Looking for RW essay about 'women wearing Mary Jane shoes & not heels are not being grownups' --

[Nay]

I have kicked myself over and over again for not saving this essay/quote/discussion I read years ago. As far as I remember, one of the RWers (could be Norquist, Horowitz, Pat Robertson) wrote an essay about how women were infantilizing themselves by wearing Mary Jane shoes (which he associated with female children), refused to wear heels (like REAL women wore); he may have also mentioned "babydoll" tops as another indication that women were refusing to 'grow up.'

It was a very weird essay/comment, because it was so blind to women as people - to him, we were all sex objects, and he seemed outraged that some of us stopped caring about whether men like him thought we were sexy (he ALWAYS said 'grown up,' though - as if he could shame women back into the clothing he found attractive).

I remember being pretty outraged, since it was so obvious to me that anything that this jerk found SEXY was what every woman around him should adopt, or those women weren't grown up. It never seemed to occur to him that 1) those shoes/clothes he found sexy were uncomfortable as hell, 2) maybe being a grownup means that women, not just men, can wear what they like and find comfy, and 3) maybe women just didn't give a shit anymore what men found sexy.

I've looked at lots of sites for the 3 RWers above, looking for the essay, but no luck. I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction. I want the essay for a post on Savage Death Island (I Blame the Patriarchy). Thanks!

[nashville_brook]

1. sounds like a Camile Paglia trope

check her columns at Salon, maybe?

[Nay]

5. I distinctly remember the writer being a well-known RW male. I actually got the vibe from him

that he wanted women to dress like his mommy did when he was a boy - that is, back when he formed his ideas of what women should look like and how they should dress.

[exboyfil]

2. High heels are stupid

I don't want my daughters wearing them (they have no desire). I want their feet to be comfortable. My wife wants to wear them, but she gave them up years ago because of her ankles. I did not miss them. I would prefer for the women in my life to be healthy, and they look great to me no matter what they are wearing because I know what is inside them.

As a side note wing tip dress shoes are uncomfortable as well. I only wear them to job interviews. I have gone to my more comfortable soft leather shoes even when I usher in church. Ties also bother me, and I only wear them ushering or on interviews again. Not only women are expected to wear uncomfortable clothes.

[obamanut2012]

3. +1

[libodem]

4. They seem dangerous to me

You could turn an ankle so easily. I'm tall and have giant feet. It seems like discrimination because I can't compete with shorties in high heels at a job interview.

I love design and I like to look at shoes and fancy clothing but I can only look.

Just cuz I can't fit into 'em doesn't mean I would fault anyone else from flashing around in sexy shoes.

But that seems to be part of the problem. They do seem in part to be about sexing us up. Not keeping us safe from falls or from crippling our feet. Very culturally embedded problem.