High Heels Sociology

Barbara Kingsolver in the personal essay “Life Without Go-Go Boots” argues that people should not feel obligated to conform to society, instead they should embrace their individuality. Kingsolver supports her claim by using chronological order and figurative language. The author takes the reader from elementary school to middle and high school and finally to college and adulthood. The author uses chronological study to show the reader how her style and yearn to be fashionable evolved as she got older and more mature. When she became an adult, Kingsolver realized that conformity was not worth sacrificing happiness and comfort. Kingsolver also incorporates hyperbole into her writing. “High fashion has the shelf like of potato salad, and when

A strict social hierarchy existed in Europe in the late 16th century where gender, wealth, inherited position and political power affected everyone's social status. Upper class people and lower class people were treated completely different solely based on what they were wearing, how nice quality it was, etc. Similarly today many people do the same thing; whether someone has Lululemon leggings or the most expensive shoes vs. generic clothing brands.

In the novella, “The House on Mango Street,” by Sandra Cisneros, the symbol of shoes represents how attractive you are and how you are portrayed by society. For example, “It’s Rachel who learns to walk the best all strutted in those magic high heels. She teaches us to cross and uncross our legs, and to run like a double dutch rope, and how to walk down to the corner so that the shoes talk back to you.” (pg. 40). This quote shows how Esperanza and her friends want to act very mature and lady like, and how the shoes play a huge role in this.

There are many subcultures around us but there is one that gets people's attention the most. This subcultures is mainly inspired or mainly used by “basketball players and young adults” (Martin). Sneakerheads culture impact on society by giving young adults respect for having “ the latest and limited sneakers” (Martin). The subculture sneakerheads started in the “early 70s and late 80s” (Martin). This trend was “part of Burgeoning B-boy and Hip-Hop movement of N.Y.” (Lammle).

We come across many different cultures and fashion in our society. Some may indicate that the culture influences one’s fashion while others may oppose and state that each aspect stands alone. Fashion and culture fall into the following identity categories: chosen and assigned. Culture affects many parts of an individual, in some cases you can determine an individual 's culture by their speech and clothing; in addition to traditions and the environment in which they were raised. Whereas fashion may be impacted by culture and tradition, but it may also not interact with culture at all.

The first few times you see shoes mentioned is irrelevant, but once you get to the chapter “The Family of Little Feet,” shoes begin to take on a meaning. A woman came up to Esperanza and her friends Rachel and Lucy, offering a bag of shoes which were said to be “one pair of lemon shoes and one red and one pair of dancing shoes that used to be white but were now pale blue” (40). The girls were excited by the shoes, made clear by the line “Hurray! Today we are Cinderella because our feet fit exactly” (40). They even go as far to describe them as “magic high heels” (40) while they were learning to walk in them. Soon, however, this innocence and joy get tainted once the girls go walking in the shoes, first having Mr. Benny, the grocer, say, “Them are dangerous. You girls too young to be wearing shoes like that” (41). But this didn’t faze the girls, and they continued walking. They enjoyed the attention they were getting, Esperanza even saying, “these are the best shoes. We will never go back to wearing the other

It all started with a Jumpman and a swoosh, it was more than just a shoe it was the start of a culture. What most people look at as just a shoe to protect their feet has a story behind it and a deeper meaning to me and many others than “just a pair of shoes”. Don’t put on a pair of shoes unless you know how to wear them right. For every pair I own I could explain the troubles I went through and the people I met to get each sneaker. The best feeling was opening that fresh shoe box and taking out that paper wrapping. Putting on each new pair of sneakers is like taking a breath of fresh air each pair crisp as bacon. I am one among many sneakerheads, people who love to buy, sell, trade, and collect rare shoes. There is a culture, lifestyle, and history behind sneaker collecting. Most people would think dropping hundreds if not thousands on a pair of shoes is crazy but I believe sneakers are essential.

