sscotty727

While I believe you're corrected, the "internet tax" e-mail hoax generated millions of letters to Congress from it's constituents.

Congress got the message, loud and clear.

I think the difference this isn't that congress is going to tax the internet, rather congress refuses to pass legislation to prevent companies from charging a different rate structure for faster download vs slower dowloading.

Also, it sounds like the rate will be charged to the owner of the website vs the viewer. Probably what will happen is the larger owners (Yahoo, Google, CNN, etc) will eat the costs to kill start ups, and then start passing the costs onto customers.

Translated, you will eventually have to start paying for sites you visit OR suffer slow connections.

I'm not talking about "in your face" heel wearing (unless that's what you already do) just a co-ordinated effort to raise male heel wearing in the minds of the public and show that it is a viable sartorial proposition.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against it, just given my situation I can't be blatent or flashy, however since I wear mine everyday, I will be in heels on that day:) If we pick a hot weekend, I can wear my clogs with shorts, and given I also wear an anklet, I am sure it will draw more attention that my normal descrete ones:)

The problem with that is is that it's only going to serve to reinforce the publics idea that freestylers are all gay...

I agree. I wouldn't make it a formally announced day with some kind of title, but get everyone to just agree to wear them on that day.

I will of course be wearing my heels on whatever day you decide because I wear them everyday, but I won't flaunt them for personal reasons (maybe I can do my shorts with wedge clogs if in the summer).

I am in the DC area (work in Virginia, live in Maryland) and wear heels everywhere everyday, however, since they are wedge heels, unless you are looking for them you wouldn't notice them as much. I do wear wedge clogs with shorts in the summer though, so perhaps someone will (or has) seem me. I should be doing some kind of amusement park (either Kings Dominion near Richmond, or Hershey Park in PA, haven't decided yet) this summer with the kids, so look for a guy wearing wedge clogs and an anklet and that will probably be me.

Heels910, Have you ever considered trying either block heels or wedge heels? Something less "feminine"? Why don't you take her shopping and look for some more descrete heels and ask her if she would be ok with that? Perhaps by starting with those types of heels, it will ease her into things, let her get use to the idea of seeing you in a heel, and also ease her fears somewhat. After a while with you wearing them and she sees you have not changed, perhaps you can SLOWLY get more bold and evetually try to work your ways into stilletos (if that is your ultimate goal). By starting off with stilletos (which honestly, in our society is associated with women or gays, yes unfairly, but they are) you are shocking her system. My advice is to back off a bit with more descrete less feminie shoes and let her system adjust. Good luck, Scotty PS: If you need help finding some good descrete heels, let me know. BTW, what size do you take and where are you? I am getting rid of some boots with block heels (from previous posts, you can see I am pretty much exclusive wedge heels) and I would be willing to work something out with you.

Has anyone else heard about this? I know congress is debating it in the US, but is there talk in other countries about this?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/05/25/the.web.toll/index.html

Coming soon: The Web toll

New laws may transform cyberspace and the way you surf it

By Tim Folger

Popular Science

Thursday, May 25, 2006; Posted: 11:00 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT)

What if the Internet were like cable television, with Web sites grouped like channels into either basic or premium offerings? What if a few big companies decided which sites loaded quickly and which ones slowly, or not at all, on your computer?

Welcome to the brave new Web, brought to you by Verizon, Bell South, AT&T and the other telecommunications giants (including PopSci and CNN.com's parent company, Time Warner) that are now lobbying Congress to block laws that would prevent a two-tiered Internet, with a fast lane for Web sites able to afford it and a slow lane for everyone else.

Specifically, such companies want to charge Web sites for the speedy delivery of streaming video, television, movies and other high-bandwidth data to their customers. If they get their way (Congress may vote on the matter before the year is out), the days of wide-open cyberspace are numbered.

As things stand now, the telecoms provide the lines -- copper, cable or fiber-optic -- and the other hardware that connects Web sites to consumers.

But they don't influence, or profit from, the content that flows to you from, say, cinemanow.com; they simply supply the pipelines. In effect, they are impartial middlemen, leaving you free to browse the entire Internet without worrying about connection speeds to your favorite sites.

That looks set to change. In April a House subcommittee rejected a measure by Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts (D) that would have prevented telecoms from charging Web sites extra fees based on bandwidth usage.

