Adrienne Rich and Heels

Draft:

Composition:
white v-neck t-shirt (American Eagle)
sand swing jacket (H&M)
gray jersey print skirt (H&M)
cork wedges (Michael Shannon via DSW)
white flip flops (Gap)

In one of my classes recently, we discussed Adrienne Rich's 1980 essay, "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence."  Rich lists high heels as one of the ways men use their power "to confine [women] physically and prevent their movement." She argues that heels are thus part of the "cluster of forces within which women have been convinced that marriage and sexual orientation toward men are inevitable."  A few of my classmates pointed to this passage specifically and admitted to feeling conflicted because they like to wear high heels.

I tried to make the point that in 2010, we can wear high heels differently than women could in 1980.  I believe that because of the advances made in the past 30 years by women like Rich, it is now possible for women to wear heels assertively.  One of our professors uses this Ann Richards quote as part of her email signature:

"If you give us a chance, women can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels."

This is the spirit in which I like to think I wear high heels.  I hope my choice to wear heels indicates that I'm capable of managing all of my responsibilities, thinking critically about my work, and taking an interest in fashion and style.  I'm conscious, though, that others do not always "read" heels in this way.

As I thought this through, I realized that I don't have very many "traditionally feminine" high heels in my closet.  I prefer wedges, and I don't own a single pair of stilettos or pointy-toed pumps.  Evidently, I'm also drawn to thick straps.  Though I probably wear the black almond-toed wedges more than all of my other heels combined, all six of these pairs are in somewhat regular rotation in my wardrobe:

While taking the photos for this post, I couldn't help but wonder if I stay away from shoes that are coded as overtly "feminine" because I don't really believe that I can wear shoes like that assertively.  My heel collection is certainly much different than Katie's or Anne-Marie's, both of whom seem comfortable with more traditionally feminine styles.  On the other hand, I think my collection of heels makes sense given my general aesthetic preferences.  I don't own a single item of apparel that has a bow on it.  I think one of the reasons I wear belts so regularly is because I'm really drawn to the look of buckles.  Until recently, I preferred pleats to ruffles.

For this look, I thought I'd photograph both pairs of sandals that I considered wearing.  One of the things I previously said I liked about heels is that they make me stand up straighter, but my posture in both of these photos is so terrible that I'm not sure that's actually true.  (As a side note, posing for these photos is, for me, definitely the most difficult element of contributing to this blog.  Fellow fashion/style bloggers, can you empathize?)  I ended up wearing the flip-flops.  After this mental exercise, I find myself feeling thoroughly ambiguous about heels, but I'm glad I've begun to think more critically about how, when, and why I wear them.

Work Cited:

Rich, Adrienne. "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose. W W Norton & Co Inc, 1993. 203-224. Print.  Google Books.

Prompts:

• How do you respond to Adrienne Rich's criticism of high heels?  
• Am I right in suggesting that the ways in which we can wear heels have changed since she composed this groundbreaking essay?  I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this issue.
• Do you wear high heels or do you opt out of this trend?  Why?