Guy N. Heels

Well, martial arts is good for both discipline and training, but Christopher Colt developed the "equalizer" that seldom encounters further arguments after it "speaks". On the other hand, avoiding bad people, places, and circumstances will do wonders for your health! Then there the is the biblical admonition that, "the Angel of the Lord camps 'round about those who fear Him." In my personal experience, in almost every incident where I've had to defend myself I was either in some place where I really had no business, and/or alcohol was involved in some way. Avoiding alcohol alone will remove one from about 90% of all unpleasent incidents.

Months? Try years, and I'm fairly open-minded.

Again, right you are. Just one small example: when I was shopping around for office space for a company I was working for, one of the questions that came up fairly early was whether or not both men and women would be using the office. Since I didn't understand the significance of the question, I asked what difference it made? That's when I was informed that local laws required separate rest rooms for each sex in the office.

Now try and contrast this, and also appreciate my cultural shock with when I first went into a public rest room in Okinawa only to find both men and women there! Apparently they totally believe in equal opportunity rest rooms. Even though I have long-since overcome that incident, you may be sure that I've never forgotten it.

Thanks for the help. One other question - I've been looking online for a guide to walking in heels, but Google has been failing me. Any tips/tricks/guides that you'd care to pass along?

This question has been thrashed-out, beaten, and pummeled right here on this forum many times. I think the latest effort was in response to Shaq91 who had a similar question.

The general rule of thumb is to start with low heels - around 3" - and walk in them until you can do everything you need to do, including climbing up and down stairs, without thinking about yer feet or yer shoes. (I would suggest you go with wedgies.) Then you need to increase the height of the heels slowly in 1/4 to 1/2 inch increments and learn how to walk in the higher heels just like before. Starting out with 4 or 5 inch heels is just about guaranteed to get you to visiting yer doctor or yer hospital.

Why can't shoe shops / manufacturers list the calf measurement when it comes to boots? My calf is about an inch too large for most knee length boots to zip up over, which leaves me with the option of either buying stretch ones which I generally don't like because I prefer leather, or from specialist companies like Duo. Duo do gorgeous boots, but they're not cheap and a lot of their styles only have low heels.

I know it's not just me, as I've seen loads of posts from women on various sites having the same problem. While they won't get looked at askance if they just go and try them on in the shop, quite a few of them find it embarrassing trying on boots that won't zip up. As no two people's legs are the same shape, and the manufacturer obviously knows what measurement the boots are made to, why don't they include this information on the label?

Chris

Yer point is well taken. However, another option not yet mentioned is to have the uppers modified to accomodate yer size (I would suggest something expandable or adjustable). While I personally do not have this problem, I can still recall guys in the army who simply could not lace up their boots. One guy had such thick calves that his socks were clearly visible on either side of the tongue of his boots (against regulations). I can only suppose that these chaps had to also buy extra length laces for their boots as well. It can be a real problem.

You guys are way to liberal for my taste. But, that's the wonderful thing about a free society. You raise your children the way you want to and I'll raise mine my way. However, never forget that parents are responsible for their childrens actions.......until they reach the age of majority. Then, although you'll never stop being their parents, they're responsible for their actions.

Parents are indeed responsible for their children. But that doesn't mean that they need to be snooping around behind the kid's back (engenders suspicion and paranoia) or kicking down the kid's door on any whim or caprice. For crying out loud, I was willing to give my dog more respect than that.

Hi Seattleshoes, and welcome to our forum. First of all, you will probably want to change styles from time to time, so one important quest you need to address is how much you are willing to pay for shoes. On the low-end of the budget (where I am) there are 1] thrift stores and consignment shops, 2] Payless, 3] Wallmart, 4] K-Mart, and 5] Target. But you can also find some really nice shoes at decent prices in some of the more up-scale stores, particularly if you shop at the end of the season when they are clearing out their old stock to make room for new. Also, it helps if you have a small foot for a man, but around a lady's size 10 (as I do) so that you can access the regular stock that just doesn't move so well. On the other hand, if money is no object, the world is yer oyster. I'd start at 9 West and make a few stops at Bloomies, Saks, and Bon Marche'. Boots are definitely all the rage this season, and I am sure you can find something that suits your fancy at some of those places.