The telecom industry sees such remuneration as fair compensation for the substantial cost of maintaining and upgrading the infrastructure that makes high-bandwidth services, such as streaming video, possible.

Christopher Yoo, a professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, argues that consumers should be willing to pay for faster delivery of content on the Internet, just as many FedEx customers willingly shell out extra for overnight delivery. "A regulatory approach that allows companies to pursue a strategy like FedEx's makes sense," he says.

On a technical level, creating this so-called Internet fast lane is easy. In the current system, network devices called differentiated service routers prioritize data, assigning more bandwidth to, for example, an Internet telephone call or streaming video than to an e-mail message.

With a tiered Internet, such routing technology could be used preferentially to deliver either the telecoms' own services or those of companies who had paid the requisite fees.

What does this mean for the rest of us? A stealth Web tax, for one thing.

"Google and Amazon and Yahoo are not going to slice those payments out of their profit margins and eat them," says Ben Scott, policy director for Free Press, a nonprofit group that monitors media-related legislation. "They're going to pass them on to the consumer. So I'll end up paying twice. I'm going to pay my $29.99 a month for access, and then I'm going to pay higher prices for consumer goods all across the economy because these Internet companies will charge more for online advertising."

Worse still, Scott argues, the plan stands to sour your Web experience. If, for instance, your favorite blogger refused to ante up, her pages would load more slowly on your computer than would content from Web sites that had paid the fees.

Which brings up another sticking point: A tiered system would give established companies with deep pockets a huge competitive edge over cash-strapped start-ups consigned to slow lanes.

"We have to remember that some of the companies that we now consider to be titans of the Internet started literally as guys in a garage," Scott says."That's the beauty and the brilliance of the Internet, yet we're cavalierly talking about tossing it out the window."

Ok, those that know me, know I have been trying to figure out a way to increase the heel hight of my wedges by using inserts. I have had many failed attempts, but I think I have finally cracked the nut, atleast for these shoes.

About a year and a half ago, I made this wedge heel platform out of wood that I got from the local hobby store (basically an oval that I cut, carved and filed into shape). Anyway, that gave me a good lift, but I had no arch support, so walking with them in after a while made my feel hurt. I tried

adding various things over it with no luck.

I finally gave up and tried using gel inserts. They work great (as I posted in previous threads) but again, too much sinking as you stand and walk. At times I almost feel like I am standing in sand.

So I was about to just give up on the concept of an insert until I came across this "EZWalk" insert at the local drug store.

I know they are designed to give arch support to flat shoes, BUT, they are rigid enough and give the perfect arch support.

So once again, I went back and pulled my custom wood heel out.

Here you can see the thickness.

Ok, I now place the wood insert in the shoe like this.

Next, I place the EZ Walk insert overtop of the wood insert. The result looks like this.

Here is the final pic with me pointing to were my heel is at.

With the EZ Walk, I get the arch support and the right curve for the heel. The wood insert gives me the amount of lift I am looking for. Matter of fact, if you look closely at the front part of the shoe, you can see the EZWalk and the outline of the new curve of the shoe.

I had them on all weekend and all day at work and they feel GREAT! I've even worn them with and without trouser socks and again, feels perfect!

If anyone wants more details or has questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

Scotty

Cool. I can sign up as marriage counselor since I have had my fair share of experience in that department.

I'll let everyone know if i dare wear some very highheels in school. I dont have any 5 inches but i know where i could borrow some.

I might do it on the last day of term

My guess is if you wear the pumps with an outfit where you don't call attention to yourself and walk fine, I doubt anyone will give you trouble. If you wore 3" heels and a short mini skirt, you would probably be quickly sent home.

The intent of the rules are probably not to cause a distraction rather than someone sitting at the front door with a measuring tape.

If you do wear the 5" pumps, I would say 1) make sure you can walk normal in them and 2) dress modestly, maybe even a pair of pants or a long skirt.

Just my 2cents.

Scotty

Tonight while out at dinner with the family (took them out because once again our yearly AC outage has kicked in early and the temps are now starting to go up, bad timing), the hostess comes over just as we finish dinner and are waiting for desert. She blurts out (so ALL the restruant can hear....fortunately it wasn't packed), "You know who you remind me of? The God Father". Wonderful. So I look like fat Marlin Brando. Nice little "complement" there. A few years back a co-worker claimed I looked like Orson Wells. Two fat guys. Who's next, Dom Deluise? It wasn't bad enough she blurted it out to me, she told the people next to me, my wife and kids as they were returning from the bathroom, our waiter, then hopped off to tell EVERYONE at the bar. Ug. Needless to say we departed as quickly as possible. I doubt I will be going back there soon. Should have worn Stilleto pumps, then the attention could have been drawn to them. Anyone else get insulted in public like that?

