dr1819

I love him dearly...

That's pretty much the end-all, be-all of it. I wish I could expound, but I'd due for a chess game downtown with some friends of mine. Almost all are males. Most don't wear heels. Some males do wear heels, but not very often.

All are bright, capable members of the human race in all respects, and most of them are married!

Heel on..., and don't let the powers that be convince you otherwise that heels haven't been a part of male wear for several hundred years...

After a four-month hiatus, I've returned to the land of the living. See you round the boards. - Dr

Einstein needs a pullback, aka pony-tail. Unfortunately, his hair is too short! In the 50's and 60's they were known as the "long-hairs," those research scientists for whom military haircuts weren't required. The moment the military tried to require them, the long-hairs reminded the military that while they were there at the bequest of the military, they weren't there to meet military styles of dress, but rather, to produce military-required products. It was a short fight, overall, and consisted primarily of "get off our backs if you want our goods."

LOL! Certainly wouldn't mind barnstorming with one of these gals! Sorry to hear of their plight. I've seen a LOT of older stewardesses serving aboard flights these days than I did twenty years ago. I know a number of people in the airline industry, and while this practice may indeed go on, I also know that a number of stewardesses (some personally) are making it well beyond 50, to 65.

I always feel more relaxed buying heels from a female.

Heelium

Yes, and younger females see to be a LOT more understanding and accepting that those who're older.

Great advise, Thighbootguy. Another thing to watch are the highly smooth and polished floors in the Mall stores. I have slipped a few times on them so I tend to walk cautiously on them and don't feel safe until I hit the carpets.

Cheers---

Dawn HH

Definately one reason why I tend to eschew the plastic and metal-tipped heels in favor of more natural substances like wood, leather, and rubber.

Although my leather boots are very slippery in the snow, as I found out when I went for a walk over the weekend! Got about 20 yards, said to myself, "this is for the birds!" and returned to the house to exchange my heeled boots for my hiking boots!

Now that it has become pretty much second nature for you to wear them, you should think about upgrading to 5 inch heels, don´t you agree?

Actually, even though the four inch heels have become second nature, I still prefer my 3-1/2 heeled shoes, better.

Pics!

Well, it's been about two months since I began wearing, almost exclusively, 4" heels. I just realized in the last couple of days over the Thanksgiving weekend, that it's become pretty much second nature to wear them. While I flourished in 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inch heels over the summer, it was in clogs and sandals, not very conducive to winter. My current heels are primarily my two pair of leather boots, into which I change the moment I come home from work.

(sigh) - I'm so tired of seeing nothing but ankle-breaking heels in my size. I'd like a FEW styles commonly accepted and worn (ie, lower heels) to be offered in my size. Yes, as amazing as Randi might be...

Very well said, Thighbootguy, and quite a wonderfully refreshing angle on the whole issue. I suspect we learn what's "male" and "female" by the time we're about three to five years old. I know my son certainly knows it! And we learn it from many sources, including family, neighbors, and school. If all men wore skirts, kids wouldn't think twice about seeing a man in a skirt. But they're attuned to things that are different, and they carry those prejudices with them into adulthood. Thus, if they see a man in a skirt, they're likely to say something like, "why's that man wearing a skirt?", which is precisely what I've heard from kids if I've ventured into town in a skirt.

Barefoot unless it is too cold.

Well, with heels like those in your avatar, I should hope so!

Sure would be nice if hh clog manufacturers upped their sizes a bit...

That's one of the reasons I like real leather. It gives, stretching itself to mold to your foot. It's a bit tricky to find a shoe that's snug, but not too tight when you first buy it, when worn with hosiery, but that's comfortably snug after it stretches, when worn with socks.

There's always a citizen's arrest if the clamper illegally clamps your vehicle, but that also opens the liklihood for a lawsuit. Even if the clamper was in the wrong, you'd be preventing him from continuing to do his job. That costs money, and you could be held liable, plus damages, etc. Best approach is to document it heavily (pictures work well, especially video footage of you pointing out to the clamper that "the vehicle is legally parked, please unclamp it now or I'm calling the cops") and subsequent police action.

I found it interesting that she had to distingish it as, "About Sexy female Heels (Pumps & Boots)."

LOL! Three days ago I stopped by a store where heeled boots are commonly sold, asking for my size, and the lady said "we don't carry them in that size - who're they for?" I replied, "me!," but she also laughed. When I pulled up my pants leg, showing her my heeled boot (4"), she gasped, then answered truthfully that they never carried anything that large. The rest ofthe visit (about 3 minutes) was spent in my showing them that I could indeed walk (about 30 seconds) in them as well as why I wore heels.

