Are you affraid of You Tube ?

[Pumps]

I must admit I'm a bit nervous about the amount of mobile cameras being around today. It seems that a lot of people (including people in here) are taking pictures of strangers and posting the on webboard and You tube. I heard that there were a group on Facebook devoted to bashing this guy, who people apparently saw in the city alot, so everybody is accusing him of being everything from pedophile to prostitute, just because he's often in the city. Apparently he's just unemployed. I would hate find myself on You Tube or any other place involuntarily. I'm not all that affraid of people knowing about my love for high heels as I've worn womens flats with my mom and on work, but I'd like it to be MY decision. Does it worry anyone else ?

[Guest Loveshiheels]

Yes I am. It sort of put me off wearing heels in public and next year at the heel meet I may not wear heels out in public.

[Histiletto]

I can't say that I am not concerned that my right of privacy is being attacked and that my choice to devulged anything could be in the hands or minds of someone else. It really is a shame we have to take extra measures to may be keep someone from stealing our personal identity and assets. However, we are living in a world of information services. Once you step out into a public location, such as your front porch, you are giving any one permission to record your appearance and you have to figure that someone will see you. If they by chance have a camera to record your high heeled outting, then anyone can see it, unless they had such a bad picture image that you could not be detected, but the person trying to get the pictures will still know. If you have gone shopping in heels, you have to know that you have been recorded and it is now public record. Our privacy is being whittled away and is no longer a secured personal fact with all the security cameras, personal instant recording devices, and the information you have to give when making a purchase. It's as if you are being tracked through any public associations and dealings you innocently initiate. Take advantage of the free publicity. The sooner we heelers get noticed, the greater the chances are that male heeling will become just some of those common occurrences.

[johnieheel]

There is nothing to fear except fear itself. I am proud to let the world know that I WEAR HEELS. Yes, I AM A MAN! O, and I am packing.

[billyb]

AMEN brother John

[euchrid]

Does it worry anyone else ?

It is definitely a concern.

I don't mind CCTV cameras. Their footage (ha ha!) is not, I hope, ever going to appear on YouTube.

Twats with camcorders & video-phones - now that's a different matter.

I definitely would not like to suddenly discover myself being 'outed' in that way. My heeling is still fairly low-key at the moment though so probably unlikely to happen to me. [my fingers are crossed!]

[derf]

Yes I am for all the reasons already stated. However there is a part of me that wishes everyone knew so that I would not have to hide it anymore.

[thedesigner]

no worries about being on film, the more of us that are seen heeling, the more mainstream it will be !!

[johnieheel]

Yes I am for all the reasons already stated. However there is a part of me that wishes everyone knew so that I would not have to hide it anymore.

Then get out there with the rest of us who are not in fear of being who we are and show the world it's OK to be your self.

Individuality is a gift. Let the world know!

[Maximilian]

I can understand why our primary reaction to the thought of filming us and posting it on a site like Youtube might be intimidating. While some of us don’t mind complete strangers' reaction to us in heels, the fear is that someone who knows us, someone we don't want to find out about it, does. Some of us are afraid to attract too much attention, therefore hiding the shoes almost completely under trousers. The thought that we may be caught on camera and becoming a topic of discussion seems scary, mainly because we expect that 99 percent of reactions would be negative and ridicule.

Some of these fears are legitimate in my opinion. We all have our own personal battle with wearing heels in public. Some might be in relationships with partners who don't know; Family member/friends you care so dearly about you don’t want to risk anything that would damage your relationship with them. The fear of coworkers finding out and raising hell at work could also be a paralyzing fear. Before going out in heels, you have to be aware of the potential personal consequences to your fashion choice and whether you could stand the heat.

While I don't publicize my street heeling to every person who knows me, I have thought about the worst case scenario if they found out. I came to the conclusion that with regard to my personal situation, nothing terrible would happen, maybe a temporary inconvenience but no more.

The worst is that I'd be considered gay or a guy with a weird fashion taste or fetish. Those people who know me and would think very negatively about it might distance themselves from me. So F%*$#%g what?

If they troubled themselves as much as to distance themselves because of my fashion taste and the explanation as to why I wear what I wear (Obviously I'll explain myself in a calm and convincing manner) did not affect their decision to part ways then, good riddance!

You find out who your real friends/good people are in situations where you are either in distress, "rocking the boat" or taking a stand for what you believe in even though it's not the mainstream way of thinking. Those who care for you might at the most joke around for a while (but in a good way where you should have at least the ability to laugh at yourself) but will get used to your fashion trend very quickly.

Some of your friends may even feel the need to "protect" you from other peoples' reactions and be more nervous about them than you are.

