Wear at your own risk! Via shoesexpert @ Flickr.
Y’all know that I fucking hate high heels. And apparently, I’m not alone–since I wrote my rant about heels back in January, it’s been one of our top-rated posts, still getting a couple hundred hits a week and generating plenty of commentary elsewhere on the ‘net.
Now it looks like I’ve found a leftist, blue-collar ally in the British Trade Union Congress. According to an article in the UK’s Daily Mail:
High-heeled shoes should be banned from the workplace because they are sexist and pose a health and safety hazard, say union bosses. The predominantly male Trade Union Congress has proposed a motion decrying the stiletto heel as demeaning to women. TUC officials have in the past condemned high heels as ‘blatantly sexist’ and the latest motion highlights their effects on women’s health.
Union chiefs warned that women who work for airlines, City banks and West End
department stores are forced to wear high heels, even though they are unsuitable.
The motion adds: ‘Wearing high heels can cause long-term foot problems…and also serious foot, knee and back pain. More needs to be done to raise awareness of this problem.’
What’s noteworthy here is not only that this is coming from labor unions–generally not known for their thoughtful consideration of women’s issues–but that the incredibly stupid and anti-feminist arguments against it are coming from women themselves:
..High-flying women said the motion was patronising. Former Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry said: ‘This is absolutely ridiculous and I think these union officials should be spending their time dealing with more important issues.
‘I’m at work in five-inch heels and perfectly able to do my job. Heels are sexy, they boost your confidence and they are empowering to women.’
Unless your job involves sex work, I don’t think wearing sexy attire of any kind is necessary in the workplace. And empowering? Gawd, don’t even get me started.
Now granted, Michelle is a reality show contestant, and they tend to be experts in Cosmo-style empowerfulment, but the article even quotes an elected Conservative Party official who you’d think would know better :
Tory MP Nadine Dorries said the extra height can help women in the workplace. She added: ‘I’m 5ft 3in. I need every inch of my Christian Louboutin heels to look my male colleagues in the eye. If high heels were banned in Westminster, no one would be able to find me.’
Generally one distinguishes herself as a Member of Parliament by doing her job well, so perhaps we can conclude from this that Nadine Dorries does such a crap job that she thinks the only way to get noticed is by wearing Loboutins. I hope she advises short male MPs to slap on a pair so that they can look their colleagues in the eye too.
It’s unclear if this motion will pass, or if it’ll lead to any lasting change in what constitutes work attire. But it’s encouraging that workers are being actively discouraged from wearing heels. I think that this kind of activism will raise awareness, and help high heels go the way of corsets and whalebone stays and other “sexy” but misogynist apparel.
On one hand, I do see that women are pressured to wear heels in order to look “professional”, and though I enjoy heels, I’m not looking forward to the fact that entering the working world means I’ll be expected to wear them (and makeup, which I do not like) most days.
On the other– as unpleasant as it is to admit it, the way we present ourselves visually does impact others’ views of us– of our competence, professionalism, intelligence, business sense, etc. Heels do make us look more professional– but that’s because that’s how they’re coded in society. That’s a problem that is fixable with time, and people can be trained to view flats as being just as professional. What we’re going to have more problem fixing are the ways people react to height– being able to look someone in the eye does strengthen your position, and many people will unconsciouslly favor a taller person over a shorter one in in-person business situations.
So– I guess I think heels should be allowed at work, but stilettos should be discouraged. The heels from a place like Clarks are worlds away from stilettos in comfort, but under a pantsuit, you’re not likely to notice the difference– though you will notice the difference in height of heels vs. flats.
@Amanda: I agree that it’s a fixable problem. it used to be that women were forbidden to wear pantsuits because that wasn’t professional, or that men had to wear hats to be professional. Those perceptions have changed. I’m hoping they will for heels, too.
I take your point about the height advantage, but that’s equally, if not more, true for short men and you never see men wearing 4 inch heels to gain a height advantage (unless they’re Prince, in which case, ROCK ON).
Particularly in the case of city banks and department stores, I cannot understand the counterargument. These are women who spend most of their day standing behind high counters all day–who can even see their feet? I don’t see female bartenders wearing heels very often, and they have similar visibility from the waist down. Flight attendants have more visible feet, but they certainly don’t have to be taller than anyone else to get authority–they are almost unfailingly surrounded by seated individuals, and who wants to mess with the person in charge of distributing food and drinks, particularly if she can have you arrested (in addition to depriving you of snacks)?
