This is a topic that I often struggle with, and it exists on a much broader sense, I suppose, involving fashion in general. I've always been slightly torn, since some people, or most, benefit from fashion in a way; it offers a chance to express oneself, present themselves to the world. On the other hand, it can also become quite oppressive, when you find yourself having to adhere to certain standards, lest you get frowned upon, receive scornful looks, or just sheer laughter.
There are also the expectations that ensue. Many jobs have unwritten rules that practically require a skirt and heels. Many places, including churches on Sundays, court appearances, or any occasion where a woman has to "dress up", require such uncomfortable attire. Now, for those who enjoy these fashion standards, I urge you to keep enjoying, it is a good thing. But for those that don't, I wonder, what other choices are there? Personally, my experiences with high heels have not been so great.
My toes have suffered sores, and I cannot stand for long periods of time, which on many occasions, I was required to do. Obviously, given an emergency, I would not be able to run fast enough. Sure, I could take them off, but I would not have the added support and protection of sneakers or shoes. I have also learned that it is a man who originally stands behind the idea for high heels, which angers me a little bit more; although I am not certain of the veracity, nor can I even remember the source where I learned this.
I see high heels as limiting a woman's ability to move about, rendering her helpless in certain situations; and I am sure most of us have seen those 80s slasher flicks where she's running in the woods, and trips and falls because of them. (another topic). I see them as a way of exploiting her as some sort of image on a pedestal to be gawked at.
On a more positive note, however, they can make you taller, which is/was a common reason for their use. So, what are your thoughts and experiences with heels?
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So long as I'm not just going out to take out the trash or something, I will not wear any shoe that I cannot break into a sprint in. (I might wear, say, flip flops to take out trash.)
I never wear heels. First of all, I'm 5'9", and get enough stares for my height, even though I don't think I'm really all THAT tall. Secondly, as you mentioned, they're freakin' uncomfortable. Wearing 2" heels once, I had blisters within an hour. And they were relatively comfortable ones. Most importantly, the best you can do is weakly trot. There's no even moderate running, let alone sprinting.
I like my mobility. Don't plan on doing anything to willingly decrease it.
(If you want to wear heels, I don't care, not attacking heel wearers, but they're absolutely not ever for me.)
That's why I don't wear them, either. I'm already eye level (or taller lol) with most men so I don't need heels to bring myself up.
I wore them once in grade 8 and had such massive blisters..ugh.
I don't wear dresses or skirts at all, ever. So I don't wear spiky little heels, but I do have a thing for boots with a chunky heel, and actually like the fact that they make me so damn tall (6'1"). 'Cause fuck cultural attitudes that women can't be tall. That being said, I can run in them, and have used the chunky heel to come down hard on the instep of the asshole who thinks it's OK to run his hands over my ass in a crowded bar. So there's one use for heels anyway.
But I'm totally with you on the mobility thing. Any item of clothing that limits your range of motion is sexist in my view. Consider this headline "Foot binding: Empowering or Oppressive?" [Remember that foot binding was a symbol of privilege in ancient China, as only women whose families were wealthy enough that the girls didn't have to work in the fields had their feet bound...]
they can make you taller, which is/was a common reason for their use
My understanding of the history of heels was that they made your calves look slimmer and caused you to hold your torso/lower back at a sexier angle. Which is also what causes the muscular changes in the bodies of women who wear heels all the time. My mom wore heels to work every day, and when she retired she got horrible backaches because the muscles in the backs of her legs and lower back had shortened to accomodate them. It took her 2 years to be able to wear flats comfortably. Talk about patriarchy disciplining the female body...
I agree that heels are very impractical. Even those that are comfortable initially can get very uncomfortable by the end of the day, especially if you have to stand or walk a great deal, and they obviously limit your mobility (my fiance is constantly getting annoyed when I have to walk slower than him because of my heels). Their primary purpose (other than just making you taller) is to make your calves look good and to stick out your boobs and ass. Seriously. So yes, heels are ridiculous and patriarchal. And I love them. I love shoes, period, and I especially love heels from a fashion perspective. I do try to be smart (I genuinely wear sneakers to work and switch over to heels once I'm at the office - no sense ruining my feet or my shoes) and if I know I'm going to be out all day I stick to comfy shoes. But, as impractical and stupid as it is, I still love my heels!
The good news for women who don't like heels is that flats are becoming very popular, and you can find a lot of really nice shoes appropriate for formal/business functions that don't have a heel or have a very low one.
Most fashionable shoes don't do good things for your feet, and if you wear them long enough the damage can be permanent. I'm not sure why fashion needs to be uncomfortable. Couldn't we be empowered by wearing things we feel good in?
I've always been a soccer player and viewed my feet and legs as tools to help me play. Don't get me wrong, my feet got plenty chewed up while playing soccer, but the joy of playing and using my body for something so fun more than made up for it.
It's for this reason, I really don't wear heels all that much. Heck, I can't really wear anything super "girly" because I blister at the drop of a hat and I hate anything that would make it harder for me to play.
I'm beginning to understand fashion and how people use it to express themselves. However, until men's high heels become fashionable in some way, I'm not going to believe that high heels for women is anything other than tools to mold the female form into something more pleasing to the male gaze.
If women wear heels to make themselves look and feel more attractive to themselves and others, I have no problem with that. Feet pain is not worth beauty to me. It's worth being able to play an awesome game of soccer, but I don't get any particular joy from conforming to a particular beauty standard right now.
Heels come in many different sizes and shapes. If you want the benefits of heels, like looking taller, leaner, and authoritative, you can opt for a thicker high heel or a wedge. I find them to be much more comfortable and stylish than a high thin heel.
Comfort is important when picking out any pair of shoes. Shoe sizing can be just as unpredictable as pants sizing. Going shoe shopping at the end of your shopping trip or after walking around the mall for a while is best, since your foot swells as you walk. Buying your shoes when your foot is the biggest can help you get the size that's going to be most comfortable. You might also have to buy heel cushions and insoles to prevent slipping and to provide more comfort. I think it's worth it to spend an extra 10 bucks to make your shoes comfortable so you can get the most out of them.
As for whether high heels are oppressive or empowering, I say neither. The world isn't divided into things that are oppressive and empowering, and I know it's hard to get out of this type of thinking. I think shoes in general can make you look and feel good, but it's important to make sure that you're smart about choosing shoes. They have to be comfortable to walk in or you can end up with big problems, as someone said before. Never sacrifice comfort for beauty, because you can have both. You don't have to settle for one or the other.
But this completely ignores the fact that men aren't pressured to wear shoes that are uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. I mean, I think the double standard should at least be addressed, which is where the question of oppressiveness comes in.
