“When it comes to shoes, men make much better choices”

That is the conclusion that journalist Roni Caryn Rabin extracts from a study that found that 60% of women wear or wore in the past shoes that put them at increased risk of chronic foot pain (you guessed it: “high heels, pumps, sandals and slippers”).

The whole tone of the article and the verbal quotes from one of the female researchers border on the paternalistic/ridiculous: “It’s important to pay attention to size and width, and not just buy it because it’s cute.”

One would wish that someone writing in the NYTimes or doing research on the health sciences would be aware of the role of societal expectations and fashion in shaping agency and choice (as well as the pervasive differential impact of practices that shape and mark bodies in men and women) and would at least hint at offering a broader (societal) perspective… but, hey, that may actually put in question the existence of freedom of choice in our beloved Western societies!

Have a cute day you gals!

Full article.