No problem sscotty727--We are all just trying to be one big happy family here after all. Its like a company really. dr1819 might be the Research and Development VP, jo would be the IT VP, Heelfan and Peachy would be VP of Sales, jeff would be VP of Finance....heels910 would probably work in the advertising division...everybody has their place in the company and all divisions need to work independently and together interdependently to achieve maximum success.

There was never any real hard feelings on my part , I was just concerned for a new member of the forum. Whether he street heels wasn't my concern. My concern was his participation on the forum in the future. There are plenty of people who wear heels who don't participate on the forum and hopefully, heels910 wont be one of them.

So, heels910 if you are reading this, come back!

Understand. I wasn't trying to talk down to a new member or make him feel bad. I was simply responding to his questions with my own personal feelings on the topic. When he responded, I just took it as debating the issue, not me blasting him. As you said, we all have our own opinions on the topic just as we all have our own reasons for wearing heels or even our own favorite styles of heels.

I agree with SScotty, we should not push the fashion envelope at the expense of a significant relationship. But I also think that our significant others need to respect our desires to expand our horizons and mode of expression. Otherwise we can all pitch the wigs, make-up, heels, jewelry, and everything else into the rubbish heap and go back to wearing loin-cloths and bear skins.

That is why I say communication with your significant other is vitally important. I believe that the vast majority of people can workout compromises if you love the person and are willing to find a way for both to be happy. Sure there are those that won't bend. In those cases, you must decide, which is more important, the heels or the relationship. I do have to agree though, if they refuse to compromise in one area, are the going to also refuse to compromise in all areas? Only the two people involved can answer that. But open, honest, communications are VERY important.

Also, don't expect change overnight. I've been married for going on 16 years and knew her for 20. She knew my passion for heels when we first met. I've only been wearing heels in public for a few years now (approximately 3) and went through MANY purging/guilt feelings for wearing the heels. Shyguy is another perfect example of patience. But neither my cause nor his happened without communication and willingness to compromise.

Kneehighs,

I am sorry you and others might have taken my opinion and debate of my opinion as "blasting" someone. Find one reference where I put him down.

If anything, I was trying to encourage him my saying the best advertisement you can get for men wearing heels is just to wear them proudly and confidently and let others see you wearing them.

Here is part of his original comment

I have been lurking here for a long time. I have been street heeling more times than I can count. The reactions, as many here have reported, are mixed. I have not received the positive responses many of you have, mostly what I encounter, I would classify as amusement, shock, and disbelief. I have never had anyone actually stop me or pay me a compliment. I had one woman give me, what I took as a smile of approval.

What I wish we could do, is figure out some way to get our fashion choices to be acceptable. I know there are many of you out there that feel the same way. It has been suggested to let our choices be known to manufacturers, designers, etc. Some feel this might work and others disagree. Unfortunately there are not enough of us showing the public our choices to make a difference.

As you can see, he obviously has no problem wearing them in public and has done it many times. So my comment back was just wear them. As far as getting positive feedback, I too have never had positive feedback, not do I wait for it. If someone were to come up to me and say something, fine (either way). If not, that is fine too. I won't hold my breath waiting for the approval of others. I wear them confidently. They are afterall my shoes and if anyone has a problem with it, tough.

Yes I know he was also asking how we could advertise men in heels, I personally don't see how that is going to get more men in heels. Besides, unless you ARE a shoe manufactor, how are you going to go forward with this advertising without sounding like your trying to make something acceptable that is somehow taboo (atleast that is how I would take it if I saw a comercial on TV or in a magazine). Now if Steve Madden or someone other manufactor (Dr Shoe) were to make a mans heel and put it out there, fine. Again, I won't hold my breath though waiting for manufactors to make heels specifically aimed at men. Ffor the average person on the street, the best way we can promote heel wearing is to buy them and wear them.