I agree with Amanda that flats aren’t seen as “professional” though, at least not in business environments. (Hospitals and classrooms are different.) We definitely need to make a cultural shift.
@BeckySharper It’s true I’ve never seen a man wearing 4-inch heels. But I have seen them wearing two inch heels– you just can’t tell that’s what they are. Lifts, “elevator shoes”, boots (my boyfriend enjoys his heeled cowboy boots), and certain styles of male dress shoes all add height– what we need are equally inconspicious, and at least equally comfortable, ways for women to add height too.
I worked in retail for over a year, on my feet nine hours five days a week. If I wore heels every day then my feet would be absolutely wrecked. So I usually wore flats, with the occasional stacked heel or platform. It’s worth noting that I’m under five feet tall, and always get heckled by my mom about needing to look taller. Screw that. Flats may not be “sexy” and they may make me need to crane my neck a bit more to make eye contact, but there was no way that I was going to stand on the sales floor every day in three-inch stilettos. I admit I do not understand why anyone would want to.
@Amanda: If only we had something as comfortable as men’s elevator shoes or cowboy boots. I wear heeled boots and platform shoes at the office, but never anything that’s over 2 inches tall or wobbly.
The union isn’t saying you can’t choose your choice–they’re saying it’s unfair to make heels the only “professional” shoe. Which is right on. You never see Michelle Obama wearing heels, which is sort of awesome (because I hate heels and love that she makes it work without them) but sort of annoying (because you know she wears flats cause bog forbid a woman is taller than a man).
It really bothers me that the MP makes a point of saying her “Louboutins.” She doesn’t have to wear heels because she’s 5’3″–she has to namedrop her expensive shoes to show how rich and trendy and femme she is.
Cautionary tale! My great-aunt wore high heels her whole life and her achilles tendons contracted, giving her permanent Barbie feet and making her dependent on high heels.
I work in a law firm and I hardly every wear heels, and when I do they’re like half inch. I have no problem, looking “professional” without heels, and to be honest, without makeup most of the time as well. No one’s ever said a word to me about it.
“Union chiefs warned that women who work for airlines, City banks and West End
department stores are forced to wear high heels, even though they are unsuitable.”
Is this actually part of the female employees’ contracts? Is that legal? Do we have companies in the states with the similar requirements? Or should word “forced” be understood to mean “forced to meet commonly accepted standards of professionalism”?
I’ve read that women in the workplace are perceived more positively when they wear heels. This is a bit ironic since heels actually make walking and balance more difficult. But, I do think they make me stand up straighter. I wonder if the tendency to view women in heels as more professional stems from the posture and height difference, or if it is rooted in the fact that women seem more typically “feminine” in heels, and thus men are more comfortable with them.
Since we’re talking about shoes I’ll take a chance with this… Becky, please delete if too thread-jacky. I’m going on vacation and I’m looking for a casual shoe/sandal that’s comfortable to walk around in, but nice enough that I can go into a restaurant without looking out of place. Basically, a non-sneaker that won’t kill my feet if I’m walking around all day. I’m so grateful for any recommendations.
@Spark: Aerosoles. Also Nine West sometimes has reasonably comfy sandals, both casual and dressy. In fact, I’m wearing those (at the office) right now.
@spark: merrell makes some nice shoes that are comfy/good for walking. little pricey, but they last forEVER.
Sarah, we’re the same size, and when I worked in a restaurant as a hostess I absolutely wore platforms every day. Our requirements were soles to prevent slipping in the kitchen and a closed heel and toe, so I wore platform loafers every day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been seen behind the desk. I don’t wear heels like the ones pictured (and even when I wear shorter ones I call them my tools of the patriarchy and take them off after two hours or so), but I confess when I want to look adult or professional I reach for shoes that will lift me up, be they platforms or cowboy boots. I look young anyway and being as short as I am I feel like I need all the help I can get.
Re: cowboy boots, my husband is on the short side of average and he wears his (about a 2-2.5″ heel) when he wants to impress, too.
@spark – I agree with bluebears about the Merrells. I have sneakers, sandals, and a pair of slip on mary jane type things, and all are very comfy and look nice.
This conversation is especially interesting because, in certain professions, high heels are so dangerous as to be prohibited with good reason. In the job I’m doing right now, I couldn’t do half my work in heels. Working on a large mechanical reactor in heels would be insane, and the shop guys I work with would utterly cease to take me seriously if I showed up in stilettos one day. Requiring that women wear heels in order to be considered professional sharply limits the number of jobs that women are eligible for, including many jobs that women have had trouble gaining access to in the first place.
