High Stepping Shoes

Shoes make a statement about who you are. Remember the sayings: “Put your best foot forward” and “Put your foot down”?

For a man or a woman, I always look at a person’s shoes when sizing them up. Are they traditional? Outrageous? Solid or sensual? At the office, it always made me chuckle when the reporting structure changed and the guys had a new boss. Suddenly they changed from the tasseled loafers of the old boss to the brogues worn by the new boss. For both genders, a shoe style is a signal about how you choose to be in the world. But it is especially true for women, as we have so many styles from which to choose. How you dress your feet tells the rest of the world what you think is important and how you expect to be treated. That’s why the stilletto is a perfect shoe for me right now as I reclaim my feminine power.

For many years, I operated in a man’s world and I brought out my stillettos only for special occasions. Those were events where I stood tall and was proud of the feminine form. However, on most working days I put my stillettos (and my femininity) back in the closet. I knew that to be feminine was perceived as a weakness in the traditional patriarchal system, and I wanted to be considered strong and capable in the traditional male sense of the world. I believed it improved my chances of being taken seriously as a leader.

Now I realize how off balance I became as I denied who I really was. With all those years of practicing masculine power, it is now firmly entrenched in my being and it is time to bring forth both my yin and my yang. Its time to access the divine feminine form literally and symbolically. There is no better way to see it or feel it than in stilletto heels. I have a feeling that I’m not alone in this: for women it is time to command our power and stand up for ourselves and that means being proud of who we are – proud of our talents, differences and value systems. We have lots to be proud of and we need to celebrate. There is no better way to do it than with a new pair of shoes. I am writing this from Egypt where one of the Fatimid (Shiite rulers) named Hakim banned women’s shoes in the eleventh century. It was his way of keeping them indoors. So I say let’s make a statement – it’s time to step out and enjoy being a girl! Get on those stillettos and stand tall!