Jessica, looking at the picture of that heel reminds me of the Silk Stalkings episode "If the Shoe Fits". In the beginning of that episode, a man is stabbed to death by a woman walking all over him in heels similar to the one in the picture.

And if there is anything high heels are good for, it is stabbing assholes who give women no repsect.

What the fuck, Italy?! What. the. fuck.

Remember that lovely Italian Supreme Court ruling last year? (15 year old rape victim's sexual history- specifically her lack of virginity- should have been considered in her step-father's trial.)

The wine might be good but the gendered attitudes need some serious adjustment.

What the . . . @%@#^*@#%@&!(*#&

Part of the problem seems to have been the sizing - I'm assuming the picture above isn't actually one of the uniform heels. Hopefully when the sizes are fixed they'll be more comfortable.

The sick thing is that the shoe controversy isn't about the ridiculous fact that woman are expected to wear high heels.

The scandal, according to the article, is that the ministry ended up wasting a lot of money because many of the shoes were poorly made and didn't fit.

I found it a little odd that the focus of the article was not that female police officers are being forced to wear heels, but that the Italian government has wasted money by purchasing shoes that do not fit properly. This leads me to ask a couple of questions that were not evident in the article. How high are the heels and what is the shape of the toe? Are these shoes for the officers walking the streets (that seems impracticle) or are these part of a dress uniform (do police officers have a dress uniform like military personal?)? Also, how do the female officers feel about wearing the shoes, assuming that they fit properly?

So this isn't exactly a feminist observation, just an Italian observation: good grief, those Italian women are capable in high heels! I did a study-abroad session there last summer, and was amazed at how easily the women there seemed to be able to walk over cobblestoned streets in 4-inch stiletto heels. I'm pretty sure I'd wipe out on the sidewalk if I attempted the same thing. I mean, the only thing I didn't see Italian women doing in heels was jogging. Everything else was done in 4-inch stilettos, by everyone- old women, young women, teenagers, everyone. I don't think I saw an Italian woman in a flat shoe all summer.

Heel talk always makes me think of my great-Aunt, who wore heels every day of her life, until she was about 85 and developed arthritis so bad that continuing to wear heels was dangerous for her. Her doctor said that the arthritis had definitely been exacerbated by the heels; indeed, the heels might have caused the arthritis to begin with. Arthritis was the only thing wrong with her, but it limited her mobility which brought on other health problems that eventually killed her.

But her legs sure looked good in those heels!

If they're going to do stilettos, then how about real stilettos embedded in one's shoe (scroll to the bottom), like Rosa Klebb (played by Lotte Lenya) in From Russia With Love?

Holy crap.

High heels are bad for your feet, knees, and back, and for many of us, they hurt like hell regardless of shape. I'd like to see men try to get around in those damn things all day.

I personally think cops should be wearing combat boots. Makes a lot more sense.

On this site: http://jezebel.com/gossip/the-da-wears-prada/italy-orders-stilettos-for-lady-cops-and-it-gets-so-much-more-ridiculous-304767.php

it looks as though the female police officers are wearing the high heels for everyday duty.

However as ridiculous as it may seem to me, I don't see anywhere in the article implying that they were FORCED to wear the high heels. It may just be irresponsible journalism, but the clear implication was that they wanted high heels, in fact they requested them in the first place.

Heels give me the serious wig - I occasionally wear them, provided I'm going somewhere that will require absolutely *no walking*, but otherwise it's flats all the way. This is at least in part due to stories my Dad told me about his great aunt; she wore heels constantly from the time she was in her teens, and by the time she was in her late fifties, she literally couldn't walk out of them. The muscles in her legs had gotten so screwed up that she could no longer put her foot flat on the floor. *Shudders*

Don't female cops in Italy do thing like, you know... chase people? Ever?

(this being Italy, I wouldn't be surprised if they only were allowed to work behind a desk.)

Because if not, it's seems, well, even MORE insane. You know, like selecting tiny pink .22s instead of Glocks because they look better. Or something.

Oh, well. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem the most important issue at the moment, here in Italy. Just think that today, the association of doctors is “seriously worried� as the number of female doctors is increasing, surpassing the number of male ones (http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2007/09_Settembre/26/troppe_donne_tra_i_medici.shtml: title means: “Doctors’ alert: too many women�. And the whole article, publicized on the major Italian newspaper, emphasizes this concern asking: “How could a man be examined by a female urologist?�).
Sorry for my poor English.

“How could a man be examined by a female urologist?"

Dear god. Probably the same way we women have been examined by male gynos all these years.

"Ahhh! Men delivering babies! How is it possible?!"

I hope they aren't wearing these on patrol.

After a wedding I worked last February, I refuse to wear heels ever again. I bought new shoes, broke them in, and didn't have a single problem. Yet after 8 hours of running around in them my feet hurt so bad I couldn't walk and my big toenails became bruised. They died, and fell off. 6 months later I finally have mostly normal looking big toenails, though they're still exceptionally ugly (uglier than before).