But women aren't pressured to wear uncomfortable shoes. Or maybe I didn't get the message, since I've never worn a pair of uncomfortable shoes in my life for more than three seconds in the shoe store. If they're uncomfortable, I don't buy them. I should be glad that I didn't get that message, and I feel sorry for the women who feel like they have to wear uncomfortable shoes. Like I said, shoes can be comfortable. Heels can be comfortable. You just have to find a comfortable pair. It's definitely much easier to say that all women's shoes are uncomfortable and label it "feminism" in order to make such an irrational belief part of an institution so that people will believe you and so that you don't have to do anything to change it. "My shoes are oppressive! That's not my fault! It's the patriarchy's fault!" Except it is your fault if you buy shoes that hurt. You can't blame that on anyone but yourself. It's much harder to do the work and actually find something that works for you.
If heels are so comfortable, why aren't men's shoes built with heels? Society does put a premium on men's height, the taller men being more accepted as authority figures and reflecting male handsomeness.
And, in my experience (and I do occasionally wear heels), there is a period for women where heels are very hard to wear and walk around in. We have to practice and get our bodies molded to a form that accepts the heels. And I've noticed how much my lower back just aches after wearing heels all day.
There's a funny Ellen DeGeneres skit where she talks about how heels make us tilt, so we have to do XY and Z to stand up straight again.
What difference does it make if men's shoes don't have heels? Is that how we judge what's comfortable? If a man wears it, it must be comfortable! What kind of logic is that? I have several pairs of comfortable heels in my closet. Are you telling me that my feet are lying to me because my feet don't hurt after I wear heels all day? Your experience with heels is different from mine, and that's all well and good. But if I have several pairs of comfortable heels in my closet, then nobody can tell me that heels are uncomfortable. Correction: YOUR heels are uncomfortable. Mine feel fine.
That's a strange logical jump. I don't think anyone's trying to claim that if men traditionally wear something then it's comfortable. But you seem to be committed to misinterpreting the critique involved here, so this is most likely pointless.
I'm curious, do you honestly feel that just because there are a few people who find heels comfortable that this means the beauty standards concerning shoes that have been imposed on women for years are not valid material for critique and that we're just being frivolous by having this discussion? That seems to be what you're implying. And, if so, what do you see as valid material for feminist critique? Or do you think that feminist critique of cultural gender practices and norms is passe/useless/silly? I'd be interested to hear your response.
Hey, I wasn't the one who said that comfortable = man. The person who asked "If heels are so comfortable, why aren't men's shoes built with heels?" is the one who made that illogical leap. And you're misinterpreting me. All I'm doing is proving someone's irrational belief wrong by talking about my experience which is drastically different from others. But if people want to continue to hold onto irrational beliefs for -- I have no idea why, then that's not my problem.
To answer your question, it's fine to critique gender-related stuff. But some people here are creating a problem where none really exists. If you're going to say that high heels are sexist because they hurt, what's the point in trying to hold onto that belief when it's made abundantly clear that there are comfortable heels? What's the point in getting frustrated over something that isn't a problem? I see no point in doing that. It's not worth it. There's no point in making a stink about something that isn't a problem. I don't have a hissy fit when I can't find pants that are short enough for me. I have them tailored. Does that make a bad feminist because I don't demand that the fashion industry make shorter pants before I go out and buy pants that would look good on me with a $10 alteration? No, because I'm not a crazy person. If I were to wait for the fashion industry to make short pants, I might as well wait for myself to get taller. Only someone with some serious problems in thinking would do such a thing, but it seems like that's what I'm expected to do here. Maybe heels were uncomfortable at one point in time. Some of them still are, but there are plenty of comfortable heels out there. I'm not the only person on earth who owns them, and I didn't have to row across the world in a canoe with a spork for a paddle in order to find them.
You're right. The problem is never with the fashion industry or the patriarchal values and double standards it embodies. The problem is always with the irrational and whiny women who simply won't spend enough time at the mall finding the right, comfortable, high heeled shoes to permanently damage their knees and give their legs and asses a pleasant appearance for the ever-present male gaze. Got it.
Additionally, there's no problem with the beauty standard that requires ridiculously thin bodies. The problem is the whiny women who won't starve themselves properly to fit into it. If they don't want to take the time and energy to restrict their caloric intake to that extent, then they ought to at least have the class to shut up about it. Similarly, the problem is not with the beauty standard that privileges whiteness and blondness and Caucasian features. The problem is with those uppity women of color who object to it. If they're not willing to invest the time, energy, and cash on hair straightening products and skin-lightening medications and makeup, then they have no right to complain. What's up with them anyway?
OK. It's either Opposite Day or you choose not to read and just comment on other people's posts based on your own internal dialogue that you have with yourself. I'm guessing it's the latter. Therefore, you are not worth talking to, since it doesn't matter what someone says. You will continue to comment on the things that people don't say and make yourself unnecessarily angry about it. There's absolutely no use talking to you. You are like the person on the street corner wearing a sandwich board that predicts the end of the world (which is always tomorrow, funnily enough) and rants about the Jews. It would be funny if it weren't so troubling. Facts don't matter to you. The misconceptions allow you to be angry and wrong, which is apparently better in your view than being content and reasonable. Most people don't see things this way, which is a wonderful thing. I hope one day you'll realize that, while something good can come out of sweating the small stuff, it's utterly insane to sweat the non-stuff.
You just totally made my point for me. According to you, the patriarchal beauty standard that's imposed on women in our culture is not only small stuff, and we're silly and irrational to be bothering our sweet little heads over it, but it's actually non-stuff.
I'm serious. What we're doing here is not debating whether it is or is not possible to find a comfortable pair of heels in the world. We're examining a gender-norm that seems problematic. You continue to dismiss that by telling us about your comfortable shoes and how we're yammering on about nothing. So if your claim is still that what we're doing here is a bunch of irrational whining about a non-issue, then it follows that challenging and critiquing gender-norms is a non-issue that silly little irrational women like to obsess over. (Substitution via the transitive property applies to logical propositions just like algebraic expressions)
And for the record, telling women that they're making up an issue that doesn't exist (i.e. "it's all in your head, sweetie") and calling them irrational is deeply sexist.
My question is that if heels are so damned comfortable, why aren't men wearing them? They have much more at stake in this society in being tall.
Also, standing on your tippy toes, balls of your feet, or having to readjust the angles of your body with even just a slight heel requires using certain muscle groups more than others. If your body is used to it and gives you no pain as a result right now, great, but don't think that it won't have long-term consequences.
I love my high heeled boots. But if I have to run to catch the bus while wearing them, my back, feet, calves and thighs definitely let me know it was not a natural position for my feet to take as I had to go about living my life.
