start

Do girls have to wear heels?

Or what is expected of them?

THE

Scene

Monday 11th March 2013

Is it unfeminist to wear high heels? Only if the high heels are shouting up at you: "Oi,Arike! Women can’t do anything expect for cooking, cleaning and being a sex object for men! Go and make us a cup of tea, will you?"
Other than that, there's nothing bad about high heels, just as there isn't about most clothes. Sure, complaining about how it's men who decide what's sexy in a woman and then coincidently stripping off to pose for a men's magazine will fulfill the self fulfilling prophecy of the generalized view of a man and will make you look stupid and doesn’t help feminism.
Look, feminism isn't very complicated: it's about equality. That's it! We can all pack up and go home now!

Except not quite, because there are some annoying issues still to point out. Leaving aside the ongoing argument about whether mainstream feminism still ignores various demographics of women (namely, non-Caucasian, non-middle class, non-heterosexual) as it once did, there are still many queries that are all basically variations on the theme of Arike’s question: what is feminist and what isn't? It would make life much easier if someone could just use an encyclopedia detailing whether eye shadow is feminist and mascara isn't, but that cant is the case.

You see, what is one person's embrace of their sexuality is another person's patriarchal oppression. And you know why that is? Because women aren't just women – they're individuals. And individuals have different reactions and needs. Women are also, by and large, smart enough to tell when they, as individuals, feel elevated or depressed by something and whether their feelings come genuinely from themselves or because they have been brainwashed by the patriarchal society. So, in regards to feminism, while the overall message – equality – is universal, the details (marriage, sexual predilections, high heels) vary from woman to woman. And you know what? That's just fine.

Feminism gave women the freedom to choose what they want to do with their lives and they can choose whether they want to wear high heels or not.

Personally, high heels are anti-feminist for me – and only for me; I'm not issuing some edict from on high here – although it took me until my late teens to realize this. I walked through parties for me to see the world from the perspective of someone 6’3’’ft tall, albeit only for a few minutes, as I was generally only able to stay upright for brief periods. How I made it to 30 without a broken neck or at least ankle is possibly the eighth wonder of the world.

I know some women who love heels. Some who wear them on casual days, for no special reason at all. Some who claim that being taller makes them feel stronger, more empowered, and that they feel like a hobbit when they walk in flat shoes. I am not one of those women. For me, high heels are just fancy foot binding with a three-figure price tag and they render me so immobile that I can barely be bothered to get up off my seat to go to the loo, meaning that I may one day require a catheter whenever I wear heels, which would probably take some of the sexiness away from my Louboutins.
They put me in a terrible mood; they make me high-maintenance, such as demanding a taxi to go a distance of about 50 yards; and, worst of all, they make me boring because all I can do is talk about how much my feet hurt. Three inches is pretty much my limit on a heel for a day shoe, and I can go high on special occasions, as long as I am promised that I'll be seated for most of the evening. If dancing is going to be involved, I'm back to the two-inchers, ideally something such as Janey flats from J Crew (which I have mentioned before and are the shoes I live in most) or Vara low pumps from Salvatore Ferragamo, if I'm feeling a bit posher and preppier.

I have no doubt these shoes would make other women feel insufferably frumpy, like a mix between Margaret Thatcher and the Queen Mum. They wouldn't leave the house in anything lower than a six-inch platform from Charlotte Olympia. Others, by contrast, would find the two-inch heel far too prissy and only feel at home in some combat boots.
But this is why our foremothers died for us, ladies: so we could choose our own footwear (well, that and the vote.)

News

Entertainment

Sports

Weather

News>Have your Say

Walk The Mile...

But Not In Heels

Models walking the catwalk in flats, setting an example to other girls in society. Photograph:Getty Image