stremph

They always pan down on Jenny Jones to show the shoes of the female guests. However, most of the women on the show are trashy whores wearing trashy whore platform boots and the porn industry-standard patent platform quaterstrap sandals with the plastic plats and heels. It's gotten to the point where "extreme" footwear has gotten boring. Otherwise, I definitely relate to the frustration issue. It is not only on TV, but also in real life, such as when I go into a shop and the woman behind the counter is obviously wearing heels, but I cannot see behind the counter. Grr.

Ugh. Please replace the "their" in my last post with "they're." That's one of my biggest English-language pet peeves and I can't believe I actually DID that. As an apology, I will tell of another recent heel sighting. The receptionist at the office I work at is fairly attractive and often wears a variety of heels. The other day she was wearing a pair of 4" thicker-heeled sandals (fabric, not my favorite). She's got great feet, and the other day she got on her knees on her chair, facing the back of it, grabbed the top of the chair and started rocking back and forth. Seeing her do that in her sexy heels was quite exciting. I told her to stop. When she asked I why I told her, "Because I'm a man and seeing you do that has an inappropriate effect on me." She laughed, said, "Oh yeah, huh" and stopped. She teases me with it now when I go up to her desk to do the postage.

Spikey Dan mentioned in the "Celebrity" thread that female guests on late-night talk shows often wear heels. Tonight on Jay Leno, Heather Locklear is on, looking stunning in a white pantsuit with white quarterstrap sandals on a 3" heel. HOT! She's also been moving her feet around a lot. I love when women in heels are kind of fidgety. It's like their extra-conscious of what they're wearing.

Also, Francis, in his very reasonable post, mentioned that Swedish men are not effeminate as I implied I thought they were. The reference to "Elegant, glamorous Swedsih boys" was a reference to a post my Trolldeg, a Swede, who claimed that wearing heels made him feel elegant and glamorous. I was saying that it has been my experience with American women that they do not want someone like Trolldeg. Laurie's post touched on the social progress that has shaped this preference and the kind of men American women want. And, I disagree with Chief Wiggum. Most of America's problems are borne of the "if it feels good, do it" philosophy. There's a lot to be said for discretion and restraint.

Ashley Judd is majorly into heels, and absolutely gorgeous. There's an old issue of "In Style" magazine with her on the cover. In the interview, she talks about her passion for shoes. There are even some good photos.

"I think in English this is called comparing apples with oranges, and I think this is rather softly put here. You come here ranting about men wearing heels in public and then go comparing this with cannibalism. Considering even the fact that this idea comes to your mind, I wonder who's the weirdo here...."

Actually, they're both apples. Cannibalism is just a much bigger apple than men wearing heels. Both are socially unacceptable practices without any laws to actually state so. My point was that I object to the use of the term "oppression" when referring to the social attitudes toward men in women's shoes and clothing in public.

"I will wear my heels where-ever I want. I walk around on this earth to live my life and please myself and not you or somebody else."

Go you.

"Not suggesting you do, but by making this point you make it seem you approve of the things Hitler stood for. Maybe next time better think twice about what and how you write things down here."

Actually, the FULL quote stated that if WWII had ended differently, this might not even be an issue because I'm sure the Nazis (who I detest) wouldn't have taken to kindly to men wearing heels *in public* and would have instantly associated it with homosexuality, which we all know is a frequent misperception regarding cross-dressing.

MY DARKER REASONS: The girl that babysat me when I was young was really into her shoes. She'd always show off her shoes to me, and she was so proud of them. Mostly, they were strappy sandals and the brown leather, lower and wedge-heel shoes that women wore in the late 70s/early 80s. She later moved to Arizona to live with us while she attended school. She had a lot of heels by then and I was really attracted to her, as I had been since I was very young. I guess I just associate certain shoes with beauty. My girlfriend knows this and shoes are a regular aspect of our healthy relationship. Also, I'm sorry if I'm a bit hard on the idea of men wearing heels. Most American women I know like having a solid line between manhood and womanhood. The majority (many of them open-minded, wonderful women) would probably freak out if their husbands wore heels, as it blurs the lines. Women I know like seeing men as strong providers, not as "elegant, glamorous" Swedish boys. Perhaps it really is a cultural thing. Foxfire mentioned that I had to be rational and fair or something along those lines when referring to clothing and gender. Well, I don't. And neither do you. No law can ever mandate double-standards out of existence.