Heely, non-heely - who cares? We're talking HEINLEIN, here, the first gender-bending SF writer on the planet.

He's welcome on all threads!

Weellll, I don't know if you can call Fear No Evil a gender-bender or not? After all, the guy did have a brain transplant, so I guess that would really be more of a "mind-bender". Personally, I liked The Moon is a Harsh Mistress better. Nevertheless, Heinlein is both very good and one of my personal favorites.

Never invade. Do it with the childs consent. If the child is keeping something secret, it doesn't mean they're doing something wrong. Talk to the child. Don't go through their things. A child will respond better to questions than they would an invasion of privacy.

Respect and privacy are not earned. They should be given freely to all.

I have to agree with your answer - to a point. I would first like to point out that while something like trust may be earned, rights are not earned. They either are or are not upheld by the prevailing authority.

I can foresee circumstances where a parent would not necessarily require the child's consent, but the child should be made aware of the reason for the intrusion, none-the-less. Moreover, invasion of a child's privacy should be extremely rare, and only when extreme circumstances warrant it. In at least 90% of all cases, talking matters over is quite sufficient. Failure to bring up a child in an atmosphere of respect for people's rights will produce an adult that doesn't respect the rights of others.

But the upshot here is that while an adult may still be the child living with a parent, adult rules apply. If the parent would not appreciate the marines or the cops storming their house and ransacking personal property without a cause, where does the parent presume to treat the child in that manner?

Interesting comment about makeup, guy-in-heels. I've noticed that throughout Asia few women ever wear makeup.

Right you are. I don't know if it is for economic reasons, or if they simply place a very low priority on women wearing make-up. My geisha did wear a modest amount of make-up and some jewelry, but she seemed much more predominantly concerned with her hair and her attire.

On the other hand, maybe they're saving it all for the kabuki dancers! I'm sure you know that it has only been in fairly recent times that the kabuki admitted women to their troup. Before that, all dancers were male and the ones who played women were very heavily made-up.

Nevertheless, the plain and simple fact is that Asians are not burdened with Victorian notions of sexuality. To westerners who are, Asian culture is a real shock :evil: that may require many months to overcome.

I'd say personal privacy is a measure of respect to an individual. There can be occasions when going through someone's stuff might be warranted, but the scene described in the outset of this thread doesn't seem to apply. That said, Mom's can be intrusive without meaning any disrespect. As my sons got older, I'd contantly remind my wife not to barge through bedroom doors and snoop around in their rooms for no reason (they were held responsible for keeping their rooms clean). For a long time, she just didn't get it. I think she will always see them as her little boys...

I think your point is well taken. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon parents to both recognize and respect the needs of their children as they grow. As we had to start buying ever larger size clothes for my daughter, the thought finally dawned that, "Hey, this kid's growing up!" So just what do parents expect? Well much the same as the child needing different sized clothing as it grows, so does the child have different needs in life. Up until about the age of 2 or so, privacy is both meaningless and non-existant. But as the child grows and becomes more self aware the need for privacy becomes manifest with ever increasing urgency. But definitely by the teenage years the need for observing privacy is imperative, and for parents to not allow for this is about as sensible as expecting the child to wear the same clothing it wore when it was one or two and there was no need for privacy.

I don't know why you should get flack because you don't want to wear a skirt. It's up to you, isn't that the essence of freestyling? Despite what is an often stated view on this forum a skirt is regarded widely as a female garment. I'm not saying that in many cultures that men don't wear unbifurcated garments, but, Western society regards a skirt as a female garment. So really it's up to you. If it's something you really, really want to do it's a shame that you're letting your fears stop you. You've also got to take a good long look at yourself in the mirror.

For myself I have fancied it, but I look daft in a skirt.