In the text “Exposed Toes” the author, Diane Riva, reflects on her collection of shoes and how each pair has a meaning to her. She describes how each pair of shoe she owns relates to a specific memory or time period in her life. She asserts that shoes can tell stories of our lives and are not just an article of clothing that we wear on our feet. Riva goes through all the shoes she owns and explains their story and how the shoe is a part of her life. For example, she brings up her black sneakers which are worn when we works at a bar. She states, “they are constant recipients of the over-filled glass of alcohol.” From this we learn her profession and get some insight on her memories as a bartender. Riva talks about all of her shoes in this manner

Christian Louboutin once said “a shoe has so much more to offer than just to walk”. Similarly, author Diane Riva discusses this idea in her essay “Exposed Toes”. Riva takes a compelling approach to her argument believing that shoes are not just part of your wardrobe rather they are your identity. For Riva, her black sneakers represent her career life as they are the shoes she wears to work, her boat shoes resemble her connection with nature, her high-heel dress shoes speak for her elegance, her sandals represent her spontaneous self and lastly her “shoes of choice” are her natural feet as they represent everything about Riva’s world and go with her everywhere. Overall, Riva express that her shoes are her identity and each pair resemble apart of her character.

In Pretty and Pink, the director composes a movie centered on the life of a loner, Andie Walsh, and her struggle to develop a relationship with a rich boy, Blaine, in a different social class. She is best friends with Duckie, a quirky boy who has had a crush on her for the longest time, and Iona, the owner of the record store she frequently visits. She lives with her single father and constantly tries to get him to acquire a full-time job while she is at school. As the movie

in the article by marty nemko, he explains how shoe obsession disorder can somehow boost your career. people wanna buy more shoes so they have to work harder to earn the money to buy them. Women are more susceptible to this disorder. Women and men who have this disorder can be won over simply by just buying their favorite pair of shoes for them. Complimenting somebody on their shoes can give you a boost at your job because your boss will like the compliment and you will have a better chance of getting a raise. A good way to get ahead at work is to instead of ask a female coworker to lunch ask if she wants to go shoe shopping. Many people like to buy shoes that people will notice no matter the price. This is a good way to get ahead in

While the knowledge that many amenities that are expected in America are not remotely available in some regions of Africa is common, shoes usually do not top that list. While many American cities institute laws requiring those in public to wear shoes, some African villages find the concept of footwear foreign. The problem of shoelessness extends beyond just comfort, as foot injuries spread disease, create life long disabilities, and reduce the quality of living for many children. Giving shoes to these children, then, seems like a fitting answer to a desperate situation. Companies built upon that answer such as TOMS shoes, however, end up contributing to impoverished conditions that drive shoelessness rather than reducing it in the long run.

Both, men and women, treat the notion of beauty in different ways, but they still agree that legs are the sexiest body part. Males take into consideration their shape and muscles, and females are fond of slenderness. So to say, women want their legs to be two sizes thinner. And, while some of them work on thinness, others train strength. Girls, who want to look sexy and attractive as much as possible to the opposite sex, follow the experience of the incredible model – Andrea Rosu.

In order to come together as a community, many of these gay individuals participated in drag balls. The drag balls were contests where members of the community came to dress up as whatever gender they wanted to personify. The person who looked and acted just as real as the character they played would win the title and trophy. For many, the drag balls became a safe space, and allowed numerous participants to find supportive groups. In the specific drag races shown in the film, family homes were founded by popular winners of the drag contests. Dorian explains the houses perfectly when he says, “They’re families, for a lot of children who don’t have families. But this is a new meaning of family” (Paris is Burning 1991). Dorian explains that individuals

“Into the Wild” is a movie that is based off the book with the same title. It follows the story of Alex Supertramp as he tries to get to the Alaskan wilderness to live a secluded life away from society. Alex’s family thought that he was going to law school, but in fact he was making his way around the united states living the life that he craved. Throughout his adventure he met many different people along the way, as well as working different jobs. Alex’s goal was to get away from mainstream society because he thought that it was very materialistic.