Let me tell you, having to pull of your toenail because it was falling off due to wearing heels for one night sucks.

I'm a recovering high heel wearer, and I'll never go back. I got my first bunion this past April, and it was hard to give them up, but now I can't imagine wearing them for anything other than a special occasion. I can walk much faster in flats, and I'm not as tired at the end of the day. I really think that heels can exhaust you if you do even a moderate amount of walking.

Sounds like the guyz in the upper echelons of the Italian police don't really think women can do the job of a "real" police officer, so they force them to dress like they're part of a burlesque act. After all, we all know how crucial it is for police to have that male upper male body strength. Puh-lease! That argument is such a bucket of hot shit. When was the last time you saw a cop in hand-to-hand combat where brute strength was the deciding factor?

As for the guyz' "problem" being treated by female physicians, last spring my dumb-ass boyfriend had a bicycle mishap that left one of his gonads in pain, so after a day of that, I forced him to go to the emergency room (I don't give a fuck if this sounds sexist -- most males are too damn stupid to go to the doctor unless a woman forces them). He was kind of amazed that he was treated for this problem by a young female doctor (as if they would group all the "testicle" problems together and assign them to a male physician). He did admit that she was completely professional and -- amazingly, he thought -- didn't make any snide wisecracks but got him out of there very quickly. The problem, he admitted, was HIM, because he was almost too embarrassed to let her check him!!!! As if she was going to find it a sexual experience. WTF! I pointed out to him that my ob-gyn was a male (I've since switched), and he didn't know how to react to that. My b/f is a good guy, but this opened my eyes that males seem to view their every encounter with women as a possible sexual experience -- another hurdle for women in the medical profession.

fyi, these are most likely not the real police (Polizia), but rather the Carabinieri or "show police." The latter are basically paid to look good, male or female.

Which is why, Jacki, married men are healthier than single men. Their wives make them go to the doctor.

I'm also a recovered high heel wearer, and once I stopped, I felt like I'd left some kind of cult. At this point, I have trouble understanding why anyone wears them. I think this summarizes it quite well:

"High heels are bad for your feet, knees, and back, and for many of us, they hurt like hell regardless of shape. I'd like to see men try to get around in those damn things all day."

Given the fact that high heels are so uncomfortable and terrible for your body, why on earth do people willingly strap them to their feet?

The only answer I had was "because they lengthened my legs". Which is a ridiculous notion in itself--why does it matter so much? Is it solely to attract men? If so, and these men are *only* drawn by a 'longer leg', why would we want to be with them in the first place?

My toes were crunched, curled and calloused, my feet cramped, and my lower back strained. I also looked "weaker" and certainly couldn't get around as easily. And yet, I still see hordes of women wearing high heels and stilettos, traipsing around campuses and downtown streets for great lengths of time. Some have to take breaks in order to reach their destination. Others refuse to date men their own height because 'they can't wear heels'.

Bottom line, the entire trend reeks of irrationality (and I include my past choices in that assessment). I can't find anything in it that makes sense.

Aren't high heels, to and extent, a tamer version of self-imposed foot binding?

I currently wear a pair of low heels to work, and it sucks. I'd replace 'em with a pair of flats if I could find flats that weren't too point, narrow, or flimsy for my feet.

"The only answer I had was 'because they lengthened my legs'. Which is a ridiculous notion in itself--why does it matter so much? Is it solely to attract men?"

I read another take on that, by Matenneh Dunbar Millar-Jaja, a while ago:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6215401.stm

"...I believe I may have had less than 20 pairs of low shoes in my whole adult life - not because I do not like them, but these days my back aches when I am not propped up against the sky..."

She also has beauty-type reasons for wearing heels, but the "propped up against the sky" part just reminded me that heels don't just make one's legs look longer and supposedly sexier, they also keep one's head a bit higher up from the ground...

Which is why, Jacki, married men are healthier than single men. Their wives make them go to the doctor.

Amen to that sister. My DH had a disfiguring, uncomfortable, embarassing fungal skin condition all over his body, and PUT UP WITH IT FOR TEN YEARS, until I made him go to the doctor. Cleared up with 7 days of pills.

Truly, this may actually be why married men live longer and are healthier. (Well, that and the homemade food)

How are you supposed to chase criminals in high heels? I can barely work a 4-hour shift in high-heels, let alone do any of the stuff that police officers do. Geez.

The use of the word "forced" in the title of this post is absolutely misleading, as well as the photo of a high stiletto shoe that has nothing to do with the one in question.

The photo on the jezebel blog does NOT depict an italian police officer.

The shoes are for parades and office duty not for patrol duty.

The Carabinieri are not the "show police" (Jane where did you get that!?!?) but are actually much more active and trusted than the police in law enforcement.

This is the original article from La Stampa where you can see the shoes and the uniforms:
http://www.lastampa.it/Torino/cmsSezioni/cronaca/200709articoli/4561girata.asp

What a mess!

GoodMorning - my apologies - I got the roles of the Polizia and Carabinieri mixed up. But I got my facts from friends and family, and know one of the two commands less respect. :)