I was a great fan of The Avengers when I was a child.
I’d never seen a woman as feisty as Emma Peel before – and it opened up my mind to what a woman could be! Here she is in her famous catsuit and knee high boots…
Wow, or what?
But at that time, I was a tomboy and did not Continue reading
It’s difficult for us in the modern world to imagine how small bound feet were. Whenever I say to people that some of the smallest bound feet were only 3 inches long, they register that that is small but it’s only when they see exactly how small 3 inches is, that the horror of it hits them.
In order to illustrate how tiny bound feet were for “Breaking Tradition”, my award-winning talk inspired by the stories in Bound Feet Blues, I went online to order a pair of baby shoes. I searched and searched for baby shoes that were 3 inches long but the smallest size that I could find came to just over 4 inches.
The photo above shows me holding those 4+ inch baby shoes during Continue reading
In Bound Feet Blues, I talk about how I used to envy men their solid, sturdy shoes. Men’s shoes give them the freedom to stride around as if they own the world. Whereas some women’s shoes – especially the more feminine, delicate ones – felt like they hobbled me and restricted my ability to move around.
In particular, I loved the look of brogues and longed to own a pair. But men’s shoes are of course huge and would never fit me. And I would feet too embarrassed to go into the men’s section of shoe shops to ask to try their shoes on.
The great thing now about our post-modern, post-feminist world is that there are brogues made for women – like this rather elegant pair…
Do you suffer – or have you ever suffered – from shoe envy too? And if so, what and who did you envy..?
I’ve been blogging a lot about high heels recently and in particular, my efforts to recreate a swaying, high heeled walk for a scene in Bound Feet Blues.
To give you a contrast – and especially to show you who I am now, here is a photo of the kind of footwear that I stride around in these days.
This is the pair of biker boots that I wear most often in my daily life. They are now a bit beaten up and grungy looking. But I love them because they are the most comfortable pair of boots I have at the moment.
I love the way that they make me feel a bit tough, especially with the two strapped buckles on the side. If you know me, you know that I’m really a softy and not much of a hard-ass biker chick at all – but it gives me a kick (ha ha) to stomp around in these boots that make me feel as if I could win any bar brawl…
For me, the shoes or boots that I wear can really affect Continue reading
I’ve been researching how the body moves when walking in high heels as part of the preparation for my solo show Bound Feet Blues. As I am performing the whole piece in bare feet, my aim is to give a flavour of the movements rather than walking in actual high heel shoes.
My Googling on the topic of walking in high heels took me to the Perfectly Poised website of a walking expert Martin Bell who offers a High Heels Masterclass. It looks like a brilliant service for all those women who Continue reading
To counter balance the pic of high heel shoes I posted recently – which are not really shoes I’d wear these days – what about this pair of studded and strapped biker boots for women?
Would you wear these?
I surely would love a pair!
Though I’m not sure about the spikes in the toes and around the rim which could do my pals some damage if I crossed my legs and accidentally grazed their shins under the cafe table as we sip our lattes…
I would fall off these glittery black stilettos and I wonder what they would do to your ankles, feet and posture – but I can appreciate them from afar as fabulous art. Captured by Ann Bennett in Continue reading
I used to think it was just me – that I couldn’t walk in high heels. I don’t know how many times I’ve sprained my ankles over the years wearing heels, supposedly in order to look poised and elegant. And it is excruciating when that ankle twists over and you can feel and hear your ligaments go crack…
This YouTube video shows that even
Continue reading
I workshopped Bound Feet Blues at The Centre for Solo Performance with 6 other solo performers and two facilitators. What was fascinating was that after my piece ended, in addition to giving me feedback on my performance and the structure of the script, the others in the group started talking about contemporary issues of body modification, body mutilation, the outward signifiers of feminity and masculinity and the eroticization of different part of our bodies in different cultures and times.
The facilitator had to interrupt the animated discussion to bring Continue reading
Ever since I’ve been working on my story project Bound Feet Blues, I’ve been drawn to news and other matters to do with women’s feet and shoes – especially anything that hobbles us, limits movements and involves pain.
I am excited to see a Guardian report on the rise of ugly – but comfortable – shoes.
The article quotes Natalie Kingham, head Continue reading
Bound Feet Blues - A Life Told in Shoes 