Master Resource: General Public Discussions of men in heels

[VirginHeels]

https://coveti.com/men-who-wear-womens-shoes/?srsltid=AfmBOoowmcItDrq5frTv7XIa-9Ky3zfdu9NuA9sC5EgmVzZYhvDzojxi
 

Interesting article, it’s a bit wordy and a bit word dense.

https://coveti.com/men-who-wear-womens-shoes/?srsltid=AfmBOoowmcItDrq5frTv7XIa-9Ky3zfdu9NuA9sC5EgmVzZYhvDzojxi
 

Interesting article, it’s a bit wordy and a bit word dense.

https://coveti.com/men-who-wear-womens-shoes/?srsltid=AfmBOoowmcItDrq5frTv7XIa-9Ky3zfdu9NuA9sC5EgmVzZYhvDzojxi
 

Interesting article, it’s a bit wordy and a bit word dense.

[mlroseplant]

Crickets on this one so far. I think we're to the point where we don't have to gush over every article which refers to us in a positive light. Wordy, but not in an academic way. I'm not sure what the heck it was I just read.

[Shyheels]

I skimmed it just now. I have a strong suspicion that it was written by AI. 

[Puffer]

22 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Crickets on this one so far. I think we're to the point where we don't have to gush over every article which refers to us in a positive light. Wordy, but not in an academic way. I'm not sure what the heck it was I just read.

I agree, although I had to look-up what you meant by 'crickets'.  Not an expression I have ever heard so used in the UK.

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

I agree, although I had to look-up what you meant by 'crickets'.  Not an expression I have ever heard so used in the UK.

It's a very common expression on this side of the pond. Of course, the sound of the actual insects only happens about six months out of the year where I live, so I have no idea how that became part of the slang lexicon. It's been fairly recent, I would say within the last couple of decades.

[Puffer]

23 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I skimmed it just now. I have a strong suspicion that it was written by AI. 

I think you are right.   One can admire (and simultaneously fear) the technology that makes this article possible, but deprecate the excessive length, dull style and needless repetition.   Overall, it adds almost nothing to our fund of knowledge - and precious little to that of those outside our circle.

[Rockpup]

Echo

echo

echo

 

[Shyheels]

I think there's only so much one can say to an AI-written article on a subject we all know back to front and from personal experience...

[pebblesf]

Here is a wonderful youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25lT1eStJPs

This man captures everything I would love to achieve.   Pierre, if you are a member here, BRAVO buddy!  Don

[Cali]

LOL...I have several of those boots and wear them the same way with just different tops.  Just don't wear my suede or leather in the snow.

[Shyheels]

That’s exactly my style as well - stylish boots and jeans. It’s a great classic looks and he does it well. Precisely the sort of image that will help society at large accept men in boots and heels. 

[pebblesf]

4 hours ago, Cali said:

LOL...I have several of those boots and wear them the same way with just different tops.  Just don't wear my suede or leather in the snow.

You sure do Cali, and look amazing as well....

[mlroseplant]

The guy looks pretty good. Edgy, but not outlandish. However.  .  . (long pause) .  .  . I do admit I had to fast forward through most of the video. That's too many pictures in a single album by about a factor of 10.

[Shyheels]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

The guy looks pretty good. Edgy, but not outlandish. However.  .  . (long pause) .  .  . I do admit I had to fast forward through most of the video. That's too many pictures in a single album by about a factor of 10.

Totally agree, I did the same. A dozen would have been pushing it. I got the idea after the first few. I was impressed, but then became bored. 

Edited Tuesday at 12:36 PM by Shyheels

[pebblesf]

35 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Totally agree, I did the same. A dozen would have been pushing it. I got the idea after the first few. I was impressed, but then became bored. 

so true.   sometimes less is more

[Shyheels]

He was like a lawyer still arguing his case after it’s already been settled in his favour and everyone in the courtroom has gone home. 

[Puffer]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Totally agree, I did the same. A dozen would have been pushing it. I got the idea after the first few. I was impressed, but then became bored. 

Yes indeed, and very little variety in his boot styles too.   Perusal of his other Youtube videos suggests that wearing women's swimsuits etc is also an 'interest', somewhat devaluing his representation of 'our cause'.