Some friends/relatives would say they feel uncomfortable with you wearing heels in public while in their company (or maybe they don't want you to wear heels to specific occasions with them, not necessarily to every occasion). While it shows their own lack of confidence and fear of standing out in public, you might want to compromise and respect their wish. I don’t see it as a problem as long as I don't feel they have changed their attitude towards me while not wearing what I want or when I'm wearing what I want in places they don't feel uncomfortable with me.

Here's a personal example I'll share with you concerning wearing/not wearing heels with people you know. My brother knows about my heeling and skirt wearing and doesn’t care at all once I've explained my reasons behind it. He's used to it by now. While he doesn’t mind being seen with me in public in heels, I don't like wearing them while hanging out with him. It's not because I'm uncomfortable, it's because he walks too bloody fast! I don’t wear heels all the time and he's used to walking faster when I'm in flats (and then I walk faster as well). He simply can't walk slowly so whenever we hang out he's 10 meters in front while I try to keep up but I hate that since I walk faster than I should in heels. So I try to limit the times I wear heels with him unless we hang out at a place where we don't do much walking.

Regarding peoples/strangers online reactions on Youtube. Seriously, if you present yourself in public with confidence and have a coordinated look with heels, your video won't be a very big hit. I saw a lot of weird S#%& on Youtube. Believe me, a video of a guy in heels who presents himself normally would not rock the boat at all. You'll be lucky to get a hundred hits. You might get negative reactions from chickens who hide behind false names and feel manly enough to ridicule you from their moms basement, or giggling from the moron who took the video of you. But, you may also get positive reactions from people who say you have an interesting fashion style. Some might commend "the guy" dressing how he likes with confidence. My guess, most would leave comments like" whatever floats his boat" etc.

If some teenager takes a cellphone camera shot of you in heels, he might laugh, show it to his teenager buddies who would laugh as well who would show it to their buddies. It will all be funny for about…60 seconds. After that, they'd laugh about something else. That’s how kids are.

Youtube doesn’t personally scare me. Mall/store cameras don’t scare me. I always have a laugh of the thought that during lunch break the guards and salespeople look at the footage and wonder who that guy in heels is and… when will he be back?

It's just another personal mind battle with yourself. At the end of the day, choose what's best for you.

[johnieheel]

First of all, in my experience 99% of feed back from public is that they really don't care. I have only been pointed at and laughed at once that I can remember and that was from a group of thugs in a walmart store. No big deal. I didn't even notice but my wife did. As for family and friends finding out, TO LATE. They all already know and have seen me out in the stores many times in my heels. Never said a word. I actually had to break the conversation many times just so I could leave. Just about every weekend my wife and I are out, we run into somebody from family or work. They all treat me as the person they know me for and not what I wear. I used to think like you Max and lived with that fear of (what if). Thats all it was, just fear.

[Maximilian]

I agree with your observations johnieheel. The fear of "what if" is almost gone in me since the people I care about the most know about it and accept it. The only person who's opinion I care about and have yet to tell is the girlfriend I haven't met yet.

[Guest]

I'm not really @ all, just type in "Laguna Niguel 2007 christmas parade" (thats where I live) then go to the "related" sidebar on the right, youll see me in leather minding my own bussiness WATCHING the parade under "creepy guy with leather" (what an idiotic heading if you ask me) & read what this JERK says about me, changing his mind a few times like its all a joke to him I would guess-youll see that MOST of the comments are FOR me in my DEFENSE! & I had NO idea I was being filmed on video while I was there enjoying the parade wearing my black leather outfit cause it was cold & wanted to be stylish. (no heels cause I had to do a lot of walking) you never do know nowadays who might be putting you ON youtube @ any given moment!

[Firefox]

Nope, doesn't worry me at all. By the way, if the picture are presented in a defamatory context, you have the right to have them removed, and the webhosts will do this, so the "facebook" scenario shouldn't arise if you know what you are doing.

[JeffB]

No, I'm not concerned either. It's just the price we pay for living in such a technology driven age. As others here have already stated, we're already being filmed whenever we walk through a department store, hell, most shopping malls also film, so you're on camera whether you want to be or not. As for individuals, I have no idea if I've ever been captured on someone's camera or videophone, but even if I were, there's nothing I can do to control a situation like that, so I just have to live with it. However, I refuse to let the actions of a miniscule minority dictate how I live my life and how I choose to present myself to the world at large.

[Thighbootguy]

Does being on YouTube scare me? TBG on YouTube However, I have control of the content. While I’m not thrilled about having someone else photograph me out in public, it happens, and often with my permission (some folks ask).

