes the facts of women's history are subject to great debate and soul-searching.
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I think hair removal can be one of these harmful practices, you can get severe infections from a bad bikini wax. I got a bikini wax several years ago from a women who had previously been a nurse in Russia. She told me that under no circumstances will she do "Brazilian" waxes for any client, because people don't realize the negative health effects. (I wasn't asking for a Brazilian, btw.)
As for heels, I had a job for a year in my mid-20s that I had to dress "professionally" for. I always thought flats with suits made me look short and frumpy, so I wore heels every day. The result? Bunions. Yes, my toe bones are now displaced way out to the sides. It was extremely painful for a few years, especially while running and doing other activities. Now the pain has mostly depleted, after not having to get dressed up on a daily basis for several years. I do still occasionally wear heels but only for specific "dressy" events and I will only wear very expensive heels- I have learned that price makes a huge difference in this area, unfortunately.
I think it very interesting that western practices like these have been brought up to the UN. Traditionally the west has been so quick to judge the developing world on their practices against women, while some of our's are no better.
Well, a lot of things are bad for us. Smoking is bad for us, and a lot of feminists do it. I can definitely see that it's a feminist issue, but I don't think that we should revoke anyone's feminism card over their fashion choices/aesthetics.
But as I said, it's definitely a feminist issue. I worked last year for a company in an office setting that REQUIRED all female employees to wear heels to work at all times. I couldn't believe it. It was awful. And while I reserve the right to wear heels when and if I choose, I think that requiring only female employees to wear something uncomfortable and unhealthy to work because of some arbitrary standard of "professional dress" that requires women to be sexualized in order to be professional is sexist.
I would have had some serious complaints for that company. Did you try to do anything about it?
There are places that require women to wear pantyhose and make-up as well as high heels. Pantyhose is itchy as hell, and while make-up isn't that much of a hassle (at least, not for me) it's annoying that women are required to look attractive in order to be professional. You should be clean and you should brush your hair, but requiring you to put on lipstick and mascara is crossing a line.
For real, and what about people with ridiculously sensitive skin? I'd get a giant rash if I even tried wearing makeup. What's always irritated me is that people often say, in this weird sort of comforting way, "that's OK, you don't need makeup anyway" as if it's a huge disappointment to me. What would make me "need" makeup? Does this mean that women who do "need" makeup are too ugly to be acceptable the way they are? And why don't men "need" makeup?
...rant over.
The sensitive skin comment...make up does bother me a little, but I am most bothered by hair removal. I even break out from laser hair removal. Shaving my legs HURTS me, and people can't understand that. Shaving my bikini area is a disaster, and I'm allergic to the ointments that are supposed to help. On my face, I have to make the trade off between severe acne from plucking or chin whiskers and unfortunately, neither is accepted by others.
Rachel, Have you tried using mineral-based make-up? They're supposed to be gentle and recommended even for those with acne problems and even dermatologists recommend it.
Honestly, I've never really experimented much with makeup because 1) I prefer to be low-maintenance, 2) I always felt like it was something that I would only be doing because of social pressure and I'm kind of a non-conformist in this way, and 3) I've always been really lucky and had clear skin and good color, so there's not much motivation there. However, if I'm exposed to things like laundry detergent or lotions/bodywashes with perfume in them I break out in hives, which quickly go away when the product is removed. So even though my mom and sister used to sell Avon, and my sister is one of those "I can't leave the house without makeup" types, I just avoided it and stuck with the fresh-faced athlete look in high school, and that's the habit that sort of stuck with me. Plus, you get to sleep in longer if you have a low-maintenance hair style and don't wear makeup. :D
But smoking is not something that only women are traditionally pressured into doing.
I think you do have to pay special attention to potentially harmful things that are associated with female beauty. According to the reasearch, wearing high heels everday shortens the muscles in your calves and lower back so that you can't comfortably wear flats anymore. My mom discovered this firsthand after she retired and got terrible backaches anytime she didn't wear heels. This seems somewhat better than foot binding to me, but not much.
