Monday, June 28, 2010

Did Cinderella ever have to get foot surgery from wearing glass slippers?

Recently I underwent foot surgery, and am now fully recovered, and ready to unpack my experience with a feminist lense. But first, a serious question:

Did Cinderella ever have to get foot surgery from wearing glass slippers?

While a silly revelation, it's a serious one at that. Women are four times as likely to have foot problems in their life, why? Why is it that every time I visited my podiatrist's office (a total of 4 times) the room was full of female patients, and not a single male.

High heels started making fashion statements with royalty in France, and ever since the relationship between high heels, feminity, and formal wear has been unwavering. Little girls start playing dress-up in their parents heels and grow up to watch Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City use her rent money to purchase expensive heels.

A normalized part of someone's clothing should not be painful or deform one's body. Prolonged useage of high heels can injure back, knees, and feet. Is this socialized practice worth the pain? Recently, I have been paying much more attention to the shoes I see on women's feet while taking the metro to work everyday. The pattern I see involves women wearing their running shoes to work, changing into high heels at work, and then changing back into their running shoes to go home. Why do women do this to themselves? This ritual must get exhausting…

Now I only exchange dirty looks with my high heels in my closet, and continue to look for shoes that make my feet happy. Be sure to check back soon for more blogs, because I'm fully healed and ready to be active again!

Until then, check out this Time Magazine article for further reading about women and shoes.