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Original poster

Girls' shoes - sort of "stop pimping our kids" but wider issue than sexualisation...

59 replies

Lemonsole · 21/04/2011 21:23

Around this time last year I started a thread in Politics about the polarisation of children's shoes. Thread

Interestingly enough, I almost apologised for starting it - in those days before the Feminism board I struggled to convince many MNers that it was a political issue.

Today I went into Russell and Bromley inthe quest for DD's school shoes, and there on the shelf were these horrors

It's not only the ShoeZone/ Brantano end of the market producing inappropriate footwear - but now the "higher end" is getting in on the act, too. Incidentally, after my explosion, the assistant tried to suggest that they weren't "real" shoes, but dressing-up shoes. Yes, at fifty quid a pair..

I'm drafting my email to R and B as I type... any thoughts on what on earth we can do about it all?

I'm not daft - I know that Lelli Kellis have ALWAYS been vile, and always will be. The presence of vast quantities of glitter and jewels makes it very clear to young girls that any temptation to fun or activity suggested by the fact that their shoes are pumps should be quickly damped down and limited to watching and looking pretty. But they are now getting into a whole new league with these heels.

Boycott R and B? Where in the bloody hell will I be able to buy Start-rites? In our city it is Clarks (shite) or R and B or nowt. And I'm not ready to just order shoes by trial and error over the internet.

Interestingly enough, after their initial attempts to play down the shoes, the assistants seemed to share my views, particularly on the grounds that a children's shoe department marketing itself as a responsible choice should not be stocking such items.

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Original poster
Lemonsole · 21/04/2011 22:23

The girls' shoes issue is one that comes around every time I need to buy her shoes, and I find that it gets worse every season. From the first year that the dreaded Lelli-Kellys started to drive the more innocent Doodles from the shelves, to now seeing an entire rack of the things. And now with heels. While at the same time, the problems that I raised last year haven't changed at all.

It's no wonder at all that girls are becoming progressively less active and less healthy when shoes are ornaments instead of something to protect their feet while having fun.

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NormanTebbit · 21/04/2011 22:21

Lelli kelli's also come with free ' make up phone'. dD2 is mounting a campaign to get some but no bloody way on this Earth am I forking out £50 for those crappy things.

I find it hard to get sensible shoes and also sensible clothing fir my daughters. Plain skirts and dresses, tops which don't have "princess in training" on.

AliceWorld · 21/04/2011 22:16

'Armchair activism' it's called - it even has a name Grin

AliceWorld · 21/04/2011 22:15

Oh you're so not alone. I have two emails on the go at the moment. I go for shorter but more emails. And most of the time they are in response to things others are emailing about. At the moment 1 is the Green Fair one, the other is a local issue I thought up all by myself. Grin

Original poster
Lemonsole · 21/04/2011 22:11

AliceWorld - thanks! I always feel alone in doing this kind of thing, and rather futile. But I still feel that it needs to be said.

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Original poster
Lemonsole · 21/04/2011 22:09

I am aware that I wasn't forced to take them away with my Start-Rites.

But isn't the whole point of Let Girls be Girls that there is more to it than simply not buying? That we have a broader responsibility to young girls that transcends the right of the market to offer whatever tat irresponsible parents will buy? That our girls have a right to grow up without thinking that heels+make-up+tarty clothes = attractive = important?

Retailers who sell themselves as being responsible are asking for complaints on this type of thing. And rightly so.

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AliceWorld · 21/04/2011 22:07

You're right and good email.

They were saying on the channel 4 prog just now how companies use the excuse of what the public generally see as OK (this was in relation to music videos) and I have heard before the argument that we should always raise these things as it will eventually shift what is perceived as 'public opinion'. I send emails about all sorts of stuff, usually doesn't do much at that instant, but I do it as lots of little actions chip away at this stuff being 'normal'.

Portoeufino · 21/04/2011 22:05

You don't have to buy them though. I was back in UK a month or so ago and bought dd perfectly sensible shoes in Shoe Zone of all places.

Original poster
Lemonsole · 21/04/2011 22:01

Here's my email to R and B:
Dear Sir or Madam,

I visited your Lemonsoleville store today to buy new school shoes for my 6 year-old daughter.

I was shocked and disappointed to see these shoes on display. They are completely inappropriate for young feet -that they are available from a size 26 (UK size 8) is chilling.

I am amazed that Russell and Bromley, which enjoys an image as a responsible children's shoe retailer has chosen to stock these shoes. You won't let us leave the store without a senior fitter being happy with a shoe's fit; you are one of the few stockists of StartRite and Geox; you invest heavily in staff training. Yet you appear to be endorsing a shoe which, even if it fits a child's foot in terms of length and width, could cause long-term damage:

"Gregor McCoshim, a podiatrist, warned that young children should not wear heels. "The fact children can wear these is worrying. Any heel above 2cm increases the risk of twisting an ankle. Wearing them can cause strains in the back which is a potential problem for their growth and development." (Source)

Heeled shoes are not only dangerous for young girls, but their availability contributes to a climate in which our daughters are encouraged to dress and then behave as adults and not as children. This issue is being addressed by Mumsnet.com in their "Let girls be girls" campaign and their campaign has been taken up by Channel 4's Sex Education Show (broadcast yesterday) under the banner "stop pimping our kids". As a company that takes a pride in its up-market image, I am sure that you do not wish to be mentioned in the same breath as Primark, Matalan, Shoe Zone and Brantano as irresponsible retailers who contribute to the sexualisation of childhood. However, at least those other companies don't present themselves as being a responsible choice, and for you to stock these shoes while claiming to care about children's feet is hypocritical.

When I complained about the shoe instore, your assistant initially claimed that they were not intended to be a "real" shoe, but were for dressing-up. At £50 a pair, and made of leather, I find that hard to believe. This said, they then did, on the whole, agree with me and the other customer who was in the department at the time that they were were completely inappropriate and irresponsible.

I know that the standard reply in these cases is to limply respond that companies are only providing what the public wants. If you look into the issue of the sexualisation of childhood through the high street, you will see that most parents do not want to see this type of shoe replacing shoes that enable girls to be active, lively children.

I look forward with interest to your comments.
Yours faithfully, Lemonsole

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