Actually, the company I worked for when I was wearing the heels required women to wear hose with skirts as part of the dress code. One girl who was one of the best young employees in the company, wore a skirt suit without hose one hot day in the summer, and was "spoken to" by a manager. I'm sorry, but I consider hose to be an undergarment, I don't want my managers checking my legs for hose! Plus, hose are such a pain, they are expensive and they break so easily. I love to wear skirts because I'm short, but I always avoided wearing them at that job because of the hose!
I wear wide heels in part because if I wear flats, my toe aches so badly I have to stop every twenty minutes to sit down.
The shoes that hurt me the worst? My hiking boots.
I'm not sure you can really know why anyone's wearing the shoes/boots they wear just by looking.
You definitely need new flats/boots then. If GOOD QUALITY shoes fit properly they shouldn't hurt.
Or a visit to the doctor, if you are able. There could be something wrong with your spine that's causing those problems, and it's best to get on that fast.
I agree with Kathryn. It's important to know about things that are harmful, but once you know something is harmful, it should be your choice whether to do it (and your responsibility to face the consequences if you do).
I wear corsets, those symbols of Victorian oppression. Not always, but increasingly. I also do not tightlace, so I'm not doing anything that would displace organs or ribs, but that's my choice. There are quite a few women (and men) who do tightlace. What is important in shoes is also important in corsetry: wear something well-made that fits right, and know how to tell that it is. And absolutely no one should be forced to wear makeup, high heels, constrictive clothing, or anything else that is uncomfortable and/or potentially harmful.
Of course it should be the individual woman's choice, but the fact that our culture pressures women, but not men, to wear unhealthy/damaging things is still problematic. I mean, outiside of the societal pressure they experience, it's pretty hard to make sense of their choices, isn't it?
You're gonna have to include more about how makeup harms our health if you want me to comment on that. But one of the things I never see discussed in feminist conversations about makeup is the idea of it as art. Coloring my eyelids with purples and golds and seeing what new combinations I can come up with gives me feelings akin to ones I had when I was in painting classes. My makeup isn't for men - it's for me. If anything, the guys I've dated haven't understood teal-and-silver eyelids AT ALL and could care less.
High heels, though, are one of those time-and-place-appropriate things. I don't wear sweaters when it's hot out, I don't wear shorts when it's freezing. And I don't wear heels if I'm going to be standing or walking around for hours. When I was in school in Chicago, I practically abandoned all my heels and invested in flats and sneakers and low-heeled boots because I walked everywhere. Now that I'm in a city where I drive everywhere and work in an office where I sit all day, I have no issues with wearing heels. If I'm going to dinner and know I'm going to be sitting at a table all night, I'll wear higher heels. If I'm going to a bar/club where I know I'll be standing, I'll opt for lower-to-flat heels.
I think Kathryn's comment up above highlights issues that are more worrisome than the general topic of "high heels."
And summoning up Victoria Beckham, well, she's so far removed from my reality that her choice of footwear means nothing to me.
"But one of the things I never see discussed in feminist conversations about makeup is the idea of it as art"
Well if make-up is so artsy, then why aren't more men and boys fighting to wear make-up? I mean men have been over-represented in the art world up until now, so how come there isn't more appreciation of this thing called make-up, apart from the occasional rocker?
There must be some other force saying that make-up is for girls only. And the fact that other cultures (including European culture a time ago) was accepting of male make-up, body art and ornamentation analogous to modern women's make-up, leads me to believe that it's not just a question of art----which is why we probably haven't seen a spirited conversation from this angle in feminist circles.
I think make-up definitely qualifies as art for me. I enjoy experimenting until I find a look I like.
Society thinks of make-up as a girly thing. The only boys who wear make-up are emo kids, which isn't exactly seen as manly. The way society views make-up doesn't make it not art.
I would never make an argument about whether or not makeup is art, because that is a subjective call. The questions in my post were meant to be more of a thought process.
I was starting from Alixana's premise of makeup as art. And I'm not even assuming that the makeup would be the same as what women wear; if we stretch our imaginations (as art often allows) men's makeup could be a totally different product, not yet invented because of lack of demand. But instead the concept of makeup for men is practically non-existent.