In today’s camera phone world, being photographed is part of going out in public and it has to go into your equation of whether or not you go out. If you go out with the hope that no one will notice your heels, then camera phones may be a bigger concern (it also raises the stress level you experience when you go out). I’ve been preaching for some time now that if you aren’t comfortable being seen in whatever you’re wearing, you shouldn’t go out.

[roniheels]

You Tube does not scare me. As Johnieheel, Maximilian, Thighboot guy (by the way, I loved your videos!), and JeffB stated, if you a man who enjoys and is comfortable with wearing high heels in public, you are going to be seen. People who see you are going to have thoughts and opinions. This is a decision we have made and we live each day knowing we will be wearing high heels today and possibly in public. If I were to go into You Tube and find a video someone had shot of me walking down the street in wearing high heels, what I would want to obseve is how I looked capture on video in high heels and see if I need to make any adjustments to my future appearence in public. Also, it would let me see how I looked if I became interested in doing my own videos like the videos Thighbootguy created. I am a (heterosexual) man. I wear high heels in public. I wear high heels everyday and almost every day in public. This is a fashion and lifestyle decision I have made and I live with it.

[Erynne]

If someone were to post defamitory video of me on youtube I would ask to have it removed on the basis that companies aren't allowed to use a person's likeness for profit without permission. I guess it's kind of a grey area of the law so i'm not sure that it would work but I'd sure give it a shot.

[fastfreddy2]

I must admit I'm a bit nervous about the amount of mobile cameras being around today. It seems that a lot of people (including people in here) are taking pictures of strangers and posting the on webboard and You tube.

Does it worry anyone else ?

Yes.

I'm sure it's a case of when, not if .......

Last night at about 1am I was outside a restaurant by a park. I was checking the menu with a view to going there tonight. [i'm here, so obviously I decided not to visit. ]

As I was leaving, I noticed a sign that warned of CCTV. I thought at the time, cameras might be there to protect vehicles left in the car park some distance away, not watch me walking around in heels.... As I walked back to my car, I realised I was walking within 15ft of a camera for the second time in minutes.

I don't expect to find the video on You Tube, but it was a lesson in awareness ....

...

[johnieheel]

Isn't the whole idea of getting accepted by society is TO GET NOTICED as much as possible? If you guys want to be able to wear your heels or what ever comftorably in the public eye, then the public eye needs to see it over and over again until it becomes nothing more than a guy wearing earings or a woman with a tatoo. Just my thought.

[Bubba136]

While I understand the protection a "cloak of anonymity" can provide to any male high heel wearer, it's difficult in this day and age to appear anywhere outside of your personal domain with any sense of invisibility. It's a sign of the times that security cameras and other prying eyes are omnipresent. It goes without saying, then, any male venturing into the public arena, wearing heels, must expect to be literally "seen" by thousands of sets of imperceptible, and unobservable "eyes." Once again, it goes to the old saying, "if you don't want to be "seen," don't go outside in public. That is the only sure way that you or your likeness won't be captured and recorded for posterity.

[Pumps]

Yes.

I'm sure it's a case of when, not if .......

Last night at about 1am I was outside a restaurant by a park. I was checking the menu with a view to going there tonight. [i'm here, so obviously I decided not to visit. ]

As I was leaving, I noticed a sign that warned of CCTV. I thought at the time, cameras might be there to protect vehicles left in the car park some distance away, not watch me walking around in heels.... As I walked back to my car, I realised I was walking within 15ft of a camera for the second time in minutes.

I don't expect to find the video on You Tube, but it was a lesson in awareness ....

...

I'm not worried about CCTV as I'm pretty confident that the use is pretty regulated. Just recently a danish shopkeeper received a fine for putting video of a robbery on You Tube. Not even in such a case are you allowed to broadcast the video, which I think sends a clear message.

The use of phone-cameras is a more difficult area to regulate, even though it may be just as illegal to put on You tube, the damage may allready have been done.

[Pumps]

Isn't the whole idea of getting accepted by society is TO GET NOTICED as much as possible? If you guys want to be able to wear your heels or what ever comftorably in the public eye, then the public eye needs to see it over and over again until it becomes nothing more than a guy wearing earings or a woman with a tatoo. Just my thought.

What may work for you may not work for the rest of us. You are lucky that you have an understanding wife, which would make heeling in public so much more comfortable. For the most part people look at us like a bunch of weirdos. I wish it wasn't so, but it is and at some point you have to decide if that's really how you want to be seen. For me the concept of a You Tube video being shared between my customers or me being the target of a hostile Facebook group would be pretty bad. I would not rule out going totally public, but it should be MY decision. It make a lot of difference in my eyes.