Kneehighs, you pointed out to "spreading the word" to others. Did you do this by placing fliers? Taking out TV or radio ads? Did you place ads in magazines? OR did you just wear them and let others see you and if someone came up and asked you questions, took the opportunity to respond to them?

As far as hate crimes go (and the ones you mentioned were beat up for wearing heels), making heels somehow more acceptable or even passing laws won't stop closed minded people. There is a story that they talk about on my local radio station about a Latino who was brutelly beat up at a party because the guys that did it didn't like Latinos. We have laws on the books about that (yes, I know this example isn't being classified as a hate crime, but you and I and everyone else knows that is what it was). You can get beat up for any number of reasons. I am sorry all that exists, I wish I could change it. Unfortunately, that has existed when men first came about and probably will exist until man no longer exists.

On a personal level, I don't wish to go around advertising I am wearing heels and wear more descrete ones. That is a personal choice based on alot of factors, mostly my wife/family. I am not embarrised by wearing them and I actually am one that wears heels (although wedge heels) full time. Even around the house, work, etc. As my previous example illustrated, I even wore them to my brothers house.

Again, the point of my posts were NOT to belittle anyone or put them down, find even one reference to where I did that. My comments were intended to just say "just wear them" is the best advertising your going to get.

Scotty

It seems to me that "earring meet" is to imply "heel meet". If so, that's a pretty cheap 2 cents worth if you ask me. Heel Meets have reasons beyond what one who has yet to attend one can fully understand.

Relax and stop reading more into things than was said. There was no implied backhand towards heel meets. I fully understand they are get togethers for people to meet faces behind names. I used to attend get togethers years ago when I was on a gaming thing called TSN (The Sierra Network, not sure if anyone here was a member).

My point was to say at times I feel like there is too much emphases placed on trying to push a cause as if men were being denied the right and ability to wear heels when none exists. The only thing stopping any guy from wearing heels is his own fears. The best way to show them that wearing heels is ok isn't to try to push an agenda but rather just wear them. By pushing a cause, you imply there is something taboo and get people to think in the negative.

The example above was just stated to show how men just wore earrings as a fashion statement to the point it was just accepted. I don't ever remember seeing organized groups trying to figure out how to spread the word on men wearing earrings. They just wore them as if it was a perfectly normal and natural thing.

Case in point. My older brother is known to be blunt and opionated. This weekend I once again wore my wedge heels over to his place. Yes they are descete, but I also know he is very observant. He also is taller than me. It was something that was brought out over and over as children growing up, I was the shortest of the family. Kinda odd when this weekend we were the same height. Had I lifted my pant leg and said "So, what do you think of me wearing heels?" it would have started a negative debate. Instead, I just wore them as if it were perfectly natural and normal. Not once did he say a word (and he isn't the type of person to keep quiet on such things). Why? Because I didn't act different nor seek approval. I just wore them, they were my shoes and that was that.

MikePL812, As DeSalto said, my wife falls in the 3rd category, tolerance as long as it isn't too obvious. She would love it if I never wore any kind of heel, but she can live and accept me wearing wedge heels. How I told her? I actually told her about liking to wear heels when we first met (almost 20 years ago now). Back then, I only wanted to wear them when we were alone. Now and then I would sneak driving in heels, but never thought to wear them out anyway. We dated for a while with her knowing it, but it bothered her alot. She even wondered what kind of parent I would make. She decided to break up with me. I went home and sulked. The "breakup" didn't even last 24 hours before her mind cleared and she realized she loved me regardless. I think her plan then was to try to break me of my desire to wear heels. We purged them, I went for a while with no heels, and always the desire would come back. I would get heels (she would buy them for me), I would wear them around the house, she would get on me about it, I would feel bad, purge again, only to have the cycle repeat. This went on and on and on again until we had our first daughter. I purged because I always thought when I had kids that would be it. That lasted until we had our 2nd daughter, I got assigned to a project I was in a hotel during the week. I got a few heels to wear in the hotel during the week when I was away. After a while, the guilt hit again and I once again, purged. When the desire hit again, I finally did a search on the internet to see how "normal" I was and if any support groups existed. Low and behold I found hhplace. This was my first time thinking if I didn't wear pumps but rather chunky heels, I could actually wear them out and not "hide" my heel wearing. I started out in the evenings while away. As my courage grew, I started wearing them to work. I even talked to my wife who seems semi-"ok" with it and I stated getting chunky heel boots and shoes. Over time, I saw it was bothering my wife. We had a LONG talk about it and this time I listened to all her fears and issues over my heel wearing. After looking around for a while for more descrete heels, I found a pair of wedge heels. I showed these to my wife and she said "those I can tolerate" so I got them. I noticed when I wore these, she seems more comfortable and happy. When I tried to wear my block heels, she would seem uneasy and apprehensive. So we once again talked and I finally agreed, I would stick to wedge heels, but get some real heels for when we are alone. This seemed acceptable and so far it is working great. Sorry for going into the long story, but I wanted you to see that there is no magic "hey I like heels" and the world is great. As DeSalto said, she might say "Hey, great!" and be into it. She might get freaked out and leave al together. Or, you might end up something similar to me and go through a long process of open communication and compromise. As we all said though, the alternative is to hide them and someday she will find out. Secrets are never kept forever, trust me on that one. It is best to be open about it, be compasionate to listen to her side, and then be prepared to talk about all your reasons. If she is upset or doesn't like it, offer compromises. MOST women once they see you are willing to give for them will do the same. If you need any personal advice, PM me. I will be happy to help you out in any way I can. Good luck! Scotty

