Before you start to read this, take a look at your feet. Note your shoes and, if you are barefoot, take a look at your toes. Done? Good, then let’s begin.
This morning I found a news item reporting that a clinic in Beverley Hills is offering cosmetic surgery on feet. One of the reasons one might elect to have this surgery is to enable the wearing of high heeled shoes, especially with regularity. It makes me wonder if this surgery is REALLY necessary. What health benefits does it give? Why would anyone want to have this procedure, what would the motivation be?
The justification given by the clinic is that high heels are part of life for women in the professional world. It takes the stance that women are forced into wearing high heels by sociological norms, thus by providing surgery to make the wearing of these shoes more comfortable, the clinic has solved a problem.
Well excuse me if I refuse to stand up and applaud. What happened to the promotion of foot health? I have no issue with high heels in general, if people (and yes, some men love them too) like to wear them, that is their choice. But to infer that women “have to” wear them is at best insulting. It means that this surgical procedure becomes part of the machine that feeds this insidious cycle. Women are forced by society into high heels, they suffer painful feet, they undergo surgery to relieve this pain, high heels become easier to wear and thus they are fully accepted by society.
Am I the only one who can see where this cycle can be broken? I doubt it. How about we start to break down the view that women have to wear heels? Could we as a society accept a professional woman in comfortable, low heeled or flat shoes? Isn’t it high time we all became a lot less judgemental and a bit more accepting?
So, back to your feet. Take a good look at them. They have carried you all of your life. Please treat them with love and respect.
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