Beautiful! Although I've a few friends in Montana who'd rather sit within a few hundred yards of the clamped vehicle and take potshots at the clamper's engine if he tried to collect... There's also the concept of "clamping the clamper." Just use chains larger than his bolt cutters.

Humorous anecdote:

I was doing some research on clamping in general and came across the following rather obscure report (from a friend). I've not been able to discover any cooborating evidence, so I'll just post the text:

For the third time in a month, Mr. Store Owner's vehicle was clamped in front of his own store. He had the city permit to park there, as it was a special parking spot reserved for store owners and employees, even though it was marked as "No Parking," but that was for everyone else. The city's rules were clear.

Mr. Store Owner followed the usual course of action. He called the police, but all they told him was that if his vehicle was clamped, there was nothing they could do, that it was a civil matter. He called the company that clamped his vehicle, but they told their only response would be to unclamp his vehicle after he'd paid the fine.

He then called his lawyer, who advised him that it was legal for wheel clampers to clamp vehicles they believed were violating city parking laws, and that if he wanted any successful legal resolution, he'd have to file suit in civil court against the clampers. Naturally, this would cost thousands of dollars, and take months to resolve, and the wheel clampers were relentless.

He even went so far as to type and sign a letter from his own store to the would-be clampers, giving specific permission for this vehicle to be parked in front of 1234 Main Street, Anytown, USA, signed and dated every day, but the clampers refused to listen.

The first time this happened, Mr. Store Owner grew tired of the problems and simply paid the $45 fine. The second time it happened, Mr. Store Owner exhausted his legal resources (costing him approximately $285), and after his vehicle had remained clamped in front of his own store for a week, he relented and paid the fine again.

The third time this happened, Mr. Store Owner got smart. First, he invited the City's Mayor out for a tour of his store and neighborhood, which boasted several improvements which the Mayor had deemed desirable to the city overall. The Mayor was impressed by how well the other store owners thought of Mr. Store Owner, and his improvements, not only to his own store, but to the entire block.

Then, the Mayor noticed the clamp on Mr. Store Owner's truck and asked, "one of your customers?"

Mr. Store Owner replied that it was not, but that it was his own truck, and that it was the third time this had happened. He pointed out the street signs, and the Mayor was well aware of the provision allowing store owners and employees to park in front of their own store, as he'd written it into law himself.

The Mayor took swift action. He wrote a letter, from the office of the Mayor to the clamping company, citing the circumstances, and requesting they "remand any and all sums of money improperly collected from Mr. Store Owner."

Unbelievably, the clamping company refused, alleging that it would "set a bad precedence."

The Mayor's second letter was clear and to the point, calling for the end of all clamping activities in his city. His next course of action was an emergency meeting of the city's elected officials. They passed a ban on the clamping effective immediately.

In response, the clamping company filed suit in county court alleging the city was violating it's rights to do business.

The city (an incorporated entity, as are most small towns in the US), responded by providing clear and unequivocable opinion as to why they believed the clamping company's actions were opposed to city policy. They included pictures of Mr. Store Owner's clamped truck outside his own store, as well as affadavits from several other store owners who'd suffered the same fate.

The country court ruled in favor of the city, and the clamping company's efforts in that city were rendered illegal. The clamping company appealed to the state, but the state court upheld the lower court's ruling.

The bottom line is that the clamping company was initially allowed to do business in the city, but when they overstepped the bounds of their authority, and refused to accede to the demands of the institution which granted them to do authority in their neck of the woods to begin with, they lost, probably forever, all rights of doing business in that city, period. Furthermore, as word spread around the county and throughout the state, they probably lost many other opportunities of doing business, as well.

I hate politics.

But by and large, it usually winds up serving the needs of the people, provided those people bring their concerns to the attention of the politicians on a regular and appropriate basis.

Francis, you're probably not going to get the Mayor (or equivalent) to come out, unless you're a civic leader as was Mr. Storefront Owner.

However, there are indeed things you can do, such as taking clearn and unambiguous pictures (clamp, vehicle, and parking signs), obtaining letters of affidavit from the storefront owners saying you shouldn't have been clamped, etc.