They are not 'only' shoes. If they were only shoes, then why can't you be happy in flats?

Actually, I can talk to this one (atleast for me). I used to think I was just interested in wearing Stilletos, yeah, I DO like the look and feel of a stilleto pump, however, after years of wearing "heels" now and also talking openly to my wife over her concerns, etc, I have found out that what I really enjoy is the feeling of my foot at an arch. So I have evolved to wearing discrete wedges instead of obvious stilleto pumps.

Here is an example of what I wear. As you can see, they aren't real 'feminine' looking. I even wear them to work, weekends, etc and I haven't turned into a pumpkin nor has anyone treated me any different. Even wear them over to my wife's family and they have never said anything negative (and believe me, my wife would have told me if they did).

Well, I ended up cancelling the order with Beverly Heels. I poked around a bit and found another pair by Pleaser that is pretty much exactly the same as the Elle. They just came in today and I am wearing them right now (kids are in bed). Something tells me I won't mind doing the dishes tonight;) Actually, I ought to offer that to the wife. I will do the dishes all the time now if I can wear my heels while doing them:) We both win. Scotty

You wearing heels might very well freak her out. You might get all the are you gay, do you want a sex change, etc, questions we ALL got here. But what is worse is for her to accidentally find them sometime. Wearing the heels might be bad to her, but what will be worse is keeping secrets. Her line of reasoning will probably be, if you kept that from her, what else are you keeping from her? Maybe your having an affair. Maybe even a gay lover. Once you violate trust it is VERY hard to repair. The best thing is to come clean and let her react. Most important, listen to her concerns and address them. Make sure you explain exactly what you see in them and why you like them. If she is very negative about it, see if you can work out a compromise. The fact that your willing to listen to her and work it out will go a LONG way. Don't let her find out by accident. That will be FAR worse than anything. Good luck. Scotty

Shyguy, This website isn't about only wearing heels. It's about being accepted for who you are and what you like. If you occasionally like flats, more power to you. According to alot of people here, you should alternate your footware. I tend to only wear some kind of heel, but that is just me. Who knows, I might be the one damaging my foot in the long run while you perserve yours by occasionally wearing flats. Wear what you like. More power to you! Scotty

This is what I am talking about. I am trying to figure out how to get the word out, "that there are a lot of men that want to wear heels".

Let's all keep thinking about this. If we put our minds to it, we can come up with some ideas that will work.

And I gave you the way. Just wear them. There is no "word" to put out. What are you going to do, take out a full page ad? Book time on talk shows? Have you ever seen the "word" out about it was ok for men to wear earrings? No. A FEW guys wore them in the beginning and got labelled gay. Over TIME enough guys started wearing them that they actually became acceptable.

In the meantime, don't be afraid to just wear your heels out confidently. If anyone sees you and is on the fence, maybe seeing you wear them will give them confidence to wear them as well.

This could be used against her too- if you're about to go somewhere with your wife dressed more manly, tell her that you ain't gay and want to be with a WOMAN not a man. Watch her reaction, and if she tells you that women have larger choice of clothing and it's not weird etc., ask why men have a limited wardrobe! Maybe you'll manage to talk about i.e. female emancipation (and how women started to wear previously masculine pants) and suggest that men shouldn't be oppressed in the field of fashion too!

