You spent an hour and a half getting ready for your girls’ night out and it was a blast. But now it’s 2am, the bars are closing and your makeup’s smeared. Time to stumble the streets with your best friends and your heels in hand to give your poor tired feet a break. Because let’s face it, those things are uncomfortable AF.
You’ve certainly heard the saying "To walk a mile in their shoes." Well, have you ever walked a mile in heels? Holy cow, all those blisters, but damn, do your legs and ass look phenomenal. I digress. Though walking a mile in heels, or even running for that matter, doesn’t seem to be a problem for female comic book heroes while they kick ass and take names.
Listen, I get it. Men wanted something nice to look at while they flip through the pages of their favorite comic book because they weren't old enough to buy Hustler or Playboy yet. But times have changed and so have comics drastically since they were popularized from war propaganda. Many female heroes are slowly getting their own spin-off comics, and their own movies (#praisehand). But, the skimpy outfits and hooker heels remain. It’s 2016 people, let’s give our women some leggings and steel toed boots!
(Side note: We all saw how uncomfortable Bryce Dallas Howard was sprinting in stilettos during Jurassic World, I never prayed for someone’s safety as much as I did for her and her poor ankles.)
Ideally, if I were a superhero and my super suit required heels, I’d make sure those heels were put to good use (think Spy movies where the shoe is a phone or a has a secret switch blade it in, or a gun… you know, something cool).
One character development I’ve admired over time is Jessica Jones. Although she is a self-proclaimed anti-hero now, in her beginning stages as Jewel she had an all-white costume (which would be awful during that time of month… #tbh). And like many other female heroes rocked heels. Over time, and especially with her character in the Netflix Original Series, we see Jessica in a badass leather jacket and combat boots, smoking and drinking. She’s comfy as f*ck and can still kick ass while, imagine this, not wearing heels!
There is no benefit to wearing heels and a skin-tight spandex suit while fighting crime. I’m pretty sure there's scientific evidence supporting this. These kickass women no longer need to wear heels to be sexy, and they certainly don’t need them to kick ass. I look forward to what "mainstream" comics have in store for female heroes as gender lines and roles continue to close.
