High Heels, Invented For The Male Gaze, Get A Feminist Makeover
Male designers invented the high heel without considering comfort or walkability. These tech-savvy women are reinventing the iconic shoe for the modern woman.
Is the high heel a tool of empowerment or a tool of the patriarchy designed to slow a woman down?
This is a question that Antonia Saint Dunbar, a serial entrepreneur, asked herself back in 2014 while rushing to work. “I was wearing my most comfortable pair of three-inch heels, but my feet were killing me,” she says.
It’s a situation that any woman who has ever worn a pair of heels can relate to. Trudging around in most types of heels, especially stilettos, is a recipe for blisters, swollen toes, throbbing heels, a general sense of misery, and even long-term health issues like nerve damage. And yet, it’s a common part of women’s lives: 73% of women wear them, and 39% do so every day.
According to a study by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, 50% of women experience daily pain from their shoes. Heels put pressure on the spine, back, knees, and toes, which can lead to painful conditions like sciatica. And they can be expensive: In addition to…