I think that heels are an interesting option in fashion for people to choose if they want to and that, while I haven't found any, that there must be some comfortable high-heeled shoes out there. I just enjoy problematizing the gendered choices women make or are guided into making by society.
Why do men have to wear something in order for it to be OK for women to wear it without being a hack for the patriarchy? Someone please answer me that. It seems like people here are making their clothing choices based on what men wear, which is neither progressive nor feminist. It's not even fashion-forward or risque. It's just kind of silly, and it's a way to look like you're dressing in a non-conformist way without actually doing so. My clothing choices are 100% guided by what looks and feels best on me. That's not the power of patriarchy. That's just me using my eyes and my creativity. Nobody has the same body as I have, so society can't tell me how to dress. Only I can.
And I don't what kind of whacky shoes you've tried on, but I never have to stand on my tippy toes to wear heels or any kind of shoe. The ball and toe area on a high heel is still flat on the floor.
And your sense of what looks good on you is not informed in any way by the patriarchal beauty standards we've all been socialized with? Really? Were you raised by wolves?
I'm not saying that women shouldn't dress any way they choose or try to look attractive. But we should at least be honest about the cultural forces that inform our sense of what is and is not attractive.
If my clothing choices were guided by society, I wouldn't be dressing as nicely as I do now. Call me crazy, but I love my body. I didn't always, but I do now. I've looked at myself nude in the mirror before, many times before. The more I looked at my body, the more I liked it. I'm not like a super model. Not even close. If I hated myself like the patriarchy wants me to, I'd emphasize my least society-pleasing features. I'd wear skinny jeans to emphasize the big hips and ass I'm supposed to hate. I'd wear maxi dresses to make myself look shorter than I am and pray to be taller. I'd stuff my bra or wear a bunch of them to make my 34A look like something else until I can drop $5,000 to get implants. But I don't do any of those things because my body is beautiful. I'd rather dress it to its best advantage than dress it in a way to fit a distorted body image that I'm expected to have about myself. I'm not going to hide, because that's what the patriarchy wants me to do. If this bothers you, I really don't know what to tell you. Seriously, I'm very sorry that you feel like women have to hate themselves and feel uncomfortable at all times in order to have a feminist viewpoint, and that the women who do feel and look great are stifling feminist discourse when they're just trying to help others. I can gladly say that I'll never hold this point of view.
Wow. Where did I say women have to hate themselves? This is unbelievable. I'm only claiming that it's very naive to believe that your cultural context has no impact on your clothing choices. That doesn't mean I'm saying every choice you make is entirely dictated by your culture. That doesn't amount to a claim that every waking hour is spent obsessing over your looks. I too am very comfortable with my naked body and have a healthy body image ins spite of my imperfections. But that doesn't mean that my fashion choices and conception of beauty are entirely free of societal influence. I'm a social being who lives in and was socialized by a deeply normative culture. And that's just a fact about humans, but nothing to be ashamed of or in denial about.
But generally speaking, heels are uncomfortable, and present health risks to your body, for the majority of women who wear them. For example, osteoarthritis of the knee is twice as common in women as in men, and research has linked this to wearing high heels, because of the increased torque that the knee experiences as you walk.
And why should women have to carry the burden of spending hours shoe shopping and trying to find the right cushions and insoles to make the shoes that they most definitely are pressured to wear more comfortable? Men don't have to do this.
I'm not sure why you're interpreting this as a bunch of women whining about how uncomfortable their shoes are. I think it's perfectly legitimate to examine the gender norms and behaviors that women are encouraged or pressured to engage in in our culture. It's good that you've developed a coping mechanism to avoid the discomfort that a lot of women experience when wearing high heels. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to critique a cultural practice such as this.
And characterizing choices that women have been socialized into/pressured to make as being their fault totally misses the point. Many women in Victorian times also chose to wear restrictive corsets that caused fainting and shortness of breath, and some even had their lower ribs surgically removed to make their waists smaller. Is it just "their fault" for choosing uncomfortable clothing? Does their culture have nothing to do with it?
Men's dress shoes are horribly, horribly uncomfortable. They force the foot into a small space and are very inflexible. My father gets blisters all over his feet every time he wears dress shoes, because they are simply not designed for comfort; they also provide no arch support, and can cause back pain.
Men, however, can usually get away with orthopedic shoes at the workplace, and only need dress shoes with tuxedos. Women have a bit more trouble getting away with that.
I think that even if a woman chooses to wear heels because it's what she likes, we have to remember that we don't live in a vacuum. Just because we accept something oppressive because we like it, doesn't nullify how it oppresses us. (Or something like that. I tried my best to communicate that idea but it might not have come out right.)
In other things, though, I have noticed an unfortunate trend in the past couple of seasons where shoe companies seem to only make heeled shoes with heels exceeding four inches. I cannot wear those things! As in, I can't walk around in them and my feet cramp! It's frustrating.
But there are lots of cute flats, you know. I love ballet flats and flat-heeled boots and Converses and pretty sandals. Even the heels I have that I can walk in, I wear flats instead.
But damn, my calves look fantastic in heels.
I think that even if a woman chooses to wear heels because it's what she likes, we have to remember that we don't live in a vacuum. Just because we accept something oppressive because we like it, doesn't nullify how it oppresses us.
Exactly. It came out just fine.
On a similar note, most little girls claim pink as their favorite color because they've been socialized to believe that this is the color they're supposed to like. It doesn't mean they're incapable of making a decision regarding color; only that they've been socially constructed to prefer it. And you can argue with that social construction without attacking the girls or claiming they can't make a free choice.
Also, I can't think of a single place that would say a woman absolutely has to wear heels instead of flats.
Well, there's the Bank of England, as well as airlines and department stores.
The link for the Bank of England story isn't loading right now, but if its the one I'm thinking of that was posted to Feministing, it turned out it was a memo from some sort of optional style consulting seminar at lunch, not a requirement from the Bank of England.
However, I'm willing to believe other companies have those policies. Has anyone ever had a job that would require you to wear heels, specifically, not just "nice shoes"? I've seen dress codes that say no sneakers and no flip flops, but I don't think I'd put up with one that said the shoes must have a high heel.
I have had a job like that. When I worked in the Finance industry, the dress code had a minimum heel height of 2 inches (for women only, the men had to wear shoes that held a polish). I got away with it by wearing large, clunky heels which happened to be in fashion then. I thought the whole rule was insane since (as bank tellers!) we were on our feet for most of the day but, unfortunately, bank tellers aren't the revolutionary sort. The women I worked with loved their heels and put up with all the negative health effects of standing all day on the balls of their feet.
I notice that tellers at that bank don't have to wear heels anymore though. I don't know when that changed.