Yup, you've got it! Yul Brenner wearing a beautiful skirt as Pharaoh, Richard Burton wearing a battle skirt as Marc Anthony, and Charlton Heston as Ben Hur; but men in skirts today? Almost everyone starts hollering "gay" and stuff like that. Stop the world, I want off.

A study of 2 samples is still a study of 2 samples. Granted, if you are trying to reduce the standard deviation of a measurement, to +/- 1% you need something like 600 samples. Nevertheless, a pilot study like that is a good place to start before scaling up and controlling for multiple variables.

Study of 2 samples? This would hardly qualify as a photo-shoot, let alone a study! At the risk of beating this to death, I don't see enough evidence to qualify this as a "research study" in any sense of the word. More like a notion of motion.

Hello Everybody..JSpikeheels here...

...very interesting thread and I noticed the flurry of postings in the last couple of weeks...that may be something to note as this enormous social paradigm begins to change course like an ocean liner in mid-Atlantic-a great sweeping arc of social norms/values/perceptions undergoing a vast change...

...I believe that the tremendous social stigma formerly associated with a man allowing himself to be seen in public in a high heel has about reached a tipping point...I propose that many of us are visionaries of the future fashion scene and the precursors to the generally overall acceptance of men in heels...but we need the courage of our convictions and that has not been easy to assert...

JSpikeheels

Yer metaphor is well taken. Just as the captain of a great ship may give the order to turn his ship about and the helm may, in fact, already be hard-over in the commanded direction, the great ship may still continue for some considerable distance before it actually starts to answer the controls. I believe that fashion is much the same. Often, even the slightest change in any particular direction is but the harbinger of huge changes to come. So the changes we are seeing today are merely the first indicators of big things to come.

That first link doent show any shoes .

Not only are there no shoes visible, but also, this topic might be better presented as a poll.

Not necessarily. Consider the fact that stratified random sampling is an approved method of gaining valid data. I estimate that less than 20% of all men could fit into a size 10 women's shoe, yet that's the median (most commen) largest size in most women's shoe stores, followed closely in recent years by size 11.

Thus, sampling all stores would skew the results, as most stores could cater to less than 20% of the male population. In contrast, by stratifying the sampling to those stores which can cater to most (perhaps 80% or more) of the male population, while still catering predominantly to women (example, Nordstroms), we obtain a much clearer perspective on the percentage of men who're buying heels as compared to the total number of people (men and women) buying heels.

Natually, we also have to qualify that by noting that just because 20% of the customers of a store that sells larger sizes are men, this does not mean that 20% of all heels are sold to men, since most stores don't sell in the larger sizes. All we can say is that of those stores which sell a wider range of sizes, 20% of their customers are men.

Still, that says quite a lot about how many men are actually buying heels, and I've had to revise my estimates upwards several times over the years as new data has arrived.

These days I estimate that more than 10% of the entire male population in the US buys a pair of heels at least once a year.

Having not studied statistical math, I find it a little difficult to follow your argument. But my "gut feeling" is that yer 10% estimate may in fact be low - especially in light of the fact that very few store personnel even give a guy a second glance when they shop for heels these days.

Good news everyone (sounds like Futurama)

Yesterday we took som stuff from her old place.

Many many shoes of her... She didn´t know where she should store them in our new place.

So I said to her, that I have 3 Boxes of shoes, women shoes....

She said, she accepted it, but she still think it`s not "normal".

It´s not normal for a guy, A women could do that....

She also fears i could be a gay....

But noway, I´m very straight

Now you need to introduce her to this forum - particularly the poll about Gay men vs Straight. Give her a chance to see for herself that we have guys all over the world wearing heels and that the vast majority of us are heterosexual.

On my thrift store shopping spree, I bought a pair of dark brown, 2" Cuban heel ankle boots. They costed 10PLN ($2,5), look really nice (besides their colour- I'd like them to be black) and I've gotten many compliments about them. My momma said that girls are killing themselves wearing such heels (I think that she exagerrated- if she only saw a chick wearing ballet boots... ).

If you want to go black, all you have to do is strip all the old polish off of them and dye them black (use a good quality dye). Redying leatherwork from a lighter to a darker color is generally no problem. Going the other way is.

