Feminists Balancing on High Heels
When I first heard the news from the Cannes International Film Festival last week, my initial reaction was that it must be an error, a hoax. No way, I thought to myself, that 21st century women of the western world were barred entry from a movie premier for wearing the wrong thing.
Their egregious error? Flats instead of high heels. They chose sanity over agony.
Comfortable high heels are a possibility. There are startups like Thesis Couture, an unlikely team of astronaut, engineer, doctor, and fashion designer all working together to reengineer the high heel to be healthier for the foot, and 34 Minute Shoes, another company trying to give women a heel they can stand pain-free in for more than 34 minutes, the average max-out time in most heels. But these companies are not yet mainstream; the majority of heels currently on the market are reckless and damaging for the toes, feet, heels, calves, knees and even lower back.
So when women choose comfort and stability over blisters and foot-cramps, and are penalized for it, we should be worried. When officials at the most prestigious film festival in the world tell women in rhinestone flats that they can’t enter a screening of Carol (which is, ironically enough, a film about a lesbian love story with feminist interest), we should make a fuss.
To keep reading the rest of this story, head over to The Riveter Magazine.