Luckily I didn't stay in that job long. I don't have to wear any particular sort of shoe now, so long as it's professional and close-toed (ie no flip-flops).
At my mom's job, the dress code was unwritten but very clear. Women who wore pants and/or flat shoes too often would be "encouraged to adopt a more professional style of dress" in their annual reviews. It was obvious to everyone what this meant. My mom wore heels to work every day and paid the price. She still has trouble wearing flats all day at times.
I was a hostess at a somewhat upscale restaurant. They required all the hostesses, waitresses, and female bussers to wear heels (and would check.)
I'm sure I've posted this here somewhere before, but it bears repeating. A quote from the incomparable Colette Guillaumin:
You can see why I love French feminism so much. Plus, the lampshade remark makes me giggle.
I don't care if they're empowering, oppressive, or what. I love them. LOVE them. And that's all that matters to me. :)
Have you ever wondered why you love them so much?
I love to feel sexy, and I love for people to think I'm sexy. That's good enough for me! :)
And why do you love to feel sexy? We can keep going here, and I'm not trying to attack anyone, but I think ElleStar has a good point that's very relevant to the OP.
Everyone loves to feel sexy. Men love it. Women love it. Because we're human, we like sex, we want to have sex, and we want to attract others so they have sex with us. That's normal healthy sexuality. I worry more about adults who do NOT want to feel sexy (ever, not just people who don't want to feel sexy temporarily-- obviously we all want days off!) because they tend to be depressed, or were abused, or are repressed. There aren't really any situations where never wanting to feel sexy is a good thing for an adult. Sex is good!
We also know why heels make us feel sexy-- because they make us look more sexually desirable by playing up the butt and legs to their best advantage, making them look tighter, rounder, healthier. The only real question is, why is feeling sexy more important than feeling healthy?
Yeah, I think the question about feeling sexy vs feeling healthy is very relevant. I also think that women have clearly been socialized to put more weight on a sexy appearance than men, and to judge whether or not their appearance is sexy on the basis of a patriarchal beauty standard. I think about how this stuff (both the beauty standard and the significance of being favored by the male gaze) is internalized throughout our girlhood and young adulthood every day, as I have two (very young) daughters, and I would love to help them avoid the trap of placing too much value on their appearance and not enough value on their other characteristics. Unfortunately, given the images and messages that the media throws at them everyday, this feels like a losing battle at times.
It's great you feel sexy while wearing them, but my question, I think, was to get you thinking about WHY you feel so much more sexy when wearing them.
If height is what's sexy to you, is it because it lengthens the body, making it appear more slender and in line with society's standards of beauty?
If it's the changing shape of your calves that's sexy to you, what is the new shape? Is it something leaner, more athletic looking? How does that fit into society's standards of beauty?
If it's the way it makes your back curve so that your butt and chest stick out more? Is that something YOU find sexy or is it something you've absorbed from society's ideal women's body structure?
This is just food for thought. As a feminist, I'll never be satisfied with a claim that people "just" do anything, therefore why question it?
Big hips/butt= better able to bear children= sexy. Culture tells us it's not, but most people still believe wide hips are attractive despite supermodels. Large, but not abnormally large, breasts are associated with fertility due to breastfeeding, so they are naturally going to be sexually attractive.
Height=taller, stronger, healthier. Always has, since nutrition as a child is such a determinant of health. Tighter, rounder calves and butt make you seem more fit and young, also signs of health and fertility, even if they are achieved unnaturally in this case.
It's really obvious why heels are associated with a sexy appearance. They play up the traditional signs of fertility, which has always shone through culture as sexy-- many men still prefer Marilyn Monroe's hourglass to the modern supermodel, despite being conditioned to believe that the supermodel is preferable.
Ask yourself not, why are heels sexy? That's obvious. Ask, why bother if it hurts you? That's the real issue.
You're giving a patriarchal definition of "sexy." I feel sexy in old gym shoes and loose jeans and a t-shirt. I don't feel sexy in uncomfortable shoes and restricting clothing. How about focusing less on how you can visually please men.
My tits and ass stick out plenty on their own, lol, so that's not it. My calves are just fine, so that's not it...
Wait! I've got it! Well, feeling sexy to me is important mainly because i'm in a constant state of horniness and like to have sex!
I'm not much of a feminist, so that might be why i don't get why this is such a big deal. I don't care that a lot of girls want to wear flats. That's cool, so why would anyone care that I want to wear heels, lol?
And having sex is contingent upon wearing heels and dressing sexy? Hmm.
I guess I should stop right here and just be glad I'm in a relationship where sexual intimacy isn't connected to how sexy my appearance is that day.
I think the "empowering or oppressive" is creating a false binary - something doesn't have to fall into one or the other. A dress code that requires females to wear only high heels would be oppressive. The shoes themselves, not so much. On the flip side, I've never put on any pair of shoes and felt "empowered" - they're shoes. I buy what I like and wear what's appropriate for the situation I'm wearing them into.
I've never been one for heels. Give me some flip flops or cute bowler shoes and I'm dandy. I have about 5 pair of heels total, and most of those came from needing to wear a dress/skirt (which I do ever so rarely cause I dislike showing my legs) to a function and forgetting to bring high heels along. When I wear them I revel in how tall/imposing/powerful I look, but ten minutes later I kick them off (no matter where I am) and just walk around barefoot =)
I do have a pet theory about heels though. I know that they were invented to make keep boots from sliding in stirrups while riding horses and spread to both men and women as a means of making them look taller. Then they switched over to being primarily women's shoes in the late 1800s or so. Nowadays though, we explain their being women's shoes because they stick out the butt and breasts all sexy like. Well, if you've ever taken a look at anthro art (animals that have been anthromorphized) you'll notice that most drawn them extremely sexy, especially the leg area with the creatures walking digitgrade (on the toes with the heels in the air) for both male and female. This comes from the fact that most mammals walk digitirade normally and it's carrying it over into the anthro form. It might just be me, but I see a big correlation in women's heels and anthro art/animality.
Take a look at Beyonce's single ladies video, watch the way they have to walk/run in those heels of theirs.
Also, feel free to call me crazy :D
Personally, I don't like wearing heels, partly because I don't need to be any taller and partly because they're not comfortable. I have a couple pairs of 1 inch heels that I picked out because they're comfortable enough to stand around in at an evening event, but I don't wear them that much and I don't have any that are taller. I recently bought some flats (ballet-slipper style) that I have been wearing to nice events instead, and I like them a lot better. I think I'm going to stick with flats for most events from now on. I have some that are pretty casual but nicer than sneakers, and some that are more fancy. They're not athletic shoes so they're not great for running in, but certainly better than heels and probably no worse than men's dress shoes.
