Every time, we celebrate Women’s Rights Day, there is always a group of men showing their solidarity with women by walking in high heels. This may be symbolic of putting themselves in the shoes of women. But wearing high heels have nothing to do with being a woman.
High-heeled shoes are really another way of oppressing women who are made to believe that high heels are sexy and attractive to men. High heels are hard to walk in and impossible to run in. And you can’t wear them for a long time without your feet aching. High heels destroy the bones and muscles of women’s feet, legs and spine. Sometimes I look at the outrageous shoe fashion we have today and marvel at how women have been fooled into wearing such uncomfortable, limiting and even dangerous shoes.
If men really want to have empathy with women, I suggest that they skip walking in high heels. Instead, they can help out in housework, take care of the baby, tutor their children, clean the house, etc. These are traditional roles that many women are still expected to do without help from men. Many times women do these on top of their work outside of the home. It is great that men would want to feel what a woman feels, but being in high heels will teach them nothing about what being a woman is all about.
—GRACE P. CHUA, ggpadc@icloud.com