First of all, I offer you the above.
Then I offer you these:
You imagine these are comfortable to wear? The wires alone dig into the skin leaving terrible marks, sometimes the ends break loose and pierce the skin. Many scientific studies show they might even cause cancer from restricting the breasts so tightly.
As for the so called shoes, many I know (usually short women) had to have bunions removed surgically. And other appalling distortions of the feet. We don't need foot binding done to us, we do it to ourselves. I only had to look at Nancy Pelosi staggering around on hers in Taiwan and want to scream at the screen: "Wear comfy shoes Nancy, you're allowed, you're 82!"
And if you're a man reading this, imagine binding up your dangly bits in wire and rigid satin and teetering around in six inch (or any inch) heels. And thrusting all of yourself outwards in enticement. How long would you last?
And PS full confession: I did these nasty things to myself even though five foot eight. But not for long. And never in the last twenty five years.
But I so wish other women would wake up sooner and stop this spanxy self-torture and mutilation. But yeah, I know, ageism and so called beauty products are a trillion dollar industry.
Greetings from another 5'8" WWW! Your post reminded me of an amusing exchange between a mullah and Richard Dawkins. The mullah: "You dress your women like prostitutes!" RD's rather whiney response: "They dress themselves!"
ReplyDeleteThe days of wearing high heels are behind me. I do have a few pair, still in my closet. I might put them on at some time, but probably not. I did like high heels with pants because so many of my pants looked better on my very short legs (24 inch inseam) if they were a bit longer which could be done if I wore the heels. As for bras, I love wacoal brand as they support and do it comfortable. Same with Lillyette.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very, very long time since I have worn shoes with heels. A decision I have no intention of changing. I do wear underwire bras - but not like the ones depicted. Nothing like the ones depicted.
ReplyDeleteI wore Walcol bras, a good and comfortable-ish choice for my oversized chest. Several granddaughters have the same chest, and I took one to Victoria's Secret to get a proper measurement and decent bras. What a joke. They determined her size by fitting a push up bra over her clothes and jogging bra. We left. She is doomed to those elastic bras until she grabs the problem with both hands herself.
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh with the "men and their dangley bits! You can be sure they'd never torture "the jewels" the way women torture their breasts and feet! The 60s came along just as I was entering my teens and released me from the torture of bristley hair curlers, high heels and pointy, un-natural looking bras. But the natural look seems to havre run its course and now young women are back to torturing themselves - but me? I'm sticking with what's comfortable!
ReplyDeleteIt used to be so easy and now I'm "anonymous. Molly here!
ReplyDeleteCome fuck me pumps were never wearable for me, and I've not worn a bra in over two years. I hope you've had a good day?
ReplyDeletehahaa i love your title!
ReplyDeleteBring on the next rant.
btw, I'm in total agreeement
The bra on that woman is too small. A good bra is not supposed to restrict the breast, but to support it, so the weight does not drag on neck and shoulder/back muscles. Those with smaller boobs, be thankful! As for the high heeled tight toe shoes, I have never worn any such thing and never will. A neighbour here wore them from the time she was about 16, a "dedicated follower of fashion", I saw her feet a while ago, when she asked me if I had any idea how to ease the pain from her bunions. Her hugely inflamed large red bunions. and OMG! her toes, were permanently bent horizontal to her feet. It was sickening to see.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you will understand my not commenting. Even on the bit about men!
ReplyDelete'Tis an odd thing because I don't recall men ever asking women to wear stillies, corsets or anything similar. Straight men seem to love women and their bodies, large or small regardless. They may be impressed by a woman looking fabulous but men are very base(needs one of those French thingies above a letter) creatures. At the end of the day they want a woman's body. I think women are their own worst enemies in this regard, as they compete with each other to look better for the attention of men.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, I had some good laughs. And I will always remember a long term lover of mine telling me "the sexiest thing about a woman is the way she feels about herself". Truer words never spoken, our insecurities about our looks, encouraged from a very young age ("never quite enough, why don't you try this, that and the other") really affect our confidence.
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Well, you know my opinion about all these painful and restrictive garments so many women still wear (you forgot pencil skirts and shapewear). I don't know why they put up with them. Even if their employer demands them, if enough women refused to wear such things, their employer would have to give way. And yes, no man would ever submit to a wired bra digging into his dangly bits. By the way, crop top bras are getting popular over here, apparently much more comfortable than traditional wired or unwired bras.
ReplyDeleteNick I did mention Spanx which is the shapewear brand here. Marvelous innovations (must be women) in bra wear and I own a few which distribute the weight across the back and not on those poor suffering shoulder blades with the deep gouge marks. And I didn't mention pockets which deserves a post of its own. The lack of pockets on most women's wear drives me berserk. But strides are being made with women not buying those stupid pocketless pants and skirts.
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Perhaps if high heels were renamed foot clamps, which is what they really are, they might be less popular.
DeleteYes, pockets! You've struck all the complaints I have for what women allow themselves to be subjected to in the way of "flopper stoppers", "hinder-binders" and ridiculous shoes. I, too, went along with it all when I was young. I'm sure to have not worn high heels would have prevented my being hired at the TV station, for example, when I consider the culture there. That would likely have been, and may still be true, when showing up for a personal interview for many positions. Men were the ones doing most of the job interviewing and hiring in my day. I heard some of the judgements they made about women's appearance and what they expected so are hardly immune from having influence on how women have chosen to attire themselves to get a job. Who designs the shoes and run many of the fashion shows and then there's how they show women in movies, on TV. I hoot at movies in chase scenes with women running in heels.
ReplyDeleteYes, Joared, it was a job requirement in my time too. Highest heels and skirts just so. And one company I worked for paid for the upkeep of front line (reception, marketing, sales) hair styling and colouring. I had to manage all of this. Including other awful stuff like bosses hitting on my female staff. I believe we have come some ways but have far, far to go still. Pockets and sports bras are hugely helpful. And sensible shoes. And pants being accepted in the workplace. Forbidden when I started out. The young 'uns have no idea of what we had to suffer.
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I don't! Never did, I hate clothes that hurts or hinder. I love barefoot, and can be seen in ninja boots quite often. The last time I wore heels at all - and sensible ones at that - was at my wedding ;)
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I wear remotely similar to this, is a sports top when exercising, dangling boobs are unpractical for gymnastics!
I also go for pockets! and practicality in clothes, hence wearing mostly men's jeans and shirts. A luck I'm a big one ;)
Dressing nice for me means clean, no holes, maybe newly ironed, if I'm in luck even matching colours and very seldom a skirt. Like most men, I have one "nice dressing up" worn for all solemn occasions.
I am very proud to admit Charlotte that I no longer own a dress or a skirt. And Ironing is a thing of the past, thank heaven. Wrinkled cotton is beautiful. I have this white linen shirt that pleases me no end. I can't count the years I dressed to please so I could hold down a job to support my family. I feel the freedom now and cherish it.
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I never wore high heels; my age group, twenty in 1968, had thankfully "thrown off the mantle of male oppression" or something like that to the wearing of controlling footwear but the truth is I always found them unbelievably uncomfortable and they made me feel very unsteady. when walking
ReplyDeleteEven now I have to be persuaded into something other than slippers if there's a wedding or a funeral.
Don't get me started on the wedding clobber, Anne. Such a huge waste of money when everyone could have more fun in jeans and T-shirts and sneakers. I'd love to see someone break the mold on that one and donate what they saved to the homeless and start a trend!
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My comments seem to be missing...
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