I'm curious, for people who have more experience with jobs, etc, that require nice clothing-- does it HAVE to be a skirt and heels? Or could it be a pants-suit and penny loafers or other flats? My high school uniform had a business-casual version for some events, and they recommended penny loafers for both genders, although you could get away with other shoes.
I have worked in several law firms, and the office dress code has been pretty wide open for what woman want - a lot of them wear suits, blazers and button-up blouses or decorative tops with pants. I have a dozen pairs of flats I've aquired over the last few years that go with everything quite well, and I've noticed that wearing dark flats/non-high-heeled dressy shoes with a suit is no more or less noticeable or acceptable than wearing heels.
I just noticed I said "business casual" for my high school when really I just meant business. For certain occasions we had to wear dark colored suits. Girls had more flexibility in the dress code: we had more types of shirts and shoes to choose from, could wear skirts or pants, and didn't have to have a tie. Boys had little flexibility about a suit and tie. But we still had to have dark jackets and pants/skirts and we officially were supposed to wear the jacket all day, so I don't think that's "casual."
But generally speaking, heels are uncomfortable, and present health risks to your body, for the majority of women who wear them. For example, osteoarthritis of the knee is twice as common in women as in men, and research has linked this to wearing high heels, because of the increased torque that the knee experiences as you walk.
This can be said for anyone who wears shoes that aren't comfortable. Shoes that aren't comfortable cause problems. If they hurt when you walk, don't buy them.
And why should women have to carry the burden of spending hours shoe shopping and trying to find the right cushions and insoles to make the shoes that they most definitely are pressured to wear more comfortable? Men don't have to do this.
Yes they do! There are insoles for men's shoes to make them comfortable. Are you telling me that no man in the history of the world wore an uncomfortable pair of shoes? Give me a break. You're just making stuff up.
I'm not sure why you're interpreting this as a bunch of women whining about how uncomfortable their shoes are. I think it's perfectly legitimate to examine the gender norms and behaviors that women are encouraged or pressured to engage in in our culture. It's good that you've developed a coping mechanism to avoid the discomfort that a lot of women experience when wearing high heels. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to critique a cultural practice such as this.
No disagreements here. But to say that women are pressured to wear uncomfortable shoes is absolutely ridiculous. You're confusing uncomfortable shoes with heels. No style of shoe has to be uncomfortable. Women are not pressured to wear uncomfortable shoes. Unless you're telling me that women go to the store, put on a comfortable pair of heels and go "Oh darn. Can't buy these. They're comfortable and I won't be a proper woman if I wear these."
And characterizing choices that women have been socialized into/pressured to make as being their fault totally misses the point. Many women in Victorian times also chose to wear restrictive corsets that caused fainting and shortness of breath, and some even had their lower ribs surgically removed to make their waists smaller. Is it just "their fault" for choosing uncomfortable clothing? Does their culture have nothing to do with it?
Yes, and we're in the 21st century now. We have far to go, but we don't have to wear uncomfortable clothes to fit in anymore. There are lots of comfortable clothes out there that are stylish and trendy. There are also lots of uncomfortable clothes out there that are stylish and trendy. Choose the clothes that are comfortable, not the ones that aren't comfortable, and take responsibility for what you buy. I mean, am I making some sort of revelation here? Am I blowing your mind? Is this going to make headlines? It's common sense.
There are some studies that have shown that just the fact of having a higher heel than toe causes long term back problems, even if they don't hurt in the short run. (Maybe platform shoes are safer, then, since the toe would be at the same level as the heel?)
That said, I don't have a problem with women choosing to wear heels, as long as its a choice. I'd be incredibly pissed if I had a job or something where they told me I'd have to wear heels. I'd probably show up in cute flats and sue them if they complained.
I think high heels nowadays are better made and more comfortable than they used to be. I don't have a study on that so maybe I'm wrong, but its just the impression I've gotten. My grandmothers wore what was in style back then, shoes with high heels and pointy toes, and they got bunions on the sides of their feet from the constricting toe parts. Now when I wear heels, they're almost always open-toed and they have to be comfortable enough for me to be happy wearing them for a few hours, or I won't wear them. But I never wear them on a day to day basis, only for special events.
The back issue is only a problem if you ALWAYS wear heels, like women used to in the 40s and 50s. If you switch it up with flats, sneakers, barefoot, whatever, and wear heels once in a while, you'll get tired faster in the heels because you won't be used to them, but you shouldn't have any long term damage.
Yeah, but I think they were, and at least I was, mainly talking about people who have to wear heels all day for work. AnUnFunnyFeminist was saying that there are heels out there that are comfortable enough to wear all day every day, and I was saying that even if they are comfortable in the short run, they still cause back problems in the long run if you wear them too much.
I don't worry about my back when I wear heels occasionally to parties, but there's no way I would put up with a job that required me to wear them every day.
This can be said for anyone who wears shoes that aren't comfortable. Shoes that aren't comfortable cause problems. If they hurt when you walk, don't buy them.
The study I linked to showed that the increased torque on the knee occured only with a heel, so the concern here is not about comfort. My claim was not just about comfort, but about health and well-being as well. But you certainly must be in denial if you claim that women in general don't frequently find heels uncomfortable. I mean, this is often the subject of jokes in movies, TV shows, etc. Have you really never heard these complaints?
And if you're determined to remain blind to the influence that cultural forces have on the choices we make, then I'm sure there's nothing I can do to change your mind. It is a very odd position for a feminist to take though. I mean, if we're truly completely free and unphased by cultural forces, then why do we need something like feminism to begin with? Why work for social change when our social context has no impact on us? It's a puzzling approach.
I'm not in denial about the comfort of my heels. I've said several times that there are heels that are comfortable and those are the only ones that should be bought. I have a bunch of them. They don't hurt after I wear them. Maybe I'm magical. Is that sufficient? I'll admit that no heels in the world are comfortable. It's just that I have magical feet. That sounds like something you can get behind, and it'll feed your appetite to feel like you're right.
And if you still think I'm "blind to the affect of cultural influences blah blah blah I stopped reading because it's not true and I don't have time to listen to your moronic assumptions about me," then you need to go back to school and take a few reading classes, because you're obviously deficient in that department. That's not what I said at all. I'm just against creating problems where they don't exist. I guess that means I have to turn in my feminist card, right? Because I don't see problems that don't exist? Because I don't hold onto a myth so I can boost my feminist cred? Yup. That's totally reasonable. Maybe I should fight for the right for American women to vote. Maybe feminists should fight for the rights and privileges we've already gained thanks to our efforts so that we can remain relevant. That's real helpful.
Jesus Christ. Where, oh where did I say that you're in denial about the comfort of your heels? And why must this issue only be about your comfort?