[mlroseplant]

I failed to look at the comments section, but I suppose it's just as well. I was checking my social media feed the other day, and this random guy popped up. I scratched my head and said, "Wait a minute! That's that Mark What's His Face from Germany, innit?" Sure enough, it was Mark Bryan from Germany, and there was an article you could click on, which I didn't do, but I started reading through the comments. Hoo boy! Two thirds of them were pretty brutal, and 90% of those were pretty ignorant. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan, he lost me completely when he did that interview a couple years back, and for some strange reason started taking off all his clothes. Sorry, that's way too weird for me.

I only wonder what my own comments section would be like, were it to exist. It's very easy to gang up on someone you don't even know, I really feel that my own success and acceptance here is because it's a lot more difficult to gang up on somebody you do know and have real, personal interaction with.

Every once in a while, I get delusional and make a comment on somebody's video or post. This time, I resisted the temptation, because I believe that once you get more than about 50-100 comments on a post, even if the conversation is civil and semi-intellectual, who goes through and reads all that crap anyway? I think it would be easier to be heard shouting on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange than to be heard in the comments section of any popular post.

[pebblesf]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I failed to look at the comments section, but I suppose it's just as well. I was checking my social media feed the other day, and this random guy popped up. I scratched my head and said, "Wait a minute! That's that Mark What's His Face from Germany, innit?" Sure enough, it was Mark Bryan from Germany, and there was an article you could click on, which I didn't do, but I started reading through the comments. Hoo boy! Two thirds of them were pretty brutal, and 90% of those were pretty ignorant. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan, he lost me completely when he did that interview a couple years back, and for some strange reason started taking off all his clothes. Sorry, that's way too weird for me.

I only wonder what my own comments section would be like, were it to exist. It's very easy to gang up on someone you don't even know, I really feel that my own success and acceptance here is because it's a lot more difficult to gang up on somebody you do know and have real, personal interaction with.

Every once in a while, I get delusional and make a comment on somebody's video or post. This time, I resisted the temptation, because I believe that once you get more than about 50-100 comments on a post, even if the conversation is civil and semi-intellectual, who goes through and reads all that crap anyway? I think it would be easier to be heard shouting on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange than to be heard in the comments section of any popular post.

Well said brother.  

4 hours ago, Puffer said:

Yes indeed, and very little variety in his boot styles too.   Perusal of his other Youtube videos suggests that wearing women's swimsuits etc is also an 'interest', somewhat devaluing his representation of 'our cause'.

Valid complaint and observation indeed.  There was just this one section of his photos/videos I was referring to, and that is the "booted" section.  And yes, looks like there were only about four different pairs of boots.  Nonetheless, I did like the many different wardrobe styles he paired with the otherwise small collection of boots.  

[Puffer]

On 1/15/2025 at 11:44 AM, mlroseplant said:

...

I only wonder what my own comments section would be like, were it to exist. It's very easy to gang up on someone you don't even know, I really feel that my own success and acceptance here is because it's a lot more difficult to gang up on somebody you do know and have real, personal interaction with.

...

A thought-provoking observation.   I agree that it is not so easy to criticise (even if constructively) someone here with whom one has a relationship, albeit only online and remote.   However, that can lead to an individual assuming that his activity or opinions are more acceptable than is truly the case, which is not altogether fair to him and indeed could result in some danger to him.   It is difficult to strike a balance between fair and well-meant criticism (using that word in its proper sense of appraisal) and simply being 'nice', friendly, supportive, accepting or whatever.

Needless to say, my comments here are not aimed at mlroseplant personally.   I think he knows me well enough to realise that anything I might say about him or his posts is not intended to be unfair, let alone offensive!

[pebblesf]

27 minutes ago, Puffer said:

A thought-provoking observation.   I agree that it is not so easy to criticise (even if constructively) someone here with whom one has a relationship, albeit only online and remote.   However, that can lead to an individual assuming that his activity or opinions are more acceptable than is truly the case, which is not altogether fair to him and indeed could result in some danger to him.   It is difficult to strike a balance between fair and well-meant criticism (using that word in its proper sense of appraisal) and simply being 'nice', friendly, supportive, accepting or whatever.