Thanks! I just ordered a pair of Merrells (and forfeited my zappos virginity), and I’m going to check out the Aerosoles store now.
Currently, I’m sitting in my office wearing a business casual outfit with flippie floppies on. I may switch to heels later in the day, but today it’s just about comfort. That being said though, it doesn’t matter what kind of shoe I wear I always end up with substantial back pain about halfway through the day (I’m only 22!). I mostly wear heels to make me look taller, as I feel like the lines of my outfits call for a more substantial height (thank you, Stacey and Clinton!). Plus I really like high heeled shoes, my current favourite pair is a fuschia patent pointy toe, with a 3″ heel. They’re fabulous!
Not particularly surprised to hear that from Nadine Dorries. She’s not exactly renowned for her feminist opinions – see: http://www.the20weekscampaign.org/
Five inch heels at work? Really? I so do not want to pay her podiatrist or chiropractor bills.
I very occasionally wear 2-2 1/2 inch heels to work, but not often, as I frequently have to run to catch the bus in the morning.
And even those are wider, more stable heels (Fluevog Mini Bips), or Fluevog’s Miss April Pinups which are wedges.
@Ellie: Sheesh. Thanks for that!
One of the downsides of representative democracy is that EVERYONE is represented, including morons and misogynists. I guess I know who their MP is.
@BeckySharper – especially since her campaign is called “Time to slow down on abortion” and its goal is to move back the legal limit from 24 weeks to 20. Wouldn’t that force people to speed up on abortion? I assume this means that she is both a moron and a misogynist.
Are you f**king kidding me? Who the f**k is anyone to tell me what to wear? You think because someone calls expressing a view about what women should wear ‘feminist’ it suddenly is? They are still telling women what to f**king wear!
If I want to wear 6 inch stilettos to work, I’ll wear 6 inch stilettos to work (and trust me, I do). If I want to wear ballet flats to work, I’ll wear ballet flats to work and I defy anyone to tell me any differently. And how dare someone try and make assumptions about my personal beliefs based on what I wear on my feet. What a load of shit. I love my shoes, I spend insane amounts of money on shoes. And I have also been born and raised a feminist. And I am not the type to express feminist views but stop short of calling myself the ‘f’ word.
I don’t judge the women who wear flat shoes in my office as being dowdy or (heaven forbid) ‘more feminist’ than me. I don’t give a f**k what they wear as long as they do their job and I expect the same respect in return.
And for the record, I have the shoes pictured and find them rather comfortable, just a tad slippery on tiled surfaces. So next time you see a woman walking down the street in a pair of Louboutins, she may very well be me and I dare you to try and tell me what I should or shouldn’t wear to my face… people have died for less.
That is all.
Heels are not “professional” in academia–at least in my field. Being bathed and having your torso covered is. Some women wear them, but they’re not a majority, even at the conference I’m attending right now. Lots of sandals. I would guess that the more traditionally “masculine” professions are more likely to require feminine dress–in the name of empowerment, of course.
Except when issues of safety come into play, however, unions shouldn’t outlaw heels (or other clothing)–it’s another way of controlling women, like in the anti-burka discussion in France, and it serves to make heels “subversive,” which would boost their appeal. For some. Who are ignorant.
@Brooke: Feminism means you have the right to cause yourself injury–which high heels do–or spend an “insane” amount of money to conform to whatever standard of beauty you desire.
But while you’re feeling all outraged that someone might question your choices, just remember heels were created to fit a very patriarchial image of what women should look like–hobbled, mincing, with their calves and glutes straining. Just because you as a woman believe in patriarchial attitudes about beauty doesn’t make them any less patriarchial.
Also, I think there are better things to kill and die for.
@PhDork: I think the trade union is just trying to protect its female workers from being pressured into wearing something that’s uncomfortable and causes injury, and calling attention to the fact that it’s a a “blatantly sexist” burden that’s placed exclusively on female workers.
I suspect that my feelings about heels are apparent. I understand that heels are usually connected to a patriarchal standard of beauty. But as a tall woman, it is almost the opposite for me. Adding even more height to my frame makes me less typically “feminine.” In fact, I have always been told by men that I shouldn’t wear heels because of my height. But I don’t really give a damn, so I buy and wear shoes I like. A lot of them happen to have a heel. Also, maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve never worked anywhere where heels were mandated, and that includes my old law firm.
Tall girl in heels:
Your comment made my day.
Thank you.
I’m a librarian so I wear sandals!