I haven't made any assumptions about you. You've made statements that were clear as could be. Many people here are engaging in a feminist critique of the expectations and pressures put on women in a patriarchal culture. You choose to constantly make it about you and how great you are at finding heels that don't hurt you and apparently don't cause osteoarthritis (that we know of, as this takes a few years...) Good for you. The rest of us are interested in this feminist critique and are happy to provide you with a topic to lecture us about and laugh at us for our profound ignorance. It is interesting, though, that you refuse to answer my questions about the value and applicability of feminist critiques. Because that would interfere with your constant intentional missing of the point.
How many comments did I leave in this topic? Ten maybe? Nowhere did I say that heels are definitely comfortable for everyone in the world. I've said several times that comfortable heels do exist and that I own them. On the other hand, you've said many times to me that heels are uncomfortable. It just seems like being "right" is more important to you than changing your opinion to accommodate new facts.
You can have a feminist critique about whatever you want. But why have one about something that isn't actually a problem? Doesn't that cause more discomfort than any person would want? You might as well be having a feminist critique about potatoes. All I'm saying is that, hey, you don't have to worry about heels, because there are a bunch that are comfortable out there. See, I have a bunch! Why complain about them when heels and footwear in general has changed over the past 5, 10, 15, 20 years? There's no point in complaining about something that isn't a problem! It baffles me that any woman would rather protest something that doesn't exist rather than accept the fact that they're holding a misconception. I'm just glad I don't operate that way. I'd be pretty miserable if I did.
I'm just trying to help by sharing my experience. I don't see how that's bragging, because shoe shopping isn't really a skill. I mean, you put the shoe on, you walk around the store, and you buy them if they're comfy and you like them.
Still religiously missing the point, while scoffing at the irrationality and frivolity of us wimmenz, who love to make a big deal out of nothing.
I think that people who say you can choose not to wear heals or that you can buy shoes that are comfortable are speaking from a place of privilege. This is a class issue.
There are jobs where heals are in the dress code, either the written dress code or the unwritten one. Some women can't afford to buck the dress code. A lot of these women also can't afford to spend a ton of money on nice shoes, and it's the expensive heals that don't hurt your feet.
Putting gel inserts into a cheap pair of heals doesn't cut it. You need proper support. The arch should be made out of something besides cardboard, and the ankle needs to be supported. The weight should be distributed well so that you're not just walking on your toes. These are things that a $10 insert can't fix, but they're important.
I have a pair of dress shoes with a small heal that I love. They don't hurt my feet. They also cost me almost $100 and you can believe I was freaking out when I signed that check, because I don't spend that much money on clothes. Usually.
However, I also have size 12 feet, and my mother raised me to love and care for them. You can believe that when I was in middle school I would sometimes try and get away with squeezing my feet into shoes that didn't fit and my mom never let me get away with that shit. A lot of the older women in my family have problems with their feet.
So yeah, I only wear shoes that don't hurt my feet, but only because my mother was so persistent about fighting the socialization that I was getting in school. I am lucky to have had her as my mom, and I am also lucky to be able to spend money on good shoes. That is my privilege.
And yeah, when I wear my heals, I feel powerful. They put me over 6 feet tall. My short friends complain that I have made myself even taller, but I don't care. I can look my boyfriend in the eyes and my footsteps sound very authoritative. Clack clack clack clack. I love walking in heals on a wood floor. I love the fact that I am "too tall" to be wearing heals. It does feel like a giant fuck-you to everybody who wants me to be meek and timid and take up less space.
I am currently lusting after some professional tango shoes so that it will be easier for me to take the lead while ballroom dancing with tall partners. :-p
Heals aren't all bad, but I definitely agree that many women are pressured into wearing heals, and that it is a method of social control. They do hurt your feet, unless they are high quality. They do restrict your movement. They also impact different members of society differently. The impact is greater on women who are in service professions and women who have to buy their shoes at places like Payless. Lets not leave that differential out of this discussion, ok?
I always wear flats. I prefer them, because I have poor balance and bad knees. That said, when I was younger I had several pairs of heels that were SUPREMELY comfortable. I loved them. I could go all day in them. One pair of 3' pumps I literally wore out because they were so comfortable, until my knees got bad. And they cost me $10 at Payless.
I've gone to church in a skirt and flat heels. When I dress up, I wear good dressy flat shoes and they do exist.
I occasionally like to wear heels (even though they make me walk like a wobbly baby giraffe) because I'm tall, and I've been told many times that I shouldn't wear them. It's fun to see people's reactions when I tower over them.
It's fun to see people's reactions when I tower over them.
For real. I don't wear spiky wobbly heels, but I have several pairs of boots with a chunky 3 inch heel, which puts me just over 6'1". And I love being that tall, and being able to stride purposely through a crowded area without having my right to that space constantly challenged, as women's personal space so often is. And I refuse to slouch or curve my shoulders in the semi-apologetic manner that tall women are supposed to have. Fuck that. If you're threatened by my height and muscular shoulders then that's a personal issue of yours to deal with. This is the body I was born with and I won't apologize.
Yeah, I guess it's pretty obvious that the idea that tall women shouldn't wear heels (which I've also heard repeatedly) pisses me off. Fuck that.
I would love to wear heels sometimes -- I like how a lot of them look, and since I'm just 4'10", having a few extra inches of height would be great sometimes. Unfortunately, with my Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, wearing heels is pretty much impossible -- they screw up my ankles and knees and hips so badly that anything over about two inches makes me pretty much unable to walk for several days, and even shorter ones are painful. I've tried a lot of pairs -- my sister, who loves shoes and wears the same size as me, keeps telling me that this pair is so comfortable, I have to try it, and I'll try it and either twist and ankle or feel my hips separating.
It's a great example of how ableist the beauty standard is.
Yes, and don't forget sizeist. Many fat women have hella comfort and health problems wearing heels, even the thicker kind.
I think comfort is important only insofar as it's an issue of DIScomfort: the fact that that the *majority* of women and medical studies have found that heels are either unfomfortable or unhealthy, respectively, makes the social pressure to wear heels to be appropriate/professional that much more egregious and sexist.
But, really, I don't think comfort otherwise has anything to do with it. Even if it were proven beyond a medical and personal testimonial shadow of a doubt that most women find heels as comfortable as little clouds, the fact that they are so exclusively tethered to femaleness and "femininity" is itself problematic.
There are a lot of clothing and grooming categories that don't actively harm women--skirts, for example--or that are 100% innocuous (like hairbows or silk scarves or, in some societies, long hair itself) and it is still worth asking, from a feminist/humanist perspective, why these things are so inexorably entwined with constructions of womanhood. Why is femininity so incumbent on these periphera that have no male counterpart and that, indeed, are considered obscene and deviant on the men who choose to wear them?
