Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Is it da shoes?

The other night my husband's bands had a double-header, so of course I had to play freaky-fan-girl for an evening of country twang and rock n' roll. Another band wife was celebrating her birthday, and the game was  we all had to wear fabulous shoes to get a discount on the cover charge. I did my best (those ARE NOT my feet in the picture), but the whole experience reminded me of something.

I don't move fast in four-inch heels.

It's a concept that I've been turning 'round in my head, for a couple of reasons. First, I'm a writer, and so I'm concerned with imagery. The details that I layer on my characters are what make them come alive, from their hairstyles to the cars they drive to the shoes they wear.

The other thing I've been thinking about is that, when it comes to high heels, there's definitely two camps: those who wear them and those who don't. Those who wear them find that they're a sassy symbol of strength, as described in this post by Abigail Posner on the blog Beauty Skew, and in this post by Sherry Isaac on her blog Psychological Sizzle

Then there are those who think they symbolize women's oppression, though it sounds so heavy when you put it that way. The logic goes something like this: men invented high heels and decided they were beautiful as another way for women to torture themselves, just like they did with corsets and bound feet. And actually, if you'd asked me last Saturday night as I was mincing around in my 4" stiletto heeled black patent leather pumps, I might have agreed with that view, although I was the only one who kicked her shoes off as soon as she'd made one promenade around the room.

I found an older article (2009) from MSNBC's TodayStyle that summarized concerns like this.  High heels:

  • can boost your career by transforming you into a confident, strident force to be reckoned with;
  • can hamper your career by putting too much emphasis on your sex appeal rather than your brains;
  • can wreak permanent damage on your feet and ankles, including — but not limited to — bunions, corns, calluses, shortening of the Achilles tendon, ankle fractures and nerve damage, and
  • can improve your sex life because the act of wearing them makes you feel sexy and strengthens core abdominal and pelvic muscles at the same time.
What do you think? Are they a symbol of strength or of suppression? 

I can understand that wearing heels gives women confidence and increases the level of their authority, and I agree that criticizing those who wear heels for that reason is somewhat subversive, comparable to discounting women's gymnastics when it's one of the only sports where a petite woman can succeed. The logic seems to be that girls who are short AND strong are too threatening, so we need to undermine their power through subtle (and not so subtle) condemnation.

The shoes I wore the other night were relatively conservative compared with some that I saw. The most extreme pair probably had about a seven inch heel, with a two to three inch platform sole. They were crazy cute, but this is where I think the oppression argument gains some traction. While I can get on board the heels = strength train, when I look at some of the shoes that are out there, I still have to wonder if there isn't some underlying impulse to hold women to an unrealistic standard. The more extreme styles must limit your mobility, and what starts out as a bid for strength becomes an issue of safety. In the wake of the rabid anti-woman outburst from a certain radio personality troll, how much safety can we afford to give up?


In the end I think it's really about personal choice. I just hope that women put some thought into how their choices are affecting the image they put out there. I recently created a character who's about five feet, two inches tall, and I had to really think about what heels would mean for her - certainly something different than they do for me, since I'm closer to five feet, nine inches tall. I put Molly in high heels to offset the power differential with her much-taller ex-husband. I put her teenage daughter in higher heels to play up her dangerous impulses. Be careful out there, ladies. There are trolls waiting to take you down, and if you're wearing stilts, they might have an easier time of it.
Peace,
Liv


PS...if you've got a minute, check out today's stop on the Proudly Paranormal Blog Hop...author Krista Ball...




27 comments:

  1. Oh, high heels.

    I'm 5'2. I like wearing high heels, though I normally scamper around in ratty Converse lowtops. The thing is, I wear heels because I like how they look with a given outfit, and I like feeling tall... but normally, I don't feel *short*, if that makes any sense.

    I've opted to wear 5-inch heels to my wedding. My fiance is 6'2, our officiant is 6'4. Unless I want to stand on a box, the photos will be of the two men... and the top of my head. :)

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  2. Heh. At least your veil would show.
    ;)
    Maybe I should have you read my story, Kristin, as a fact-checker. Maybe we could make a trade...

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  3. I'm 5'3" but I don't do heels and never have. Face planting in public is embarrassing and I'm not a big fan of pain. I admire women who can rock the look and do it with style, but I've never been one of them.

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  4. Yeah, Elaine, I hear ya. Back in the day (like, 1983) I had a job where I had to wear 2" heels for work, but anymore I'm all about the Dania clogs. Thanks for checking in!

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  5. Oops, I think I meant Dansko clogs. Age sucks.
    ;)

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  6. I love the look of heels BUT I can't wear them. They just hurt my feet. I've tried, but the pain on my face is just not flattering, and the "sexy" effect of the heels is totally negated by my limping.

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  7. "...and the "sexy" effect of the heels is totally negated by my limping."
    Hah.
    I tried for a long, slow stride the other night, hoping I looked sophisticated instead of barely upright. Thanks for checking in, Suzanne. ;)

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  8. Lol! Love the post Liv :) And how fun to dress up and go out with your hubby and his band playing - I'm envious!