Well, I'd say it depends on one's financial situation. If a person can afford to spend $200.00 on a pair of shoes if they would afford the ultimate in fit and comfort, then more power to them. However, not all of us can afford to shell out that kind of money.

I for one fall into that category. I'm also a firm believer in thriftiness and have bought shoes for one quarter as much money and have been rewarded with just as much fit and comfort as the shoes gene mentioned. It all depends on how well you shop and what you choose to buy.

First of all, the worth of any item is only what someone is willing to pay for it. I know of people who pride themselves on how little they spend on things. One person claims he NEVER spends more than $10 on shoes.

At first I was incredulous, but then I got to shopping around. What I've found is that one CAN find shoes of quality and worth for as little as $10. All one has to do is know where to shop and to check the clearance racks at the end of season. Sure enough, even famous department stores often have name brand shoes on sale for as little as $10!

Then the second thing I wanted to say is that an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it! Think on it. It really doesn't matter how much time and material went into something, if the owner is willing to sell out cheap you can have it at that price. Just this week I stopped overnight and needed a motel room. When the clerk told me the price I asked if that was the best price they had to offer? Result, I got $5 off the rate. The same is true of almost everything. A retailer has to keep his merchandise moving. Merchandise that doesn't move is said to have "gone stale" and the merchant will often take a drastic cut on the price - in some cases, below cost! So he's willing to sell for less, why shouldn't I be willing to pay less?

Then my last point is that an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If you have more tires than you can use and so does everyone else, well you probably won't find much of a market for tires. But if the tire shop happens to catch on fire and you show up with a working fire engine, you might find an excellent market for that fire engine! Such a deal you could make!

As for me, I have very little disposable income, so you can bet that I won't be buying any $200 shoes or boots anytime soon. But I still shop some of the most expensive stores.

My only comment is: Neither one of you guys should ever plan on living in my house, then.

Not to worry. I was brought up by a military man who had no respect for anyone except himself. Besides, I don't even have to go 50' to find a neighbor so disrespectful that he thinks nothing of blowing car horns at 4:30 in the morning. The world is full of jerks who have no respect for others - so is hell.

Viva Veritas.

Here in my area, most of the public schools are now requiring the students to wear uniforms. Wouldn't it be a hoot if they did away with trousers entirely and only allowed the students to wear skirts?

It's important to note that a strong or intense passion for something does not meet the clinical definish of the term, "fetish," which is reserved for objects and activities without which orgasm cannot usually be achieved.

I love flying, but it's not a fetish for me. I love wearing heels, but it's not a fetish for me.

Once you put things into that perspective, it's simply an attraction towards an item of clothing normally worn by the opposite sex. As you can see from this website, however, it's not all that uncommon.

Believe it or not, about 30% of all men have worn heels on more than one occasion. I do know for a fact that 25% of all men cross-dress on a regular basis, but the duration and location is usually quite limited (at home, pulling on the wife's panties while she's out).

Stats about how many wear heels regularly are scarce, but I believe it's several percent...

Thus, the frequency (or lack thereof) of an activity doesn't make it abnormal...

Fortunately, as times change, people have become more accepting of deviations from the norm...Times change, and more men are heeling today than ever before. Heck, there's even three entire threads on a fashion forums message board devoted to discussing the wearing of heels by males.

The word's out there, and it'll only become more accepted as time goes on, and more of the males who've been hiding their heels do less hiding and do more heeling in public.

I agree. I think it would be very interesting to have some accurate figures on how many men wear heels (skirts, panties, jewelry, whatever) on a regular basis. In my opinion it would easily be in double digit percentage points. Let's face it, the design of high heels and what they do to the wearer projects a very powerful image that is impossible to deny and nearly impossible to resist. I don't see that going away anytime soon.

Rehi all.

First, she knows about my favour for heels and I showed her long time ago a few of my heels. STill I Think nobody of us two will hurt the other or better to say: Nobody of us, knows how to talk to each other about that little thing.

