[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

Each year, an ever-increasing number of men, women and their families are joining the award-winning Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. A Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Event is a playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediations to sexualized violence.

There is an old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes. It's not easy walking in these shoes, but it's fun and it gets the community to talk about something that's really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence.










http://walkamileinhershoes.org/

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This campaign, started by a man, is perhaps well intentioned but really irks me. From the red stiletto on the web banner, to the pictures of men in fashionable heels, to the "tips for walking in heels" suggestions, it stinks of stereotypical images and perceptions of women, and of how a woman dresses invites sexual assault.

"A playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediation's to sexualized violence." Playful and sexual violence are two concepts that should never be associated.

I find it very sexist. Is it just me?

It's not just you.
I'm very familiar with the work of the White Ribbon Campaign, from which this endeavour sprang forth.

There is something deeply sexist about the message it brings. The 'amusement factor' of watch men tromp down the road in stiletto heels aside, there's something very 'publicity stunty' about the whole thing. Is the best way to bring issues of male violence to women ( sexual or not) by wearing your mother's or girlfriends high heels and assuming that 'walking a mile in her shoes' is going to make a difference? Let's face it, heels on or not, the power imbalance in the gender divide, and the resultant violence and oppression it brings isn't brought to surface by what feels like a well intentioned ally effort, but none the less, is still sexist. The notion that by walking in high heels they have actually 'felt what it's like to be a woman walking through this world' is as ridiculous as a white person donning black face and 'walking a a person on colour through this world' to high light racism and the violence it brings.

My other issue is creating an 'amusing' connection with sexual violence. There is no "humorous light" to sexual assault. There is no brevity and fun to it, during or after. When seen through the lens of survivors, it becomes a disgusting display. Again, the ally-ship is appreciated, but I am left with the feeling that this was and is a 'gimmick'.