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Yes, Feminists Can Wear High Heels

by Amy McCarthy

Because the world isn’t fair and we all deserve just a little more punishment, a conversation we have been having on feminism since at least the 1970s is raging again: Is it possible for feminists to wear high heels?

At The Feminist Times, though, editor Charlotte Raven says that the answer is no. She says that feminists absolutely can wear high heels but they will look silly doing so. Atheist icon Richard Dawkins shouldn't wear a rosary, and feminists should stay away from Louboutins and stick to Birkenstocks.

Raven goes even further to suggest that high heels are a form of self-harm: “We have the right to do stupid things, but feminism is there to try and stop us before we hurt ourselves, physically or psychically.”

Then, Raven goes fully off the rails when she compares wearing high heels to domestic violence. "I wouldn’t say to a victim of domestic violence, 'well that’s your personal choice.' I personally live with a man who doesn’t hit me but it’s cool with me if you have chosen not to."

I’m not entirely sure where Charlotte Raven is buying her high heels, but you can certainly own a pair of sensible pumps that won’t put you in the hospital. There are some health risks associated with wearing stiletto pumps every day of the week, but nothing that changing your footwear up with wedges, flats, and sneakers won’t fix. It’s disingenuous to claim that high heeled shoes are somehow a way for women to inflict harm on themselves.

Staying away from high heels isn’t a feminist act, and wearing them certainly isn’t anti-feminist. You don’t look ridiculous in your high heels unless you don’t know how to walk in them. In that case, you probably do look like a fool but that isn’t because you’re making some contradictory personal statement.

There are so many “feminists” who are dedicating to policing women’s choices — losing weight, wearing makeup, shaving legs, or whatever new part of performative femininity is up for debate on the blogosphere this week. These kinds of broad generalizations do absolutely nothing for the feminist movement, and provide plenty of ammunition to anti-feminists who think we’re all a bunch of ball-busting hags.

As a card-carrying feminist of the highest order, I don’t personally wear high heels. That has nothing to do with my politics, though — I am lazy and clumsy, and pretty much exist in ballet flats. Great shoes are one of my favorite things on this planet, but only if I can wedge my fat (and flat) feet in comfortably.

In short, keep calm and wear whatever shoes you damn well please. Always remember that if Gloria Steinem thinks it's OK, well...

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