So I suppose Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt just look like that in their movies without make-up? Wow...to be that blessed!
Heck...heard of Tony Blair???
Men and boys aren't fighting to wear it because marketing departments for cosmetics companies prey on female self esteem to sell it. According to them, makeup is camouflage to hide our ugly real faces behind.
I love makeup, but when makeup is marketed towards making a woman look "better" as if she's ugly without it, then I have feminist issues with it. And I choose to buy my makeup from companies that don't do that.
Celeb culture doesn't make it any better, with those oh-so-wonderful "OMG, LOOK AT HER STEPPING OUT WITHOUT MAKEUP ON" articles in tabloids.
Which is just a long way of saying it isn't makeup that's inherently unfeminist or harmful as the OP seems to suggest.
Don't blame us for this one, most guys don't notice if a girl's wearing makeup.
Maybe you don't, but I've known plenty of men who do.
It's still mostly a societal thing, of course, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of guys who won't immediately start making judgments about a woman who has natural-colored lips.
I'd say it's a personal preference. Some guys do like women who go the distance with the makeup but you are right, there are plenty of men who don't care. In fact there are a lot of men like my husband who HATE the made up look. The idea is that if you can tell she's wearing it then it's too much. Gotta say I agree with that one!
While looking through my trusty French Feminism Reader for an entirely different quote, I stumbled upon this one from Colette Guillaumin, and it seemed remarkably appropriate for this thread...
God, I love Guillaumin sometimes.I'm all for personal choice, if a woman wants to wear high heels that is totally her choice. But our society has reached the point where if you aren't wearing high heels, you are dressed casually. Even in the places that don't regulate it, wearing flats or even low heels is often derided, publicly or privately. More than that, there's a lot incredibly troubling with the idea that if a woman is to be dressed attractively, it needs to be in a way that could cause her damage. Women are barely forgiven this standard, in both professional/formal attire, or attractive attire, even when the weather is snowy, or any other time it would cause undue pain.
A woman's individual choice isn't what's being questioned here, but when that choice is the only truly viable choice, it isn't a choice at all.
It's hard, but we women must be brave and stick to our guns.
Which is why I'm continuing my personal campaign to wear sneaks with summer dresses thereby offending the fashion gods. And yeah sometimes when I have worn athletic type shoes to work, I've gotten comments, but I just tell them that I've had foot surgery (the truth) and they shut up. But it's frustrating nonetheless.
I didn't even back down on my wedding day either. I bought the comfortable sporty shoes first and then the outfit to match (we got married in the dead of winter at an Italian city hall--but it was all the more traumatizing in the land of shoes...).
My friends are always harassing me to wear high heels, but thankfully I'm 5'10" so its a perfect excuse not too (cus who wants to be 6'5"?). Those things are PAINFUL!
Funny, I've often had the opposite experience. I'm 5'9" and occasionally wear boots with a heel (boots are my thing) and my mom and sister used to admonish me not to wear heels that would make me "too tall." I guess because all the men who would be shorter than me have fragile egos that need protection? I hate it when people make tall girls feel self-conscious, or when tall girls walk all stooped over to minimize it. Being tall kicks ass and you should be proud of it!
I think I'm gonna go with the idea of moderation on this one.
The OP asked "how can contemporary feminists...who view make-up, high heels, and other practices as empowering or erotic reconcile their tastes with the studies that note how dangerous to women's health such effects as high heels are?"
I wear four-and-a-half and five-inch stilettos routinely, but I take them off when I get home (bare feet are quieter, and I don't have enough of a death-wish to try to work out in spike heels) and often wear trainers for practicality's sake.
One can't discard out of hand the effects of make-up, stilettos, et cetera: they can make people look really good. Of course, they're not always the right idea.
Can we just plead "common sense" and leave it at that?
(about the workplace requirements: ultra-moronic. who's going to force a 6' woman to wear heels? and who'll define "heels"? half-inch? kitten? why not ballet boots, if you really want to kill our feet?!)
I think adornment is okay, but relying on it or requiring it is not.