Well, the fact that I LOVE my wife, I work WITH her to come up with a compromise. The fact that I wear wedges which I don't mind and actually like and she is more comfortable works for us. This isn't about painting someone in a corner, it is about talking it over and working out a compromise. If she is uncomfortable with me in stilleto heels, that is a fact, not an argument. Sure I could win and wear them, but then I would also be single. What is more important afterall, the heels or my wife?

If I may be so bold to interject an observation here since I have the wife who has had issues with me wearing heels, especially more feminine heels such as stilletos. The problem isn't the "fashion" choice in itself. The problem is that there are certain ques that trigger images in our mind based on what we see and what we perceive. For example, when you hear the click of a heel and see just the high heeled pump, your initial reaction is that is a woman walking past. If you see dirty jeans and work boots, you think it is a man, maybe a construction worker. When you see the opposite of what your expecting, it throws things out of wack. For alot of women, seeing a man all of a sudden in clothes that are associated with a woman, they see the man as "girly". For some women this might not be a problem, but for my wife and I can only assume Stormie (not trying to put words in her mouth though), all of a sudden they see their "manly-man" as a woman or more feminie than they would like. I proposed the opposite a while ago. Imagine me coming home and seeing my wife in a flannel shirt, baseball cap, jeans, and heavy workman boots, and no makeup. Certainly a major turn off. Sure they are just clothes. But they are clothes that are associated with men. All of a sudden, I see my wife as a man, something I am very much not comfortable with. This is why open communication, fears, etc are important. For my wife, I saw where she was coming from and worked out a compromise. I now wear less obvious wedge shoes that give me the heeled feeling I want and tone down the "girly-man" image she doesn't want. After all as she tells me "I am not a lesbian, if I wanted to be with a woman I would be with a woman, but I am straight, I want a man". It doesn't matter how much I can argue "but I am no different, I am just a man wearing heels". The point is HER perception is she sees a man wearing pumps and to her it feels like she is with a woman. Who knows, perhaps over time as she gets used to me wearing heels and maybe if more people wear them and it is socially accepted that men wear heels that will change, but for right now, this minute, as long as I want the relationship, I have to be open to her fears and concerns just as she is open to my wants and desires. Scotty

I was just reading some posts of some youngsters that have to hide their shoes, and some have fear of GF/Wives finding out.

How can we get it to where it is "out of the closet"?

The youngsters are either going to have to decide to wait until they are out on their own OR they will have to gain courage to talk to mommy and daddy about their fashion choices. They are in the situation and can best judge which is better. I can't decide that for them, and neither can anyone outside the relationship.

Same with the GF/Wife. Communication is key and ultimiately, if the GF/Wife won't budge on the issue, then each person will have to decide which is more important, wearing heels or the relationship. Again, I can't decide that for them.

Each person is unique, each situation is unique. Each person will have to access their own situation, talk to those around them, determine the level of comfort/support, and then decide what is appropriate or not appropriate. If your looking for a one size fits all solution, none exists.

My GOD, Scotty! Calm down!

Just kidding, Scotty - it's just that I've never seen you up in arms, before - quite humorous!

I agree with you about following Nike's advice to "just do it." The sooner we do, the sooner it'll spread to all the wannabees and migrate like men's earrings in acceptable fashion.

It never hurts to write the manufacturers, though - they're our suppliers. Having more styles in our sizes simply means being able to buy better looking and fitting heels!

Up in arms? No. Just I don't see the need for all this "we have a cause to carry on". Being a minority that has their rights taken away is a cause. Being a women who is treated like a second class citizen and not allowed to vote is a cause. Wanting to wear certain fashions that the general population doesn't wear isn't a cause. It's simply a fashion statement. You either buck the trend and just do it, or you go with the masses and don't do it. But there is no need to create a cause, write articles demanding rights which aren't being taken away, or having the need to march, etc.

Writing the manufactorer and requesting larger sizes is fine. Trying to figure out how to push others into heels is being a bit drastic in my opinion.

Again, I think you are over analyzing it. Just wear them and those that see you and are thinking about it will do it. I wouldn't worry about trying to get a message out there that "it's ok to wear heels" just as you didn't see any special message to guys saying "it's ok to wear earrings". Rather they saw over time and either jumped in or just said it's not for them.