I used to get very het up about heels and thought it was insane that women would choose to wear shoes that you can’t run away from a rapist in. BUT it’s her choice.
What concerns me is that women in some jobs, such as airhostesses, are forced to wear them as part of a uniform. When women don’t have a choice, then that’s when you’ve got a problem. I can’t think of anything less comfortable than wearing heels on an aeroplane where pressure changes make your feet swell up – but then I’m not a heel fan anyway.
If someone wants to wear heels and finds them comfortable to wear, then let them.
The same goes for corsets – I don’t know where you’ve been but corsets have made a huge comeback, partly because of goth and partly because of burlesque and partly because of pin-up. Corsets don’t need to be uncomfortable or dangerous – they became that way when the S-shape Gibson Girl corset came into vogue, which hastened the disappearance of corsets, unsurprisingly. The bow at the middle of your bra is an echo of the bow that corset laces were tied in. Back then of course, women didn’t really have much of a choice (well, unless you were in the dress reform movement, or you were a pre-Raphaelite, or other general Bohemian type), but now we do have a choice, and some women LIKE to wear a corset. But imagine if your job uniform said you HAD to wear a corset? And you didn’t want to?
It is possible to wear shoes with height which aren’t heels, such as 40s style wedges. I wobble about terribly in heels, but I can wear wedges fine and they add a good couple of inches. Then again, platform soles were banned from my school because it was felt they were dangerous with the amount of stair-climbing involved in going from class to class. They also banned floor-length skirts for the same reason (oh, the early 90s…). And there’s also various shoe inserts which can keep your feet comfy (Insolia and Party Feet, for example). If you have a pair of Louboutins, they’re way more comfortable to wear than just any old heel because they’re very well-made.
But I do agree… I don’t understand why that woman from “The Apprentice” feels she should be “sexy” in the workplace, and one wonders if Nadine Dorries claimed her Louboutins on expenses.
I work in software development.
My Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee recently received a request from Operations to consider banning bare feet in the office.
We decided it was not our job to mandate dress codes (although it was generally agreed IT personnel moving equipment should wear closed toe shoes) and that there was a lot more dangerous foot wear out there than lack of footwear. We also decided that if Operations pushed their point, we would ban heels over 2 inches to make our point. (The only people who would wear heels to our office work in Operations anyway.)
We are pretty serious about being comfortable in the office. T-shirts and jeans or shorts paired with sneakers, sandals, or flip flops are pretty much the rule of the day. Hardly anyone wears makeup, although some people dye their hair bright colors. Some of the guys have been known to wear nail polish.
I think Operations is lucky that we all don’t just show up in pajamas.
Jesus Christ on a bike.
Women shouldn’t be forced to wear heels to work.
Women shouldn’t be forced to wear flats to work.
People should assume that women can decide for themselves what footwear is best for them.
End of story.
After some thought about this, I’ve come to the following rather vague conclusions:
1. No job should contractually oblige a woman to wear high heels (other than the obvious ones. Like shoe modelling).
2. Women probably should be allowed to make their own choices about footwear at work, although this could lead to patriarchal selection of those who conform and rejection of women who wear more comfortable and practical footwear, so, um, yeah.
3. Women should not be judged as conformist or anti-feminist for wearing high heels in a social, non-work setting. They are, after all, just another way to adorn our own bodies, and our bodies belong to us. The problem to me lies not with the shoes particularly, some of which are entirely comfortable, but with the fact that the patriarchy enforces them as a universal symbol of “sexy”.
For the heel libertarians out there: Even in workplaces where high heels are not explicated as required for women, they may be strongly encouraged as part of looking professional, and that is why a union would seek this top down motion to protect workers. High heels are irrefutably a long and short term health risk, and they irrefutably compromise balance and full motility. When every worker is a free agent, they are at a severe imbalance with corporations. It’s a health and safety issue.
Like many women, I enjoy pretty shoes and own many pairs of stilettos. I wear them out to dinner sometimes. But I don’t pretend that they give me power, or that raising my height mitigates the gender imbalance, or that my association of them with sexiness and femininity sprang forth, fully formed from my own head, without the influence of male dominated culture which codes ease and naturalness as male, and artifice and alteration as female.
As Becky pointed out, the rules of professionalism and sexiness have changed many times in the past. It used to be thought that corsets provided essential spine support, the way we now believe that it’s necessary for breasts to be held high and still by brassieres. The rules can change again; lets support this union effort to do so.
@Hana Maru – as someone who has worn a period corset for extended periods of time, I can vouch for the spine support. My posture was great in that thing. I just couldn’t breathe, was all.