Reading here the stories from other user esp. kneehighs makes me stronger...

Yesterday evening she came home and I made lunch just in time. She was in very good temper and no comment about my boxes. She said, she cleand up the room a little bit, bla bla, but no hint to my boxes.

So, I wait till she`s back home, and I hope I find the right moment to talk to her.

Cheers!

Well, if she doesn't want to bring up the subject, you can by saying something like: "I see you found my shoes. What do you think of them?" At this point you should get some kind of reaction that lets you know exactly what she thinks.

I respectfully disagree. I lived my parents for four months after college, awaiting the move to my first real job. Purpose - to save money and to visit with the folks "one last time" (extended visits, anyway). I worked temp jobs, paid room and board (a relative pittance), and enjoyed our time together while I wound my springs tight before jumping off into the great big old world...

An interesting experience, as it forced both myself and my folks to learn to accept the fact that all of us were older. I was no longer 18-year-old who left for college, nor the 24-year-old who stayed with them for a few months. And they weren't the same hopping 45-year-olds they were back then, either. Instead, they were closer to 60, and were slowing down.

Extended families are the norm in many societies, for practical reasons. In others, for whatever reason, they're rare. Regardless, if it works, terrific, as living under the same roof does save boatloads of money, particularly when the mortgage is already paid. On the other hand, conflict resolution, and issues of privacy rise to the surface, which usually requires a bit of diplomacy in addition to a significant level of tolerance.

It's not for everyone, but it is for some.

WELL SAID, DR1819!

There are societies where it would be unthinkable for the children (of whatever age) to leave - even after marriage! So the problem is not the fact that there are 2 or more generations living under one roof. Isn't it really about respecting people's rights and how to live with one another?

My college age daughter lives with me, but I would never think about going through her things without first telling her and also telling her why. In like manner, when she gets a little sassy about my computer equipment or something - I tell her about that and tell her what will happen if her behavior doesn't improve.

Sneaking about and disrespecting other's rights can only lead to problems. Better to lay the cards on the table and plainly declare what the situation is and what you expect to become of it.

Ok, Guy N. Heels - any links to where I might find some of these silicone quieters/floor protectors?

I do have a few pair of stilettos, and if I could walk down the street at anything less than 100 decibels, I just might do so!

Any observations/experience on how long they'd last?

I don't remember exactly where I found mine - either a shoe store or a cobbler's shop. But I think Thighboots2 may have some links that you'll need in Europe. I seem to vaguely recall a German site.

They are not extremely durable. The clear plastic ones seem to last better than the black plastic ones, but you obviously would not want to put the clear ones on a black heel unless you absolutely had to. They seem to do fairly well indoors (where stilettoes were really meant to be worn) but keep a pair in yer pocket if yer going outside - especially on rough pavement.

Having never been to Europe, I don't really know what the shops are like, but I always make it a point to look around any store I'm in for those accessories that may be related to the products the store is actually selling. For example, most shoe stores are not really selling shoe laces, but if you look around a bit you might find some tucked away on a self somewhere. Then, if you can't seem to find them you could always ask a store clerk, but it might be helpful if you had an example (or a picture) to show them.

For those that aren't aware of who R. A. Heinlein is:

(from GuruNet)

Robert A. Heinlein, Writer

Born: 7 July 1907

Birthplace: Butler, Missouri

Death: 8 May 1988

Best Known As: "The Dean of Science Fiction Writers"

After leaving the U.S. Navy as a young lieutenant, Robert Anson Heinlein began writing science fiction stories and novels and never looked back. Throughout the 1950s and '60s he won four Hugo awards for best novel, including one for 1961's Stranger in a Strange Land, one of the best selling science fiction novels ever. Along with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, Heinlein is considered one of the fathers of modern science fiction...

All of the writers mentioned are very good. I prefer Heinlein because of his "earthy" approach to things. Asimov is brilliant, but his brainy approach tends to put me off just a bit . Another good writer that is generally ignored is Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Now doesn't this thread really belong in the Non-heely Theme forum?