    As to heels - I like low heels, not high heels. I don't do over 2 inch heels, bad knee and weak ankle decided that long ago.

    I do however laugh at women who walk funny in heels - there's nothing empowering or sexy about a woman walking like she's constipated, you know? :)

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  9. Oh, Ann, you would have been cracking up at me the other night. Sigh. I think a pair of motorcycle boots gives you more confidence than any stiletto, with a lot less pain in the morning.
    Thanks for checking in!

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  10. I have true crazy love for shoes. Whether, heels, clogs, cowboy boots, converse, there's a shoe for every occasion (well, okay, more like 5 pairs of shoes for every occasion ...)

    Heels make me feel more polished, but at 5' 8" before heels, I sometimes felt a little too conspicuous in a crowd. All that changed though, when when my 16 yr old hit 6'2", and now I'm no longer the highest tree in the forest.

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  11. "...more like 5 pairs of shoes for every occasion..."
    Oh yeah! It's all about the choices. And with my daughter taller than me (at 14) and my 12 year old son already 5'5", I too will be the shortest tree in the household. Thanks, Barbara, for checking in.

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  12. You forgot the 'buy them and to look at' category. I miss pretty shoes--broke my toe and now one shoe always hurts my foot.
    Diana
    www.pencildancer.com

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  13. Bummer, Diana. Pretty flats are harder to find than heels. That said, I think the pumps I wore the other night are now in the "buy them and look at" category.
    ;)

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  14. I'm all about the heels. Actually, shoes in general. There's barely any room in the closet for the BF's stuff.

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  15. And Amanda, you've already read Molly's story. Does she act like she's 5'2"? And does the BF think he needs closet space? Why?
    ;)
    Thx...

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  16. I used to wear high heels to work every single day..and I managed a restaurant...so I have even washed dishes at the height of a lunch rush, no less, wearing 3" heels...but now that I am at home with kids, I wear sneakers. Or flip flops. And the last time I tried on heels, they were so uncomfortable that I took them off about 3 minutes after I put them on.
    So now, I'm in the market for some sexy sneakers. Is there such a thing?

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  17. Actually, Laird, I like the orange converse in the bottom photo. With the right outfit, they'd be killer.
    ;)
    That or a pair of biker boots. Thanks for checking in!

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  18. I wish I could rock some heels more often than I do (as in once or twice a year) but my life simply doesn't allow for it in practical terms. I love my Danskos as well as my Converse. But lately, given the cold weather here, I'm living in my favorite boots. With flat heels, of course. ;)

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  19. I'm sure you're rockin' the flat-heeled boots, Tami! Thanks for checking out the post...

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  20. I'm 5'2" and I do have heels, but I don't really wear them anymore. Chasing 3 kids around has replaced the heels with converse.

    When I dress up, I like to wear a nice heel because it does give a nice shape to the leg.

    I don't really put much thought into who made them or what they mean or represent . Most times I'm looking for comfort and the ability to sprint at a moments notice.

    Mostly, though, I'm a barefoot gal ~ who only straps shoes on if she has to!

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  21. "Most times I'm looking for comfort and the ability to sprint at a moments notice."
    Now see, that's a mother talking. It's funny how your priorities change...
    Thanks, Kim, for stopping by.

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  22. Certain radio personality troll. That guy makes me want to scream. I'd probably be wearing my Dansko clogs while I did it and he'd find some anti-feminine comment to make when he saw them. I love high heels but more as a fascination than something to wear.

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  23. At a guess I'd say clogs are too masculine for radio trolls, so he'd make some derogatory comment about our personal grooming. I love my clogs, and trolls can take a hike.

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  24. I wear heels about 3 times a month and dansko heels about once a week. I would wear slippers if I wouldn't look like I drink my children's cough medicine a little too much.

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  25. You're not supposed to drink their cough syrup?
    Oh.
    As usual, Marianne, I'm in awe of you. If I wear heels three times a year it's too much.
    ;)

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  26. I'm a Birkenstocks girl! I have... er... quite a few pairs (too many to count in my head).

    I've never worn heels much - only on special occasions, although I did have a low pair I used to wear to work. I could walk in them. They had a wedge heel and were really comfortable. I walked home from work (nearly 4km) in them once.

    Now, though, I can't wear heels AT ALL. I am one of the statistics of women who have crippled themselves. I have a strained/torn ligament under my foot, and my podiatrist has banned me from wearing heels, preferably ever again. (It happened just from wearing above-mentioned wedges to my nephew's Christening.)

    So, now I can only wear flats. And since for work they need to have a closed toe, I'm constantly looking for nice flats with a closed toe. Not too much choice there!

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  27. I think that's where my Dansko clogs would come in, Ellen. They have a closed toe and not much heel, and there are some cute ones. Okay, some are cuter than others, but still...
    Do they sell them in Australia? You could probably find them on-line, although they'd have to be REALLY cute to make them worth the cost of shipping.
    Thanks for checking out the post!

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