High heels don't need to hurt us or reduce our health in order to be problematic from a humanist perspective. And they are problematic, for the reasons set forth by many posters above.
Exactly!!! *deep sigh*
And I saw a misunderstanding by some posters above of your arguments. You are clearly not arguing against high heels per se...you yourself wear them.
But we're interested in context and socialization, not trying to take sides in a War of the Heels. Some will hate wearing heels and others will love to wear them, but neither preference should control our discussion of heels as a social norm.
In that sense, there are two discussions going on here: one discussion that is centered on Heels, and one that is centered on Heels-in-Society. I am interested in discussing the latter.
That's totally what's going on here, and yet I'm having trouble making myself let it go and stop trying to guide the discussion back to the cultural critique. I guess my assumption is that the feminist outlook is/should be inherently concerned with how social constructions effect individuals and produce/maintain systemic privileges and disadvantages. So I'm always kind of taken aback when feminists refuse to take the broader systemic view and return again and again to particular experiences, while scoffing at the frivolity and "irrationality" of engaging in the cultural critique. It's the old "this topic is so not a big deal, and I LOL'd when you guys got your panties in a bunch over it!" attitude that you've pointed out in other threads, and it gets under my skin. Every. Time. Well, at least I'm predictable.
Have no fear, the "LOL, this is the most insignificant/nonexistant issue ever!" attitude is like fingernails down a chalkboard to me, too. And mystifying.
Well, not really. I can make a guess as to why it maintains so much resonance: as you have pointed out before, when we critique certain norms, it raises the hackles of those who are so personally invested in the norm that they lose the ability or impetus to engage in social critique. For example, some of the posters who have here maintained the "I choose my heels just because, and there is no larger social problem" line have, in other posts, expressed their great love of fashion and the personal decorative arts (which, like Heels alone, are themselves by no means bad things).
I personally have to work at feeding that impetus within my own self, because, if I did not, I would fall happily and without protest into a morass of the most sexist, racist, heternormative, ablist, sizeist and otherwise anti-humanist entertainment and lifetyle norms.
It is not pleasant to have to hold up each element of our lives for self-analysis and critique, but I believe it is essential. We can't make progress in society in if we cherry-pick only those norms in which we have no personal investment and say *those* will be acceptable for critique, but not my love of heels/rape fantasy/(or in my case) genre fiction.
Well said. And I should try to remember that others are probably more invested in the topic at hand, which would no doubt cause me to be less sarcastic, impatient, and snarky.
Look, I never said that it was never a problem. It's not a problem anymore. If you want to see something like a pair of shoes as oppressive, that's you. Just keep in mind that it doesn't help at all, since your view is based on a misconception. It's one thing to have an opinion based on facts. It's another to make one that's based on falsehoods. Having opinions based on falsehoods just creates more anger in the person who holds this view. Is it worth it? I don't think it is.
I'm not trying to grasp on to any norm. All I'm trying to do is say that heels don't have to be oppressive. No item of clothing has to be. If you don't like women's clothes, fine. If you find that clothes that are fine for men to wear as well will be the only clothes that you consider to be feminist, then fine. I'll disagree, because putting on clothes in relation to men isn't feminist in the least in my opinion, but if that makes you feel better, that's just fine. I have honestly never experienced the problems that some of the women here have. That doesn't make me special and the other women crazy. It means that maybe you're holding on to a norm that feminists have to believe that certain clothing items are bad for them. Nothing in my experience has led me to that conclusion, thankfully. Clothing doesn't have to be bad for women. Clothing has never been bad for me. I never felt horrible after wearing certain clothes. I never changed my body by wearing particular clothes. Seriously, I read some of the comments here and wonder if they shop in an alternate universe. I guess that's because I like clothes and I like myself and I shop with my needs in mind. That doesn't make me a slave to patriarchy in any way. It means that I've achieved something that too many women literally kill themselves over and rarely achieve -- pride in my body. Sorry if that offends you. I thought loving yourself is something that feminists are supposed to be into, but I guess feminists are more into hating clothes? I honestly don't even know anymore after reading this and saying the same things over and over again and not getting a reply to anything I've said and still trying to get that reply to no avail. Seems like there are more norms to memorize in the feminist-dominated world here than the male-dominated world out there, and if you don't follow the feminist norms, you're banished and accused of shit that you never did. So I'd rather split and follow my own norms.
Nobody is "seeing a pair of shoes as oppressive." That's not the point here. And nobody has suggested that you're a slave to patriarchy. But it's a very strange claim to make that you are entirely unaffected by your cultural context. Do you honestly believe that?
Why is being taller an asset? So you can try to reach the height of a man?
Oh! for me being taller is an asset so I can reach just average height for a girl. I usually wear four to five inch heels, and I'll get up to a whopping five-foot-six!
It's nice not having to ask some tall dude to get stuff off the top shelf in the grocery shore for me, lol. :)
BTW, my below comment is supposed to go to some girl waaaaaaaay upthread! :)
5'6'', so you're 5'2''? I'm 5'1'', and I'm absolutely cool with that!
Well, I'm not in a relationship, and I don't plan on being in one for a while.
So when you're just looking at the short-term, sex is kind've contingent upon how I look that day, lol. :)
It's depressing that we've been trained in our culture to think that people only deserve sexual intimacy and physical contact if they're beautiful/sexy enough. And it seems to me that the issues so many women have with self-esteem will never go away as long as we equate the two.
However, sometimes I think the whole "if I'm dressed really sexy more men will come on to me" thing is a bit of a myth. I've always been an athlete, so half the time during my high school years I showed up for class in sweats, with wet hair and no makeup. I always received at least as much male attention as my female friends who wouldn't be caught dead without makeup and their hair carefully styled. In fact, a couple of summers ago I was out all day climbing with a couple of (male) friends of mine, and we rolled back into town just after dark and headed straight down to the bar. I was dressed in the clothes I had been climbing in, all sweaty and dusty, and still peeling tape off my fingers. I have never received so much male attention in my life. I'm not one of those who objects to male attention at the bar (within reason), but this was downright unpleasant, and actually made it difficult to carry on a conversation. My friends, and even the bartender, commented on it repeatedly, and I finally went home sooner than I had planned because I was too tired to deal with it. So I've become kind of skeptical about the whole you-must-have-a-flawless-appearance-to-be-sexy schtik and think it's most likely a product of advertising. 'Cause if women felt sexy enough just as they are, then there would be no impetus to buy all the shit that's marketed to them.
Well, I never said I didn't get hit on when I'm not all sexy'd up. I was at a gas station once, sicker than hell, hadn't showered, my hair was a rat's nest, the works. And this guy still tried to get my phone number, lol.