Trolldeg wrote: "3. I want to fight the social genders and the way they opress us." Oh, get over it will you? Are you really expecting to teeter into every job you'll ever have in women's shoes and NOT have problems keeping that job? And, is it your employer's fault for "oppressing" you? I think not. I can't eat another human being, even if I'm curious. There is no law where I live that explicity forbids consuming human flesh, it is just an accepted and valid norm. Am I going to cry "oppression" because I cannot eat anything I choose? No. Quit your whining. Wear your heels in the privacy of your own house and thank the Brits, Russians, and Yanks that you can at least do that, as I'm fairly certain Hitler would have killed men in heels as he did homosexuals. I know the difference between homosexuals and men who want to wear heels. But, most people don't. And most people don't want to. Live with it and be happy for what you have.

Ok, I'm not against a man's right to wear high heels. I just don't want to be exposed to it. One of the things I love about women's shoes is that most of them make this wonderful sound when women walk in them. That is perhaps what I love most about high heels. You can hear the sound of someone walking in them, and even before looking, you know there's a confident woman nearby. I like that. I used to work with a guy that wore a pair of loafers that sounded just like a pair of heels and it frustrated me everytime he walked near me because I'd hear his shoes and turn thinking I'd see a woman, and it was just Nick. That was SO annoying. My OPINION, once again, which has nothing to do with my nationality or religion (what religion?) is that some things should remain the exclusive property of each sex. Also, keep in mind that just because a mind isn't as "open" as you'd like it, that doesn't mean that mind is closed.

Regarding gender roles being b.s.: Show me a father that breatfeeds (<font color="blue"> *** </font>) or a woman that can take down a buffalo with a spear while 9 months pregnant. Or even menstruating for that matter. Better yet, show me an army of them if biology has no bearing on gender roles.

<font color="blue">We don't talk disrespectfull of anyone's sexuality or race on this board. (See Posting guidelines)</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: moderator on 2002-03-02 00:27 ]</font>

There's a lumberjack song? No, I really have no problem with women unscrewing pickle jars. But there is more to gender roles than just social constructs. A lot of gender roles are just social acknowledgements of biological differences.

I used to work at a Borders bookstore that was located in an open-air "fashion park" in the ritzy Biltmore area of Phoenix. It was not uncommon for women to come in there wearing very high, very pricey heels. One time I volunteered to help a woman find all the books on her kids' summer reading lists. She was a royal pain in the ass, but the opportunity to stare at her shoes for over 45 minutes made it worth it. (And gave me a different sort of pain a few inches in front of my ass). On another occasion, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince came into our store, along with his really really hot wife (Mytay, is it?). She was wearing an unbelievably sexy pair of heels that I just could not take my eyes off of. He on the other hand was one of the shortest little things I've ever seen. Like a soulful lemur or something. I also made a habit of tidying up the periodicals section while women in heels were in that area. You know, someone has to pick up all those inserts that fall out of the magazines, and I jumped at the chance to do so when it allowed me to take a closer look. God, I could go on and on.

Name: Joe Age: 26 Gender: Male Location: Phoenix, AZ Occupation: Teacher Height: 5'10" Weight: 190 and falling. Shoe size: US 10.5 What's your favourite heel style: A little thicker than stiletto. I've been kind of into wedges lately too. What's your favourite shoe style: Strappy, high-heeled sandals, mainly leather. I'm not a fan of micro-fiber and the like. Do you wear your heels outside: Nope. What is: (a) Your favourite heel height: 3.5" to 4" sounds right. Anything above 5" starts to look cartoonish, anything lower than 2" is kind of boring. ( Your highest heel height: She has a few pairs with 5" heels. Some plats are higher than that, but the angles aren't as severe. How often do you wear: (a) Your favourite heel height: N/A ( Your highest heel height: N/A Do you wear socks, hose, stockings or bare feet with your shoes: My gf generally goes bare, save for when she wears boots, then she'll put socks on. She's not a big nylon fan. Anything else you wish to add: I've been noticing women's shoes since I was four years old. I can even recall the first time I noticed them, which is odd.

