Fashion Has Deformed Women's Feet

My feet are one of my best features. I've never worn heels even when I worked in an office. For a start I can't even walk in them. My mother put me off with 2 bunions, corns, hard skin and other atrocities. Heels don't just affect your feet, they throw your whole gait out so can affect calves and hips too.

Saying that, if you like heels then wear them.

Some very interesting comments here about society's expectations of women

You might want to consider your own expectations and judgemental attitude before you start blaming society.

I don't go to a gym regularly and the occasions I'm likely to be in the vicinity of strangers' naked feet will be hotel pools and saunas. It has never once crossed my mind to look at other women there and be so judgemental about their feet or any other part of their body.

I didn't even wear heels in Japan (luckily foreigners can get away with it): www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48504490

I have spent my entire life in sensible shoes and still have bunions, which started when I was about 10 and had never worn anything but properly fitted Clarks and Startrite etc. My mother and grandmother had them too. I would not wear heels even if I didn't have bunions (not into makeup/heels/nails etc and never have been). I hope no one in my gym classes is looking at my feet and blaming me for them.

but many people seem to like arguing that women are pressured to wear heels in order to be professional at work

Personally I think it's a really stupid argument. I can think of 2 or 3 women I've worked with who wore towering heels to work. Two of them were useless and the general consensus, amongst men and women in the office, that the towering heels were just another indication of how useless they were. The other is brilliant at her job and the general consensus for her is not only is she awesome at her job but she can comfortably wear heels most of the rest of us could not walk in.

We don’t have a written dress code that says anything about heels. But it is the norm.

Men do lots of things to display their power. But wearing disabling shoes is not on their list. That’s how you know it’s a feminist issue. If there was objective value in it for the individual beyond the status accruing to the women who wear them (sexual attractiveness, status against other women - whatever you think it is) then men would wear them too.

It's still dress code in a lot of places!

This gets trotted out- where are these places? I've worked for almost 40 years in offices with very formal dress codes- not once in any office has there been a requirement to wear high heels.

Maybe a more important question to ask is not about women's footwear but why women think it's ok to judge other women's bodies? That's a feminist issue too isn't it?

Or judge what other women wear. That happens often on here. It's masked under faux naive disclaimers of course it's not individual women who are being judged but society which forces women to wear all horrible feminine clothes and shoes.

It's just another case of patting yourself (general you) on the back because you're not like those other silly women.

@Binterested Isn't that an organic thing that has developed between women, a symbol of one-upmanship and power? Competition naturally occurs between groups of people, so you could say it is a feminine issue with regards to the demographic of the shoe style. Could you think of anything that the men do in order to display power/ status?

I agree with @dozer it is a feminist issue and the fact that you've never bought in to wearing high heels to work every day for work yourself doesn't mean that millions have not felt the pressure to do that. It's still dress code in a lot of places!

My feet always ached after half an hour so I just stopped trying to wear high heels at about 22, a block heel i could do but any heel more than two inches, my feet will be throbbing by the end of the day. Not doing that to myself

@Dido Please reread my post. I agree that wearing heels won't make you get taken seriously, but many people seem to like arguing that women are pressured to wear heels in order to be professional at work. I would personally take umbrage if it was in a company's dress code, and would not want to work there. But as far as I'm aware, it's not a widespread problem.

It's really not very nice op for those of us with physical issues like this to see how we are judged - nice to know that people are studying my feet and privately declaring them crooked, ugly and deformed whilst blaming me for wearing the improper footwear (that I've never worn).

Maybe a more important question to ask is not about women's footwear but why women think it's ok to judge other women's bodies? That's a feminist issue too isn't it?

Doc Martens or similar, opaque tights, shortish lycra skirts

My one pair of Doc Martens boots is the most uncomfortable footwear I've ever owned.

Surely it would be a better world if we considered someone competent at work because of the quality of their work not the style of their shoes? Be the change you want to be and related cliches spring to mind

Out of interest, in the workplaces where female shoes are significant what is the equivalent Male footwear?

I have appalling feet with vast bunions and weird lumps and so does ds. Spent a lifetime in flat shoes. Genetic.

That’s not likely to be caused by shoes. It may be in a minority of cases but it’s rare. It’s more likely to be a result of autoimmune issues, being over weight, pregnancy or, congenital abnormalities.

My mum destroyed her feet with high heels. Horrific issues requiring multiple surgeries. She literally didn’t know how to walk in flat shoes. Even wore high heels for her chemo and into the hospice.

I can’t wear them at all and goodness knows I could do with the extra height.

OP, yes, of course. People have been saying this since the 1950s so it's nothing new.

Some of the damage done to women's feet, such as bunions, seems to be genetic and run in families.

I loved the fashion of the 80s. Doc Martens or similar, opaque tights, shortish lycra skirts. You could move and run. So I spent at least some of my formative years in sensible shoes.

I used to wear pointy high heels in my teens and they definitely have deformed my feet.

I have never worn high heels and always tried to find shoes that are wide in the toe box, generally my feet are good, I don't have any pain or discomfort but I do have bunions and my toenails are dreadful 😥

Feminists really love hyperbole don't they?
Just like misogynists love a sexist stereotype, I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️

Foot binding is an OTT comparison and pretty offensive to the (hundreds of thousands? Millions?) of women who suffered (and some still suffer) that. But saying ‘feminists love hyperbole’ is a crass generalisation, and no less ridiculous than the foot binding comment tbh.

What UYScuti says and yes, as per the pictures, human feet unshod would be much wider at the toes. Most shoes do deform our feet, including many flats.

I'm not offended by the OP's post. I think she makes a valid point. I don't anyone's feet are especially attractive!

I danced seriously for years, I still wear high heels now in my 40s, have (if I say so myself) lovely feet. No bunions, no deformities.

I cringe a bit when my girls are doing pointe classes in ballet, as i know it hurts 😔 I just hope my genes prevail and they don't end up being the cause of pity in a future yoga class 😁

Feet do get a LOT of wear and tear. I probably did more "damage" to mine climbing a mountain rather than ballet or high heels. Anybody that does a marathon will have stories to tell too of lost toe nails.

It's not just fashion or art. Feet - both mail and female - do a hell of a lot of work.