Hillary Fields: July 2009 Archives

Ok, now. Twice in the past week I've encountered girls under the age of ten wearing high heeled sandals. The first time, I was entering the subway and I saw (from behind) a person under four feet tall wearing perhaps a two-inch acrylic-heeled sandal. It startled me, but after a moment of staring at the incongruous sight, I assumed she must be a little person. However, when I passed her, I saw that, no, it wasn't an adult of any stature, it was a girl no older than perhaps nine.

Then, this afternoon, it happened again. A child no older than seven this time, walking with a lady who looked to be her grandmother. Again, wearing sandals with a low but noticeable acrylic heel of over an inch in height.

And I felt just so, so sad.  

We women have a lot of reasons for wearing heels. We do it to make our legs look sexy, to get a height advantage, and, because, well, in a lot of careers, it's de rigueur. 

On the one hand, I get where little girls like to play dress-up. I loved to play dress-up myself when I was a kid (back then I wished my mom owned heels to swan around in, but she was too practical to own shoes that hurt her feet). Yet dress-up is different from daily wear. And these kids weren't wearing their tutus and tiaras. No, they were sporting heels like they were a part of daily life.

I felt, somewhere deep, deep in my soul, that there was something vastly wrong with this. Not only does it seem to sexualize little girls (JonBenét Ramsey and that whole heinous pageant circle comes to mind), it asks them to stop running free. It hobbles them, literally. If I were a mom (and I'm nobody's mom, so perhaps it's unethical of me to throw stones) I would not want to see my daughter wearing high heels until she was at least in junior high -- more probably college. Or possibly never.

Do you think I'm nuts, or is there something creepy about little ladies in tall shoes? Is it wrong for moms to let their daughters wear them before, say, puberty? Take our poll and then share your thoughts in the comments field below!

To start us off, I posted a call-out amongst my friends for some juicy stories of people making a positive difference, and I think I found a winner. Yummy Coffee. According to their website:

100% of the profits generated after taxes are donated to various organizations that serve the autism community.  We hope to build a sustainable product that can change the lives of children and all those touched by autism, one sip at a time.

Not only do they work to establish sustainable coffee-growing practices with growers around the world, building schools and promoting environmentally sound business practices, they also donate their profits to help those with autism. Amazing. What could be better on a Monday than strong coffee and good intentions? Good on you, Yummy Coffee!

Image from yummycoffee.org's website

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