A tip for buying shoes online: Not sure how stores list their shoes online, but on ebay, a lot of sellers not only list the size, but the measurements as well. For instance, my gf is a US 7.5, but I've found shoes labelled anywhere from size 6 to 9 that fit her because the sellers listed the length of the insole (9.5-9.75 inches in her case). It helps that she has narrow feet, making width less of a problem. Just a tip.

Locally, the Scottsdale Fashion Square is great. Charles David, Nine West, Guess, Nordstrom, and Bebe come to mind. Also, Nordstrom has an outlet in Phoenix called Last Chance, where my girlfriend and I have found amazingly good deals on pricey designer heels. Online, Steve Madden is good, as is Esprit. And of course, ebay is the place to go if you're into vintage heels like I am. I mainly go for 70s and 80s styles, but there are a lot of really good shoes from the 40s and 50s that are auctioned there.

Last night at Sky Harbor Airport here in Phoenix I saw a woman in her early twenties wearing a pair of pointed-toe stiletto heels. The vamp was faux zebra fur, the sides were open, and the backs were either elastic slingbacks or ankel straps that crossed in the back. i couldn't tell for sure because she was wearing pants. Heel was in the 4"+ range and was pencil-thin from the base to the tip. Pretty sexy if you ask me.

The notion that gender roles are "oppressive" is such a European concept. Everyone's a victim. And the notion that a man can "liberate" himself from such oppression by wearing women's shoes is hard to swallow. And, labelling men (such as myself) who disagree with male high heel-wearing as "homophobic" is an act of pure prejudice. I hate seeing flip-flops on women (and men). What kind of "phobic" does that make me?

I have absolutely no interest in seeing men wearing high heels. I'm actually kind of bored with the whole "genderless" thing. Men are men and women are women. We chop wood and wear ties and unscrew pickle jars. Women breastfeed and wear high heels and pass the pickle jars to us. And that's a beautiful thing. Disclosure: I once wore a pair of heels and was not pleased with what I saw in the mirror. It was just so wrong. The sight of a man in heels is, to me at least, like seeing Hitler dressed up as a rabbi.

In my opinion, there is nothing sexier than a pair of strappy high-heeled sandals with long leather laces that wrap around the ankle or snake up the calves. Damn that is SO sexy. For me, it doesn't matter whether this upper is atop a stiletto or block heel, a wedge, or even a (gasp!) platform. I fell in love with style as a kid when I saw the movie poster for the Bond flick "For Your Eyes Only," and I am very happy to see this style around again. I've even gotten my girlfriend in on it! Added bonus: If the ties are long enough, they can be wrapped around bedposts to anchor her to the bed. There are other neat tricks these shoes can do as well.

My favorite style is anything strappy that presents the foot well. Real leather is a plus, as is a higher heel. I'm less picky about the heel type. I'd rather see a woman walking confidently in chunky heels that she wears well than I would a woman wobbling around in stiletto pumps. Stiletto heels have a time and place, and will ALWAYS draw my attention, but I tend to go for girls whose footwear says "If you apply yourself, you just might have a chance with me," rather than the "You found me, now you can screw me" vibe that stilettos give off. One man's opionion. Oh, and ugly feet in strappy shoes is a big no-no. And flip-flops are a virus from hell.

I'm a big fan of the wood high heels worn in the 1970s and 1980s. There are some really sexy, strappy styles from back then that I would love to see worn again these days. I actually collect such shoes and my girlfriend wears them for me "behind closed doors."