It's the PhD approach. Pile the documentary evidence against your opponent higher and deeper. Write them letters, sending it registered mail. If they respond, include it in your evidence. If they refuse, include that as well (it indicates aloofness, something most courts aren't happy with).

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that our legal system is here for our benefit. But we have to be willing to use it. Filing suit is one of the last, not the first, legal recourses we have at our disposal.

No lawyers were involved in the incident between Mr. Storefront Owner and the Clamping Company.

It took about five weeks, but look at the results!

You can have the same effect in your area, too.

The clamping company continued, however, and were

As much as I disagree with the concept of civil disobedience, except in dire circumstances, I do believe in the concept of civil unrest, provided, and this is extremely important, that the cause of the civil unrest is clearly and undeniably communicated to both the powers that be (that gives them the opportunity for them to turn from the errors of their ways) as well as overarching media and other authority (this prevents the powers that be from hiding behind scapegoats, which they WILL make any time their power is usurped). Witness the Rodney King videotape. What Mr. King in the wrong, driving drunk, fleeing an officer's legal mandate to stop (flashing red lights, siren)? Absolutely. But was the videotape effective in convincing the outside community to become involved, putting severe pressure on the internal community (L.A.P.D.) to gut the rotting practices from it's ranks? Absolutely. How long it takes before the LAPD returns to its previous practices in full force is anyone's guess. The point is that if weren't for the videotape, the Rodney King thing would have been but a speck in the annuls of police history. The point here is that a thousand eggs thrown at clappers amounts to a mess. He's got your neighborhood dead to rights - vandalism, regardless of the reasons why. Put the word out. Next time someone is illegally clamped, take a picture, and get a letter from the store owner that the vehicle was LEGALLY parked here, why are the clampers ruining my business, hindering my employees, etc.? See the difference? A thousand eggs will never make a difference, except against your favor. By comparison, ten well-documented illegal clampings in your neighborhood WILL make a difference, and stand a good chance of getting the clamper barred altogether.

Well, heel height is indeed relative. The larger the size, the less the heel height matters.

I would see myself as a compete weirdo, ostracized from my community, job, church, and most of my family, if I showed up wearing high heels, much less in a corset, latex suit, gas mask...

Ah, well, those are indeed things which greatly exceed the "norm," Latextex. Glad you recognize it as well as the fact that the community in which you live probably would boot you if you went to through extremes.

But just heels?

Judging from my own foreys into my own communities, I don't think so. I think most people toss it off as a quirk.

And by being able express myself in this way, I've probably avoided feeling pressured to express myself in other, more deviant ways.

By the way, the term "deviant" is nothing more than a statistical expression, too, meaning "deviation from the norm." Fall into one standard deviatiation (a statistical measure of behavior), and you're "normal." Fall between one and two, and you're "abberant." Fall outside of two, and you're "deviant."

It's simply a measure of societal norms. Only recently has society begun to realize that wide, but less populous variations are as much the "norm" as are narrow, but very populous variations. It takes all kinds to generate "the curve," and cutting out of the fringe just because they're different isn't necessarily a healthy for a society to do.

My experience has been that about 75% of all shoe sales"men" are women, and that of those, more than 2/3 don't bat an eye when you tell them you'd like to try on this or that shoe. Then again, I don't normally buy strictly feminine shoes, but rather, heels that look more designed for a man than a woman.

Please talk about my contest here, not in the poll thread. Thanks! And PLEASE participate in the poll! Up to $100 worth of heels for the most complete respondant (that is, the one who follows the rules to the greatest degree). Again, this is for the cause of heel-wearing in general. I make nothing from it, and am footing the $100 prize from my own pocket. It's less than what I would have spent going to London for the London heel meet, so, hey - it's a small price to pay for the advancement of our cause. If it gets manufacturers thinking that the vast sales of size 13, 14, 15+ fetish shoes are really due to men simply wanting to wear heels (they do) but can't find normal heels in their size) they can't, then it's a good thing. Beyond that, please ensure your responses are as complete, true, and accurate as possible. Thanks! - Gene'

Did you show her the ones you were wearing?

Hey, Kennard - hope you had fun!

You can always chain the car to something really big, like the sewage system. In one manhole, out the other. I've got a friend who runs an old Navy supply yard. He's got some chains that would do the trip. They're very strong (can support about 75,000 lbs), they're way to big for bolt cutters, and it would take a cutting torch about a day to hack through. The only problem is that they're both a bit expensive, and a little on the heavy side, like 240 lbs per link. Yeah, calling the cops is a better solution.