I suspect, also, that if this union were to succeed (great point about collective bargaining, by the way), many women would quickly find that they don’t miss their heels as much as they thought they would.
@baraqiel: Yeah, we’re going to need to hear more about the corset, plz.
@Becky – Ahahahaha, I should have known that would come back to bite me.
I would be happy to provide details, except that I worry about compromising my Secret Identity out here in public. But, if you are curious, feel free to e-mail me (pseudo.nom.nom at gmail).
baraqiel-”Essential” is the key word there. People used to think women would just flop over or something if they didn’t have a corset, perhaps because their idea of a natural or healthy state of posture/lung expansion was different. Women were among the most vociferous defenders of the corset in it’s last days, wanting not to appear sloppy and unfeminine.
@Hana Maru – sure, but I can see how if one wore a corset every day for years, it would be very hard to have good posture without one (if nothing else, your core muscles would probably atrophy a little since you can’t use them much). Sort of like Spark’s great-aunt, maybe.
Being too style-conscious to live is hardly confined to women. The level of some people’s cultural programming is… severe. I work in the ridiculously-high-end homebuilding industry, and whenever I go to an onsite meeting, the $300-an-hour designers always show up in inappropriate clothing/footwear. OSHA would plotz. Understand, these meetings take place in a trailer in the middle of a sea of mud, gravel and construction shrapnel. Yet the women always wear heels. And the men are just as dumb— always with the soft (and expensive, natch) Italian leather. And the all-time winner was the guy who turned up in a white suit and freakin’ wingtips. It rained; I laughed.
Oh, and, as another tall woman, I’m so there with Tallgirl-In-Heels:
“Adding even more height to my frame makes me less typically ‘feminine.’”
Tell me about it! I too have always been told I shouldn’t wear heels because they make me “too” tall. I rarely have cause to wear heels, but when I do, I wear tall ones, and I’ll admit I do it with a distinct sense of spite. I’m like, “Behold what you have wrought, Patriarchy!” I have a six-foot friend who admits to doing the same. It’s a tiny way of sticking it to the order.
Oh, and: gotta love the MP’s name-dropping AND height-dropping. Poor thing, she’s so petite! Naturally conforming to an important part of the hegemonic feminine ideal is such a trial! Grr. Her knapsack is probably so heavy she doesn’t even know it’s there.
Geez, Brooke, defensive much? No one here’s telling anyone that they can’t wear heels at all times, however did you get that idea? So you’re comfortable in heels, great for you, for those of us who can’t walk in heels without injuring ourselves a demand for heels actually EXCLUDE us from large parts of the job market.
Banning heels for health reasons is exactly the same as demanding safety footwear in certain workplaces – the kind of footwear that means I still have a left foot to walk on. I had a close call 1½ year ago.
If heels were banned in the workplace you can still wear your heels in your free time and flats don’t injure you, so what’s your fucking problem? 8-9 hours a day in heels actually does injure women, probably even those who think they’re comfortable and fine. Return and tell me that when you’re 70 with a contracted achilles tendon.
As long as some professions demand heels as part of business attire, I and many others, who can’t just swallow our pain and pretend it’s fine when we put on heels, are effectively prevented from pursuing those professions. But I can see how that’s a totally insignificant problem compared to how you might have to suffer through non-hurtful flats for half a day and/or actively choose to wear heels rather than just doing what the patriarchy tells you. Poor baby.
I was forced to wear high heels at work in a corporate environment for about 25 years. I was young and single and normally wore 3 and 4 inch heels figuring I would at least look attractive if I had to wear them. I continued wearing them well into my 30s thanks to my on and off relationships.
After I got a new job working from home a few years ago, I stopped wearing the heels but my feet were killing me even more than when I wore them. I went to the doctor and he told me that wearing the heels changed my feet and that the only shoes that would be comfortable now would be heels.
So I’m now cursed. When going anywhere away from home where I expect to do any walking, I have to wear the spiked heels or my feet hurt. And now the more I wear them the more my feet will change and my doctor said eventually it will hurt to walk at all without the heels, so now I am really stuck wearing them the rest of my life.
They’re also unsuitable for my age. I’m nearly 50 now and do a good bit travelling for business and I have gotten men at the airport who come up to me thinking I am an older prostitute because of my stillettos.
I asked one man a few months ago, “Are you kidding, do I have slut written on my forehead?” He looked down at my shoes and said, “Yeah.”
So that’s it. I get to be a whore for the rest of my life. Gee thanks society.