The Warrior

Last week at the WorkSource Job Club, we had a wonderful, detailed presentation by the human resources director from the City of Tacoma, on effectively applying for work there. She was down to earth, humorous and practical. Listening, I felt somewhat motivated in my work search, although the chances that I would find a position with the City, or wish to, are slim. I began to feel somewhat challenged in my sense of autonomy as the talk progressed, when she began to stress the level of competition for jobs, and the expectation that people "hit the ground running" on beginning a job.

While that expectation is by no means unreasonable, I began to feel smaller, less confident, and feel my energy and "power" leak out, when presented with the prospect of high competition. Combined with the State's expectations that we find jobs which are immediately a good fit, lest we fail and lose our unemployment compensation, my thoughts of roboticization increased, along with a snowballing sense of disempowerment. I began to feel grumpy.

This feeling came to a peak when the powerpoint illustration of appropriate attire for job interviews was presented. Now, I haven't recently fallen off of a turnip truck, and I can tell the difference between professional attire and candidates for the Jerry Springer show. I'm confident I can dress myself appropriately. However, there was a caricature of a woman in a skirt and high heels, and [gotta love my mouthy, Inner Brat] I blurted out, "I'm not wearing pantyhose and high heels to an interview." To which the new director of the Job Club, Mick, snapped back, "then you won't get the job!"

Well, this may be true. And equally true is that, it wouldn't be the job for me. This is not sour grapes, just a realistic assessment of where I do and don't belong in the world of industry. There is a place where I no doubt will shine, and a place where a job cannot be found without wearing high heels for an interview probably is not it. However, I did at that point, feel extremely disempowered. My buttons had been pushed. Over the course of the next day, while I fumed about this exchange, and the lack of belief in the equality of women and men which was so blatantly and flippantly exposed by Mick, my warrior paint went on.

I went online and found numerous articles, posted amidst the plethora of ads for high heels, on the evils of wearing them. I intend to look for an opportunity to kindly and respectfully enlighten people at the Job Club in the morning. Enclosed for your amusement is the article I wrote based on this information:

Problems with wearing high heeled shoes are well-documented. Although popular with many people, shoes with high heels should never be considered the only choice in professional footwear for a number of reasons, including discomfort, pain, risk of injuries, and permanent anatomical changes. Risks of these complications are worsened with increased height of the heels.

The most elementary reason a person might choose to avoid heels is simple: discomfort. Walking in heels shortens calf muscles and changes the gait. Natural walkers, walking barefoot, shorten and lengthen their tendons to achieve power; people walking in heels primarily flex their quadriceps and calf muscles. Tendons are more effective springs than muscles, so more energy is required to cover the same distance wearing heels, which increases fatigue. This factor also increases the risk of strain injuries.

Mere discomfort can give way to actual pain with continued use of high-heeled shoes. A wearer may experience pain in the toes, heels, calf muscles, and back, and develop pain in the ball of the foot, referred to as "metatarsalgia."

Wearing high heels over an extended length of time may cause actual anatomical changes in the feet, such as bunions, a shortened Achilles tendon, hammer toes, a decrease in the fat cushion in the ball of the foot, which causes increased pressure on the bones of the foot; "Morton's Neuroma," a growth and inflammation of the nerves of the foot; and "Haglund's Deformity" of the Achilles tendon, also called "pump bump."

Changes in the knees include osteoarthritis from continually adjusting for imbalance. Postural changes while wearing high heels are caused by plantar flexion of the foot, which in turn can cause muscle overuse and back pain, as well as flattening of the pelvic spine.

Women should be, and in fact are, free to use footwear of their choice when selecting professional attire, and there are many healthy and attractive alternatives. To suggest that women in particular should be devoid of choice in something as personal as footwear, with their health at stake, is truly to denigrate the station and status of women.

Professionals Cited:
John Anderson, MD, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.
Neal M. Blitz, D.P.M.
Dr. Neil J. Cronin, postdoctoral researcher at Griffin University in Queensland, Australia.
Dr. Casey Kerrigan, Harvard Medical School, Boston Massachusetts.
Dr. Morris Morin, podiatric medicine division of Hackensack University Medical Center.
Dr. Andrew Schneider, Tanglewood Foot Specialists, Houston, Texas.
Andrew Shapiro, D.P.M., American Podiatric Association.
Terence Vanderheidon, D.P.M.