Walk A Mile in Her Shoes '13

[Stephanie47]

My local newspaper has had several advertisements for the annual "Walk A Mile in Her Shoes '13" on May 3rd.

When I worked in the business district of my city (200,000) the "parade" of men was almost comical. Too many chose to walk in nothing more than feminine looking flip-flops. Ugh! Cop out! After several years there were several who actually tried walking in heels, but, they were truly new to walking in heels or they did a very good job of hiding any expertise they may have had walking in heels. On one occasion the women in my office, who were watching, were making comments as to whether any of the men were cross dressers. There were several who were pegged as cross dressers.

Anyone on this forum ever participate in the "Walk A Mile in Her Shoes" in heels? And, if so, did anyone appear totally en femme?

[NV Susan]

Hi Stephanie, I never did the "walk a mile in her shoes" but would love to do it.....in heels!!!

[2B Natasha]

Hi Stephanie.

I do the walk a mile in her shoes in Tacoma. Year 5 for me this year. Btw. I always wear heels. 3" minimum.
Funny you should mention the flip flops. Those are all the city prosecutors from the city and county. But good on them for being there. It is fun to make the turn by the offices. All the people standing there gawking.

I have seen one cd walking. I have mixed feelings about this. The event is at its hart about women and the violence against them. While they do throw in sexual assault to other groups. It not really about them.

So. Ill there this year again. In 4" espadrilles or 3" heels. The concrete is just so damn hard on heels that they are almost destroyed at the end.

Cheers

[stephNE]

I would love to do it, any one know about an event in northern Virginia or Washington DC? I would be happy to wear my heels, but I probably would not dress en femme.

[2B Natasha]

I would love to do it, any one know about an event in northern Virginia or Washington DC? I would be happy to wear my heels, but I probably would not dress en femme.

Here is the link to the event calendar. Scroll through the months to find one near you.

http://www.walkamileinhershoes.org/calendar.html#.UTe8YPq9LCQ

Cheers

[kimdl93]

Is that a 13 in women's size?

[2B Natasha]

Is that a 13 in women's size?

What does this reference?

[Stephanie47]

No, it's short for 2013


Is that a 13 in women's size?

[Genifer Teal]

I have always wanted to do one. I may, as there is one soon close by. Should I try to hide my femininity (since it is designed for men) or embrace it? I will obviously wear my highest heels and prance expertly in them. How should I dress?

[Stevie]

I would like to try that one day. Haven't heard of that in my area..

[Beverley Sims]

No, but if I had the opportunity today and the circumstance right I would probably do it.

[Debglam]

I did one and really enjoyed it. A lot of fun and for a very good cause. 5 inch, bright red heels BTW.

As a side note, the River City Gems (http://www.rivercitygems.org) were volunteering at the event. Seeing these awesome women out and about gave me the courage to contact them and come out of the closet myself.

[Leslie Langford]

Up until last year, the now-defunct Canadian Stylesense division of T. J. Maxx used to put on a stiletto sprint challenge every fall for the same purpose. It was actually open to both men and women - albeit competing separately - but with the added wrinkle that the top prize for the winner of the women's competition was $10,000, while for the men, it was only $1,000 (sexism?). The other stipulation was that the heels hed to be at least 3" high, represent less than 1" x 1" of contact area on the ground (i.e. true stilettos), and with no wedges or similar non-conforming heel shapes allowed.

Interestingly enough, over the past couple of years the men held a pretty good account of themselves, and the time recorded for the winner of the men's division was within a hair's breadth of the one for the winning female.

Were these high-performing males actually closeted CDers who had amassed the same type of experience wearing heels that we typically do? We'll never know as this was never made clear, but if I were a betting person...

That said, here is also a short video clip featuring the owner of Toronto's iconic "Walk on the Wildside" CD boutique that addresses the perennial question of where can men buy women's high heels in their typically larger sizes. Not much real news here for the members of our community (been there, done that), but perhaps a bit of an eye-opener for "mainstream" folks, and a cute take on the issue...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LCnfFRhtcLY

[Melissa Rose]

In Sacramento, CA, the first Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event was in 2011 which is the one Debglam referred to above. It was/is organized by Weave Inc. which is the domestic violence and sexual assault non-profit agency serving Sacramento County. http://www.weaveinc.org/post/walk-mile-her-shoes-2013-registration-now-open The 2012 event raised over $230,000 for Weave and had 450 men walking a mile in heels. Walk a Mile is the largest single fund raising event for Weave, thus it is a big deal.

