Fashion Has Deformed Women's Feet

“ got crippling plantar fasciitis from flat shoes and going barefoot”

High heels cause PF too. If the flat shoes were “ballerinas” those are crappy for our health too. And almost never worn by men.

about the idea that the main reason women wear heels is to get one up on other women!

I've never been able to walk in high heels, a low one is my maximum. I've very wide feet so narrow point shoes were out, and I can't walk in shoes that don't cover the top of my foot as they flop up and down all the time and doesn't stay on my feet. So I've reached 40 with fairly straight ok feet purely by luck.

I've never been a heels person, or pointy toed shoes ... my fashion conscious years were in the peak of grunge so DMs were where it was at. My feet are still shite and constantly cause me pain - genetics and pregnancy buggered them up. I live in trainers and DMs these days - with the occasional seasonal break out into flip flops and the subsequent plantar fascitis flare up because I never do learn.

I always had really decent quality shoes growing up as well - some people do genuinely just get unlucky in the genetic lottery with this kind of stuff.

Also, if you saw my feet OP and assumed that high heels had buggered them, I would be really pissed off. I'm a head chef that wears steel toe capped safety shoes for massive long shifts, which probably more to do with my bunions than party shoes I wore once every 6-8 months.

Suddenly lots of choicy choice lib fem arguments appearing

Not sure it's even 'Lib fem' - just a subject which is of general interest, everyone has opinions and anecdata so it's likely to make Active convos on a Saturday morning. Which is absolutely fine! But, on a feminism board generally people try to think about other women, societal effects etc not just their own experience.

There is a certain irony about this post. What causes more health problems for women? Wearing poor fitting, fashionable shoes or the fact that they are put off exercise for fear of their bodies being judged at exercise classes?

Women (generally) aren't wearing silly heels because they are downtrodden poor wee things, and doing it in a desperate bid to be on an even keel with men and to be taken seriously in the workplace, though. They do it to have an advantage over other women. (Especially those types who spend hundreds on designer ones that sit looking pretty in their closet)

They may, rightly or wrongly, want to look the best as possible on a night out (heels make your legs look longer, and your arse stick out.)

It's peacocking, pure and simple. You are always going to get people who are trying to stand out. Blame patriarchy if you want, but it also comes down massively to human nature. Men also peacock in various ways in order to compete, it just translates differently.

Someone funnily enough mentioned how men don't wear heels. Total side note, but the last time I recall someone wearing stupidly sized heels in broad daylight was actually a male in a long wig, Kardashian style makeup and outfit. Total caricature of what women are like. I took a mental note of what the rest of bio women on my shopping trip were dressed like... Mostly jeans, trainers, smart jackets, minimal makeup, medium length hair. You know, what normal women look like, without repercussions generally. Yes there will be scenarios where some out of touch cunt will penalise someone for not wearing heeled shoes in the workplace, but I would say that it's a really rare occurance. As long as you are smart in the workplace, no one will give a crap as long as you are decent at your job.

I wear heels virtually the time and have lovely feet. Some friends are plagued with bunions etc. Sometimes it’s genetic not down to shoes. I got crippling plantar fasciitis from flat shoes and going barefoot

Anecdotes about people prone to foot problems isn’t evidence that there are no problems with girls’ and women’s shoes.

My feet are average looking. They’ve suffered far more abused pounding the pavements in my properly fitted running trainers than they ever have in heels.

I wear heels most days, though think chunkier heels like heeled Chelsea boots or smart knee high boots. I dress this way through choice, most of my female colleagues wear flat shoes and even trainer type shoes to work. I walk miles comfortably in my heels and stand all day in them. My feet are fine.

My bro has size 13 feet and for years has forced them into slightly smaller fancy men’s shoes (his choice) causing himself foot issues.

There are so many different fashion choices available now that I don’t think anyone is being forced into wearing uncomfortable shoes. I don’t think you need to spend time worrying about other people’s feet.

For those of you suggesting that childhood shoes are the issue: I wore wide, ugly orthopaedic shoes and insoles until I was 14. I never wore shoes in the house or in the garden. I had the bunion long before I started to wear the shoes that I wanted to wear.

The OP noticing people's feet and thinking about why she observes a difference between the men and women isn't judging them.

Very odd responses. I guess it’s a sensitive subject and we all want to think that we have agency over our lives but normally on the FWR board people understand the social context.

Suddenly lots of choicy choice lib fem arguments appearing. Maybe that’s good - a diversity of views on FWR.

