If the shoe fits? Feminism and feet

Women have it pretty good in the Western world of the 21^st century, our culture is far more equal and alleviated from sexism than other parts of the globe, yet it’s still not perfect (and possibly never will be). The trouble with using the term ‘sexism’ is people think it refers to something men impose on women, or vice versa. But sometimes we inflict it on ourselves. 

I have a bone to pick and it is with high heeled shoes. Wearers, we put ourselves at risk of sprained ankles and injured dignity if we lose balance in them, but the damage doesn’t stop there. The downward pressure on the toes impacts the joints at the front of the foot and over years of continued wear can lead to horribly deformed feet in unnatural triangular shapes.

The question to ask is whether men are doing it too. If heels were so great, men would be wearing them too (ok, a few men do, generally on stage, at home or sometimes to the local cafe).

Christian Louboutin is well known to ridicule the concept of comfort, claiming it "is not part of [his] creative process". Sure, a woman can afford to wear impossible heels if she has driven to work and sits behind a desk all day. Some heels are really only for sitting down in.



Another quote from Louboutin says "'The core of my work is dedicated not to pleasing women, but to pleasing men" – hence the eye-catching red soles trademarked in 2008. 

A Chinese woman shows how 
her feet have been re-shaped

This attitude and the resulting abuses we are doing unto our feet for the sake of fashion is not nearly as bad as yet not worlds better than the old Chinese practise of routinely breaking and binding feet. This was a painful and disabling practise which most likely originated among upper-class court dancers in 900's AD but spread and became common among all classes due to men thinking it highly attractive, feminine and dainty. 

For some reason heels do have a certain appeal and look good, but generally men are more likely to be looking at your bum or legs, not what's on your feet. 

Thankfully foot-binding has now died out despite lasting for about 1000 years. Trouble is, when we are immersed in a culture we can't see that some normal practises and attitudes promote more pain and discomfort than they’re worth. 


Jimmy Choo has said "shoes are like the foundations. If the foundations aren’t right, the building won’t stand upright".

I'm not saying all high heels are bad – a friend of mine recently put together a small Ikea table using a high heeled shoe as a hammer. 

I know that life can often feel like a fashion parade, and sure, I'm far from practising what I've just preached. However we should be kinder to the things we rely on to take us places - don't make the foot fit the shoe.

 



Picture sources: Google images

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Procastinations . . .

Prescription for the UK: exercise your right to wellbeing

A couple of years ago, if someone asked me if I played sport I would have looked at them as if they had said a dirty word. Sport was just not something I ‘did’, and I was probably the biggest cynic out of my friends and family when it was announced that London would host the 2012 Olympics. Now, with that great legacy fading to a sparkly memory in our minds, I realise I have changed in a way I didn't ever expect. No, I am not about to run a marathon or even a half-marathon, but see sport as something that can enrich a varied and healthy lifestyle. Because sports may not seem like the most pressing issue in modern Britain, but boosting the perception of it in the minds of the population could be just the answer to the problems in healthcare and crime on the street. It’s obvious that sport reduces crime, reduces obesity, and sure as hell improves ordinary people’s sense of wellbeing.

It was hard not to get swept up in the excitement and feelings of unity when the Games were in town. The government probably have a goody bag of statistics now saying how public participation and interest in sports has increased/doubled/improved by x amount as a result and they've gotten practise at talking a good talk. But if they don’t act accordingly and revive sport in schools and communities, I fear we are going to get nowhere in the long term. We are a lucky nation to have been so well-represented in a variety of sports at the Olympics. You just had to look at certain events and notice how entirely under-represented African countries were in the swimming and diving to realise the importance of accessible sporting facilities – let’s face it, Africa is not known as a place with water going spare.

I'm fed up of seeing signs in parks and playing fields declaring “NO BALL GAMES”, “NO CYCLING”. Boris can get on his bike all he likes but it doesn't change the fact that roads are more often than not a dangerous place to cycle and are certainly not a fun place to do it anyway. Also, not all of us are lucky enough to have a garden where we can invite our friends for a good kick-around. This country needs to stop strangling spontaneous recreational physical activity (I don’t mean sex by the way) just in case a ball sent rocketing skywards might fall back to earth and hit a granny. Some 40 years ago in rural Croatia where my mum grew up, air rifle shooting was a regular part of the school sports programme - would young people in Britain today be able to believe it?

You don’t have to pay out for the gym or join a team (although I’d really encourage it, with the number of sports societies on offer at uni), but let’s not restrict sport and exercise to something ordinary people only do on machines in a purpose built complex, like dancing only when slightly (or very) inebriated in a darkened room with pulsing music. It’s really encouraging to see the number of families who turn out on bicycles for local events like the Olympic torch passing through Guildford and the finale of the Tour of Britain. I realise these people are the already-converted since the events I just mentioned are heavily sports-related, but working a short cycle into your daily routine or going for a jog to clear your head could really be the answer. Try it, and I promise you’ll feel better!

Picture sources: Google images

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