This event is to highlight domestic violence and/or sexual assault against women, and it is intended for men to participate as walkers hence the name. If you want to support the organization doing Walk A Mile then do it as a guy. It is not an excuse or opportunity to cross dress in public - it is not Halloween. This is not an event to participate in as a cross dresser, and IMHO doing so disrespects the real meaning behind the event. This has nothing to do with Walk A Mile or Weave being anti-transgender (I work part time at Weave and I'm transgendered). Transmen would be welcome to particulate. At past events, a few men have shown up dressed up, but it is more for laughs and grins since they are not putting much effort into looking like a women. Since the walkers are sponsored as part of the fund raising effort, some dress up as part of obtaining sponsorships (e.g., such as an incentive to donate and see them walk in a dress). I have mixed feeling about this, but it has always come across with the best intentions and not having fun at the expense of the transgender community.

I worked as an event day volunteer in 2011 (and was one of the girls seen by Debglam), but was out of town for the 2012 event. This year I will be up to my plucked eyebrows in Walk A Mile. I now work at Weave Inc., mainly with the volunteer coordinator and community outreach manager, so we are already in full scale preparation for the May 4 event and already had the first kick off event. As of last Friday, 120 men have already registered. I spent about 5 hours over the last week sorting through hundreds of shoes with most being red pumps in sizes 11-15, and there are still many more boxes to go. The 2013 event is being held at the Capital Mall, thus in the shadow of the California State capital building. The goal this year is to raise $300,00 and have 600 men walking. On Thursday evening, a local bar has Drag Queen Bingo which is a once a month event. This particular event is a fund raising event for Walk A Mile. I will be there working as part of the Weave team.

In 2011 I helped with shoe fitting in the morning of the event. Most of the men had no problems walking in the heels and got it down almost instantly. There were too many for all of them to be cross dressers. If any were cross dressers, some may pretend to be bad at walking in heels as to not out themselves since they would be self conscious about it. Trying to detect the cross dressers solely based on their ease of walking in heels would mostly be a guessing game.

[Lynn Marie]

So Stephanie 47, are you going to do the walk?

[DressForSuccess]

Sounds like a fun event. If I were to go to one, sadly I would be one of the men in sandals. I am not as comfortable in public as some of the ladies on here.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Stephanie, If I ever get to (Walk a mile in her shoes) I will probably get nailed.

[JamieG]

I've been actively supportive of women's issues in the last few years. As such, I tried to do a Walk a Mile at the last minute last year, but they didn't have anything in my size. My feet were too small for the available heels! I did carry a placard and gave pointers to a few friends (they knew that I had performed in a charity drag show before and asked "How do you walk in these things?"). If I do it again, I'm bringing my own heels!

[max]

On one occasion the women in my office, who were watching, were making comments as to whether any of the men were cross dressers. There were several who were pegged as cross dressers.

These people are out there to show support and women are using that as an occasion to out people? That's pretty shitty. Who would want to support that?

[Mollyanne]

I have always wanted to do one. I may, as there is one soon close by. Should I try to hide my femininity (since it is designed for men) or embrace it? I will obviously wear my highest heels and prance expertly in them. How should I dress?

Dress the way you would feel the most comfortable

Molly

[Shananigans]

Walking around downtown in heels...

Just to make this more realistic, they should send a siege of homeless men after you and arm you with "monkey balls." (http://www.monkeyknuts.com/Monkey-Knuts-Monkey-Fist-Keychain-Knut-Buster.html).

Or, maybe, that's just walking a mile in a Birminghamian Woman's shoes.

And, have it required to have a heel...and, pave the way in gravel.

If they made it into a full-blown obstacle course with pits of various substances to fall in...or, random cabs drive by as you near a curb and effectively drench you in water...

I'd donate a lot to that...if I had money. But, this could also just be a hit TV show to see men run around in heels inside of a full-blown obstacle course...