I've noticed though, the better I look, the better the guys that hit on me look, and that's just the way I like it! :)
Right, I was actually trying to make a point about the larger issue of the cultural connection between being attractive and deserving love/sex/physical contact, as well as the cultural myth in general (beyond my or your individual experiences) that the more you conform to the beauty standard the more male attention you'll receive.
Loafers all the way!
Honestly, I can't think of any time I've been in a situation that demanded high heels. Maybe its a cultural thing (I live in the pacific northwest) but I tend to see dressing up as optional/rare and dressing up uncomfortably as totally unnecessary. There are plenty of dressy flats to choose from.
That's been my experience as well.
I love heels. I only wear them once in awhile because when you go to a college as big and hilly and mine you're going to be doing alot of walking. I love how I look in them and how I feel in them. The first part of any shoe store I go to is the heel section. I don't ever buy any but I love to look.
One of the things I like about heels is that they make me tall. And that is where I get a bit of gruff sometimes. I'm 5'5 and when I wear heels I'm usually 5'8 (I like them high :) However, sometimes I'll get "don't wear heels on your date, you don't want to tower over your date". Does anyone else get this response when they are in heels-the "you're too tall now!"
I feel like the subject of high heels is an interesting one. It is far too important to women in our culture to dress FOR men and to impress men than it is to dress for ourselves. Especially women in their late teens through early thirties, dressing "sexy" to get a guy's attention in the single world is what's important. This means, when going out, that you wear tight pants, a revealing, tight shirt, probably FAR too much makeup, and the classic.....high heels. explain to me how high heels are comfortable to walk across a college campus in. how they are comfortable to dance in. a sexy pair of strappy heels is much more difficult to take off after partying. just a little food for thought. maybe we should dress to make ourselves happy instead of dressing for men.
I guess it depends where you go to college. My school was in a beachy climate and I'd say 75% of girls and guys wore flip flops 24/7, including going out dancing at clubs. Although some girls did have flip flops with heels, it wasn't very common.
My college wasn't even beachy, and the general dress code seemed to be flip flops. Sometimes even in the winter (I once saw a guy wearing a scarf, hat, and gloves with a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and flip flops...that cracked me up all day). I went to a big state school and most people wore sweats to class. I once wore a knee-length denim skirt with a t-shirt and flip flops and everyone asked all day why I was so dressed up!
Someone upthread commented that this is partially a class issue, and I must agree. Set schedules and the ability to wear what you'd like to wear are luxuries that people like myself (I work in a restaurant) cannot afford.
As a matter of fact, when I got this job, they told me NOT to wear heels, and I nearly cried, since working an eight hour shift with maybe one break where one can sit down OR have a cigarette OR go to the bathroom while wearing heels is HELL.
Please allow me to clarify. What I mean is, restaurant hostess dress codes for women I've had to comply with:
1) Wear heels.
2) Nail polish must not be chipped.
3) Dress/skirt strongly preferred over slacks.
4) Makeup must be worn.
5) Necklace and/or earrings must be worn.
6) If wearing a more casual shirt, it must be lower-cut so as to be more sexy.
7) Hair must be well-groomed cut neatly.
Equivalent dress codes for boys:
1) Wear black pants.
2) Shower.
I'm not sure what country you're writing from, but in the UK that kind of expectation would be jettisoned under Health & Safety legislation, if it had managed to get past Equality At Work legislation. Wearing heels for a long shift where you're on your feet a lot is bad for your feet and back, and you could sue an employer that insisted you wear heels for not protecting your health. I've worked in a fair few bars and we all wore flats - I would have taken massive issue with an employer that tried to demand otherwise.
I'm 5'2" and wear flats probably for 360 days of the year. I've just finished working in an office for the past 18 months, and wore flats the whole time - I'm not buying this shit that you have to wear heels to look smart/professional. (And some of the heels some women wear to work look like stripper heels if you ask me, not to mention ass-hugging skirts with unsubtle splits up the side). I have a few pairs of wedges that I adore (find them both sexy and comfortable) and will pop on for special occasions, but I never feel like I 'have' to wear heels, and as for 'compensating' for my height?! I wasn't aware it was something I needed to make up for! I love being a petite gal and often try to emphasise rather than hide it.
Oh, Lord, don't get me started on the sexism in the food and beverage industry.
When I moved to Florida in the early 90s and started looking for work, I was aghast to find out that the men could work in jeans and tees or in tuxedos while the women were expected to work in spandex, bathing suits or other revealing attire in the very same jobs. WTF?
In other states I've encountered a few places with some silly costumes and sexist leanings but Florida hands down was the worst of the worst. One place I worked at in the midwest had these atrocious Grecian wrap get-ups that fell open whenever we bent over to grab a bottle so our breasts were pretty much exposed and we had to wear hotpants so our rears were hanging out as well. I lasted a very short time there, I just couldn't take it.
At least strip joints are honest about what they're selling. What the hell does my ass have to do with my ability to mix a drink?
Well, I've been a waitress since I was 15. I've worked in alot of different bars/clubs. A few of them required me to wear heels, most of them did not Oklahoma has pretty pratical laws about footwear in a bar/resturant So a workplace can never force you here. I think that's pretty rad, but a few places still have that tactic of shameing/overlooking you until you -do-.
really, I never had a problem with heels? high and spikey, low and chunky, whatever I just like wearing them. Do I feel compelled to run a 5-6 hours shift at my club in them? Yes, but I have come to an agreement with my boss about that. as a matter of fact ladies who doo work in hospitals/food check out this place www.shoesforcrews.com they saved me from alot of crap, adn the heels are pretty comfy/healthy
Do I think heels are empowering? I dont think so much, they are still fashion dictated to me by men. Do I like them? yep and I look good in them, so...just keep it balanced?
I've worked in more thena few places that required me to wear heels to work. Even resturants/bars/clubs. So, I have a pretty easy soloution for them.
It's called shoes for crews. If you haven't seen them and work in a bar club like this, go do it, their heels rock.
Aside from that? yes heels are opressive. They were pointedly made to hinder women's movement just like those funky slippers/sandles geisha used to wear. God, if you stop and think about it, it -is- earily simular to foot binding isn't it? Yuck...
But do I wear them? yes. Hell I'll even wear 4+ inches on a night out simply because I think I look good in them. Does this mean I am buying into the patriarchy? yeah. Do I do it without concious thought? hell no.
It's just like putting on make-up or shaveing, or hell wearing pants! It's a personal choice, and you must do it with self-knowlage and understanding the reason -why- you feel compelled to do it.
ow sorry about the double post, mind removeing the last one for me Op? thanks a bunch!