Fashion Has Deformed Women's Feet

[Comenext]

Not sure where to put this thread.
I joined a Yoga class recently and we all do it barefoot.
I can't help noticing how crooked and deformed the other women's feet look. Really shameful how pointed shoes have squashed their big toes out of line. There is also a tendency to have a big toe joint that looks swollen and puffy.
Thank goodness I never wore high fashion pointy high heeled shoes.
There is a lot to be said for trainers! (Just joking. I know trainers can have their downside too)
It makes me angry that none of the men in the yoga class have these ugly feet. Reminiscent of the ancient foot-binding of women.

Handsnotwands
My mother and my grandmother also had bunions. I have spent most of my working life on the feet in flat comfortable shoes.
I have a bump that my daughter likes to call my bunion to be. Definitely one on the way. I asked the orthopaedic foot specialist at work if there is anything I can do to prevent it getting worse and he said No. if I'm going to get one I will do and it's probably in my genes.

That said he gave a lecture on foot surgery illustrated with pictures of celebs in high heeled narrow toed shoes and the occasional picture he had garnered of a celeb with a bad foot deformity. And rubbed his hands with glee saying there will always be plenty of work for him.

I think it must be a bit of both. Ballet dancers often have shocking feet.

I have spent a lot of my life not wearing shoes, and when I do, they are very rarely pointy shoes. I believe in shoes I could run for the bus in. I still have bunions, though, which is down to my genes - runs in my mother's side of the family.

I do think shoes are a feminist issue, but they are not the sole cause of bunions. They may exacerbate issues if you're already prone to them, but sometimes they are inevitable.

Does seem to be a female gene though?
Anyone know?

I think it's generally down to ill-fitting shoes in childhood.

Unless your job requires high heels as part of the dress code (which is a feminine issue) there is no reason to wear high heels. There never has been. Women aren't sheep, we don't have to follow fashion if we choose not to.
Apart from a few years in my 20s when I went to discos I've never worn high heels, and they were usually strappy sandals. I only wore high heel court shoes for weddings, and I wouldn't even do that now.
My feet still aren't beautiful though, I have morton's toe, and a few toes are a bit bent and misshaped due to being broken in the past, no bunions though, and my feet get me round quite nicely, I walk anything between 5-12 miles every single day.

Meant 'feminist' issue, not feminine, lol.

What the hell is going on with these responses? Obviously societal expectations of what women should wear influences women's choices. Obviously high heels are part of that expectation (although there may be a recent shift in that), women have lost their jobs for not wearing heels. www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-london-36264229

Just because your feet aren't affected, doesn't mean there isn't a systemic issue at play. Can we please consider the bigger picture here instead of getting all bent out of shape over some perceived personal slight?

And yes, it is reminiscent of foot binding.

My yoga/pilates/personal trainer has 'deformed' feet and she lives in trainers. It's not just about shoes but what you do or even how you are born.

YANBU, they are also damaging for your spine too.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4842473/

Does seem to be a female gene though?
Could be. Females are more prone to joint and ligament problems. We tend to be more flexible.

Yes there are a mixture of things going on , one of which is shoes design and the later aspect disproportionately affects women due to the influence of society and the every physio I ever met makes some comment to that effect

I wore heels right through my 20s, and still do in my 30s (though not as often, they're certainly not as fashionable as they once were), and my feet are beautiful. No bunions or wonky toes or hard bits.

That said, I make sure any shoes I do wear are high quality, well fitting and if they have a heel it is usually a sturdy/ chunky heel (rather than stilleto). Footwear is one area where you really shouldn't scrimp if you can help it. My Dad has terrible feet due to growing up in poverty, I'm lucky that even though I also grew up poor my parents took great care of my feet (and teeth).

I think there are 2 separate issues here:

1. yes fashions in footwear for women include styles that are bad for our feet/ posture/ comfort/ ability to run or walk easily while wearing them. This is a feminist issue.

2. Bunions are often hereditary and appear in childhood (this is certainly my experience - they run in the family and I've had a misshapen toe joint since late primary school).

I don't think it's fair or accurate to assume that any woman you see with bunions has had a lifetime of cramming her feet into pointy shoes.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 😬