Why in the F*CK Do Toddler Girl's Boots Have Heels?
These boots are made for 2-year-olds—and have a 1 inch heel!
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My mom never wore heels when I was growing up. I mean, I think I remember her having heels for a wedding and the rare “fancy” event—like the one cruise ship we went on when I was a senior in high school. But otherwise, she didn’t really bother.
I honestly don’t think it was a conscious, purposeful choice for her. She’s a feminist in that she “wears the pants” around the house, worked her entire life, and isn’t submissive to my dad (much) but this is just what women of her generation did in Russia, where she grew up and lived until age 30. Everyone worked. It was communism!
Her mom, meanwhile, is very much a woman who believes women should wear makeup and “look nice” to go to the corner store and to this day, at age 77, will come to breakfast already wearing her favorite blue eyeshadow. She also wore conservative, short heels to work for her entire life.
Funnily enough, my abuela (dad’s mom) and her daughter have a similar dynamic of mom being the dress-up type and daughter being much more casual.
All four of them are strong women so I had good examples of different ways I could express myself—whether or not I chose feminine styles or not.
And so, throughout my life, I’ve moved throughout the spectrum in how I dress, style my hair, the clothes I wear, any makeup I choose to put on, and even my footwear. My shoes have been all over that spectrum too; heels, no heels, high heels, short heels, kitten heels, stiletto heels, platform heels, biker heels, and lots more no heels.
In general, probably largely due to the influence of Sex and the City in my teens, I am pro-heels. They make my legs look leaner, they make my butt “pop,” and really do make me feel more confident. When I’m wearing a favorite pair of shoes or boots with heels, and I’m in a good mood, I notice a pep in my step even when simply going from my coffee shop table to the bathroom. It’s fun!
But I’m not a wear-heels-all-day kind of person and I generally stick to shorter (2-3” is my sweet spot) and thicker heels. I haven’t owned or worn stilettos or platforms in many, many, many years. As much as I enjoy heels, I also need to enjoy my feet and walking—so comfort comes first.
They should be cute. But they need to be walkable.
I’m telling you all of this because I want you to have context for what I am about to say next…
WHY IF THE FLYING FUCK ARE THERE HEELS ON THESE TODDLER BOOTS I SAW AT TARGET?!
Perhaps you already know that this is a Thing. Maybe you are well aware that this hyper-feminine style of shoe has infiltrated the little kids market. It’s possible that I am being incredibly naive in saying all of this but, honestly, I was shocked to see these the other day.
Mind you, I know that beauty pageants for little kids exist and I’ve seen dance shoes with their itty-bitty heels at the store. But these boots…
Outside of a performative event like dance or pageants (which I don’t even want to get into), I just honestly cannot imagine buying a heeled shoe for a child who has been walking for a quarter of her life.
The boots I saw were a size 7—which the internet tells me is where this shoe starts—and made for ages 2 and up.
TWO.
2!
T. W. O.
I know that kids love to dress up, and anyone who loves Frozen (my son included) should wear things that remind them of the movie. I mean, my son’s snow boots are Frozen and he calls his purple unicorn dress his “Elsa dress.” So YAY Frozen!
But there’s just something about seeing these boots with a heel that is making my skin crawl. And I just… can’t.
I can’t understand. I am trying, but I just really, really can’t.
As a feminist, as someone who loves heels, as someone who loves wearing “girly” clothes and buys those for kids… I just cannot understand the existence of these boots. Not just that I can’t understand what all those product and marketing people at Disney were thinking when they created these. And not just parents who think these are cute and tell their kids “okay” when they ask to get these. But the sheer existence of these boots in the universe, out here, for everyone to see, for (mostly) little girls to wear… I don’t get it.
We can fill books and books (and people have) about the early sexualization of girls and women, about how this is happening younger and younger, about how feminine ideals of beauty are toxic to our culture and propagated by the male gaze, about issues surrounding commercialization and gender stereotypes and all the things.
But at the end of the day, there exists a boot for a child as young as 2 years old that has the distinct feminine, sexualized feel that only a heel provides—AND I AM NOT OKAY WITH THAT.
While heels were originally made for men and all that, today they are symbols of a particular kind of femininity. This isn’t up for debate. They just are. And there is something about all of this that’s making me so goddamn uncomfortable. Even though I know girls are sexualized at an early age and I think that is just so, so horrible, it never once occurred to me that toddler girls are already suffering from this societal problem, too.
Oh, and this isn’t even to mention the harm that heels do to our bodies! Are we seriously subjecting a person who can’t even put on their shoes to have early back problems?
I. JUST. DO. NOT. GET. IT.
I can probably rant about this for another 50,000 words, add tons of research that supports my argument, and get super extra furious about all this, but I’m not going to allow these goddamn boots to take up that much of my mental and physical energy.
Still… I am going to remain confused, upset, and angry about the existence of these boots for a good long while—not that I need another reason to be angry at this white hetero-patriarchal society that we’re living in. And yet, here I am, goddamn fucking angry once more.
Join me in conversation… What do YOU think about these boots? Are you generally pro-heels for yourself? Do you think I’m making too much of these? Do you totally hate the bullshit that comes about because of the goddamn patriarchy, too? I’d love to hear from all of you!
Talk soon,
Irina (she/her) - raising a March 2020 gen alpha kid