[JeffB]

Isn't the whole idea of getting accepted by society is TO GET NOTICED as much as possible? If you guys want to be able to wear your heels or what ever comftorably in the public eye, then the public eye needs to see it over and over again until it becomes nothing more than a guy wearing earings or a woman with a tatoo. Just my thought.

A brilliant observation, my friend! Absolutely brilliant! If we, as heel wearing men want to gain acceptance, or, at the very least, tolerance of our unique passion, then it's important that we HAVE to be seen, otherwise, we're nothing better than midnight skulkers, hiding ourselves from the sometimes harsh light of the public eye. Dealing with the possibly of winding up on YouTube is just part of the deal when it comes to be out and about. You either accept it, or return to the closet, and I'm NOT about to do that!

[johnieheel]

What may work for you may not work for the rest of us. You are lucky that you have an understanding wife, which would make heeling in public so much more comfortable. For the most part people look at us like a bunch of weirdos. I wish it wasn't so, but it is and at some point you have to decide if that's really how you want to be seen. For me the concept of a You Tube video being shared between my customers or me being the target of a hostile Facebook group would be pretty bad. I would not rule out going totally public, but it should be MY decision. It make a lot of difference in my eyes.

I understand your feelings of possibly being rejected or embarrassed by your costumers , friends or family, pumps. I feel that there has to come a time in a persons life to stand up for who he or she is and take the heat. It WILL cool down. These people have known you for years and wearing heels or what ever doesn't make you a different person. If they can't except you for the person they know you for, and if you can't except your self or be yourself around them, then there is 1 or 2 things you need to do. Need I say more. Thats just how I feel.

I know it's a little tough in some situations and could be costly and a real burden to be discovered by the wrong client, friend or family member but I myself refuse to live in the closet. Like I have said many times before, "I am what I am".

[Bubba136]

ah, to be seen wearing heels and having nothing thought of it, that is the objective!

[Diana High Heels]

I have been posting vids on youtube for some time now, what was interesting was that when I HID my sexuallity I HAD MORE rude comments then now, where I openly admit to being male. My user name on Youtube is 'Pink Flash' so if you see my videos and profile you will know what I mean. One can always remove derogatory comments made on their own video immediately, this was a regular happening but now, I just want people to know that there are men out there, like us all who enjoy the simple and unique pleasure of being able to wear very high heels. Yes I do wear out in public and have NEVER had a problem even though I am grey haired and 58. Whats even more interesting is that I also wear out all the time what are obviously ladies sneakers/plimsolls, many in pink etc and again, never a problem, in fact in one Starbucks the girl assistant congratulated me on my choice of shoes (Dunlop Pink Flash) with pink laces. My face is visible and I have even spoken on youtube so my voice as well. I am past caring and have made the videos to hopefully encourage/assist others undecided to come out of that very deep closet. What make sit all the more enjoyable is the aspect that my good wife accepts and supports my enjoyment of being in heels, like so many here.

[roniheels]

Pumps, I too, understand your concern, especially with running a business that depends on the perception from patrons. But JeffB, johnieheel, and Bubba136 are so correct. Do we really want to take a step backwards? We've all said do I want to be imprisoned by the opinion of others to enjoy donig something that I enjoy doing and especially is harmless to others? I'm sure as we've all walked around in public in high heels we've heard the degrading remarks, seen the dirty looks, or heard the snickers and laughter. I don't mean to make light of this with this comparison, but have you ever bought an article of clothing that you were really proud of, wore it among friends and in public, and then have people laugh or riddicule you for it? I think this is at least similar with us wearing high heels. You get to the point where you just have to say, I like me. I like what I do. I like what I wear. And if you don't like it, too bad. Let's just live and let live.

[Guest]

I fully agree roniheel!! & please to all others in here, please see me on YOUTUBE in my leather, youll find it under LAGUNA NIGUEL CHRISTMAS PARADE 2007 then the related sidebar to the right of the page titled "creepy guy in leather" read all the comments to see how many other people have been DEFENDING me on it too!! I would appreciate some feedback since were on the subject of YOUTUBE!! in boots as this is typed, Brad (DEMONIAPLATFORMS)

[Firefox]

Well, by bowing down to fears of rejection or facebook campaigns you're helping to perpetuate the foundations of such fears. Now in 1950 there may have been place for a facebook campaign (if they ever had had facebook back then!!) about a certain guy wearing earrings. In 2005 the campaign for such a matter would be laughed off facebook. The reason; because guys have been brave enough in the intervening time to claim earrings for themselvbes if they wish to wear them. You need to think the same way about shoes. Think of what you are doing for the movement of fashion acceptance. The time will come when "Someone says, Haha, guess what, I saw a guy wearing heels today." And his mate says "So what, I saw one yesterday. Must be a trend" End of conversation. Facebook smear potential = 0.