Bunion since I was 11 because of a dropped arch. Wore soles for several years. Exacerbated by 12 years of classical/modern dance. I went to see an orthopaedist recently and she told me not to have surgery unless my foot started to hurt when walking. I don’t have great feet it they get me where I need to be. I wear trainers most days, pointy shoes and heels when I feel like it. And socks during pilates 😬

Oh it's delightful to.know that when I go to my yoga class people are going to be sat there judging my feet (which by the way are fine apart from being deformed due to a rare form of arthritis and nothing to do with the shoes that I wear. My ankle joints are also.permanently subluxed and so.my feet are at right angles to my legs, that gets plenty of comments from judgey people too) What a lovely thread this is op.

@ErrolTheDragon can we just go back to you dropping a small boat on your toe?!
What happened there?!

What the hell is going on with these responses?
Oh dear, some of us believe that women have agency and can make our own choices re what we wear. Sorry if that doesn't fit in with your views.
Yes, high heels used to be more of a thing, but I was born in 1960 and never felt pressured at all to wear things I didn't feel comfortable in. Never been a fashion victim, and neither were most of the women I knew . I always did physical type jobs and walked a lot. Maybe it was different for women who had different lifestyles, I don't know.

A lot of assumption and judgement of other women’s bodies in your post, OP. Hopefully you didn’t mean it to come across that way? Not denying that there’s not an issue with women’s fashion being restrictive and damaging to health at times.

I understand that the best shoes for you depend on your individual anatomy & arch of your feet. My podiatrist told me that wearing nothing but completely flat shoes like converse and flip flops for years have actually contributed to my knee issues as I have a naturally high arch. Since following her recommendations - which include some heels at times, at an appropriate height for my arch (google ‘perfect heel height’) - my pain issues have improved massively.

Also please stop looking at other people in your yoga class and branding their bodies ‘ugly’. It’s not really a very Yogic thing to do.

My dad has perfect feet because he grew up in the era of Adidas trainers and Fila tracksuits (a la The Firm)
He didn't have many shoes, but the ones he did have were well made.
The same for my mum.

I ensure that my DD has quality shoes too, no matter how much she begs me to buy the flashing monstrosities Asda have to offer.

I think a lot of it comes down to quality.

Of course there are a variety of factors, some of which affect men but many of which don't. There are very few deforming shoes for men, quite a lot for women plus the effects of pregnancy.

As a teen in the 70s of course I wore clumpy platforms and then wedges - and that was followed by a phase when it seemed hard to get a shoe that looked ok with a skirt which wasn't pretty much a pointed toe court shoe. We can be constrained by what's available. I think there's a lot more choice now, and fewer 'rules' - but in a yoga class I'd guess quite a lot of the women are about my age so the damage has been done.

Mind you, my swollen toe joint was caused by dropping a small boat on it. It stops me wearing narrow and/or high heeled shoes even if I want to but does make me aware of the very limited choices when I want something 'pretty' nowadays eg for going to a wedding.

And yes, it is reminiscent of foot binding

I don't think so. Foot binding involved soaking the foot in an animal's blood and then applying pressure to break the bones of the foot so it bent in on itself (essentially folded in half) , then binding it so that it healed that way. It was a truly horrific practice and not really comparable to restrictive footwear.

Well I have horrible ugly feet, I'm always paranoid about them, so it's upsetting to know that there are people who sit in a yoga class judging other people's feet .

And no, I've never worn heels or other inappropriate footwear. It's genetic in my case, and got a lot worse after pregnancy.

I wonder if women's smaller feet mean that they are more prone to problems? During pregnancy they must be carrying the same weight as a man's feet, but concentrated on a much smaller surface area.

I'm sure bad footwear doesn't help but surely only a small minority of women wear heels on a regular basis? I know this must vary depending on your social circle but no one I know wears them for work or daily life, they would be for nights out only.

What the hell is going on with these responses? Obviously societal expectations of what women should wear influences women's choices.

I don’t think anyone’s disagreeing with that are they? I took exception to the assertion that women’s ‘unattractive’ feet were down to their footwear, with the OP presumably having lovely feet due to having worn ‘sensible’ shoes.

There’s certainly a discussion to be had here, but I’m more interested in how women’s shoes prevent us doing things rather than how they affect our appearance.

Go to yoga to focus on yourself, don’t fucking assess everyone else’s looks

I used to wear heels of varying heights on a daily basis.
My favourites being Louboutins (notorious for being uncomfortable ) in a 160 heel.

My feet are fine. I can't wear that height or a stiletto anymore because of back problems but I miss them.
I spend a lot on footwear and all my shoes (high heels and others) are high end and I find them v. comfortable.

I think it's got more to do with extremely cheap (i.e Primark) shoes which offer no support, are cut inconsistently and made with cheap materials with rub and pinch the feet.

Yes, it’s a feminist issue!

Irritated at the denial / whataboutery on this thread.

It starts young. Girls’ shoes are not as robust as boys’ shoes.

Tight shoes and high heels, even when worn as an adult, are bad for our bodies.