Needless to say, my comments here are not aimed at mlroseplant personally.   I think he knows me well enough to realise that anything I might say about him or his posts is not intended to be unfair, let alone offensive!

So many variables to consider when offering "constructive criticism" indeed.  I guess so much depends on your relationship with those receiving the criticism and the place (online/in person/email etc) the criticism will be offered.  You are right of course, offering insincere positive comments may not be doing that person any favors.  I do my best not to offer "phony compliments", tend to just say little or nothing when I see something that does not look good to me.  I remember this stern advice the parents would give when we were kids.  And, I must keep in mind, everyone's taste (especially in heels) is different, beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

In the case of guys in heels, one must also consider where a fellow is on his heeling journey.  It is hard enough for a guy to muster the courage to go against idiotic societal norms in order to explore fashions he has only secretly admired in the past, I tend to err on the side of encouragement in cases like this.  

[Shyheels]

I take a similar view. If I can’t say something positive I say nothing at all. Everyone’s tastes are different and the fact that we all wear heels, of whatever style, a.ready puts all of us well out of the bell curve.

Obviously if a member announces in a post that they’re planning to wear their pink patent thigh high stilettos on their golfing holiday in Dubai one would be doing them no favours by staying silent

[mlroseplant]

I suppose it is wise to consider that silence doesn't necessarily equal tacit approval. The main point I was trying to make is that the internet allows people to be their worst selves, evidently without guilt. This refresher course in human fecal matter has definitely swayed my personal needle toward not making a "How to Walk in High Heels" video. Who needs that kind of abuse?

[Shyheels]

I agree. I’ve no doubt at all you would do an excellent one, but the satisfaction of making it, and the gratitude of the relatively few who would make use of it, would not be worth the backlash. We just don’t live in that kind of world.

I did a personal photography project a few years back that received a lot of press. And while the comments sections were overwhelmingly favourable, some of the negative ones were truly mind-boggling in their nuttiness and eagerness for confrontation. And that for a photo project that was totally benign and uncontroversial  

[pebblesf]

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I agree. I’ve no doubt at all you would do an excellent one, but the satisfaction of making it, and the gratitude of the relatively few who would make use of it, would not be worth the backlash. We just don’t live in that kind of world.

I did a personal photography project a few years back that received a lot of press. And while the comments sections were overwhelmingly favourable, some of the negative ones were truly mind-boggling in their nuttiness and eagerness for confrontation. And that for a photo project that was totally benign and uncontroversial  

This internet thing is often a "bully pulpit" making it too easy for folks with issues to lash out....

[Shyheels]

3 hours ago, pebblesf said:

This internet thing is often a "bully pulpit" making it too easy for folks with issues to lash out....

And there are so many of them out there! 

[Puffer]

20 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I suppose it is wise to consider that silence doesn't necessarily equal tacit approval. The main point I was trying to make is that the internet allows people to be their worst selves, evidently without guilt. ...

I think that is a good summary of what is often a difficult situation.   If someone presents here his latest footwear for 'approval', it is easy to say 'nice' but potentially awkward (or worse) to say, honestly, 'not for me' - let alone 'ugh!'.   I sometimes wonder about theatre critics; they can be absolutely scathing about a production or performance but their opinion, good or bad, is expected and generally welcomed, albeit not perhaps by the promoters and actors.

[Shyheels]

Yes, and there are ways of putting these things honestly without using loaded or derogatory language. Happily all of use here seem to be quite adept and diplomatic at expressing an opinion. 

[Puffer]

53 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Yes, and there are ways of putting these things honestly without using loaded or derogatory language. Happily all of use here seem to be quite adept and diplomatic at expressing an opinion. 

I agree (he said, whilst grovelling and fawning at his superior's superbly-booted feet). 🙊

[pebblesf]

4 hours ago, Puffer said:

I agree (he said, whilst grovelling and fawning at his superior's superbly-booted feet). 🙊

Funny you should mention this.  I met one of my superiors in the parking lot, while waiting for other coworkers to arrive.  It was cold, I opened the back door to climb in her car and get out of the cold.  She apologized for all the heels and a great pair of booties that were laying in the footwell where I climbed in..."That's quite alright..." I said, "great heels indeed"....