THE END OF HIGH HEELS? DOC MARTENS AND FEMINISM

IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURYGeorgia Mackay@shoescholargeorgiamackay1@hotmail.com

‘ONE SHOE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE’

- CINDERELLA

Cinderella, Walt Disney.

Rhodopis, Ancient Egypt

‘The Golden Sandal’, Iraqi Cinderella story

WOMEN IN SUBCULTURE “I am not arguing that if girls were doing the same as some boys

(and subcultures are always minorities) all would be well. The ‘freedom’ to consume alcohol and chemicals, to sniff glue and hang about the street staking out only symbolic territories is

scarcely less oppressive than the pressures keeping girls in the home. Yet the classic subculture does provide its members with a sense of oppositional society, an unambiguous pleasure in style, a disruptive public identity and a set of collective fantasies. As a pre-figurative form and set of social relations, I cannot help but think it could have a positive meaning for girls who are pushed

from early adolescence into achieving their feminine status through acquiring a ‘steady’. The working-class girl is encouraged

to dress with stylish conventionality; she is taught to consider boyfriends more important than girlfriends and to abandon the

youth club or disco for the honour of spending her evenings watching television in her boyfriend’s house, saving money for an

engagement ring.” McRobbie, 2000: 42.

BIG BOOTS, NO KNICKERS“I think the DM is the thing that breaks you from wearing stupid shoes.

Because they are just so damn comfortable. My little brown DMs… I walked miles in them. Miles and miles. And I never wore stilettos after that, didn’t

wear any high heels. If I have high heels, even now… I buy high heels, because I love them, and I think they look beautiful, and I try them on and

they tend to never come out the box. Or maybe one outing! But once you’ve worn the DM and they’re just so damn comfortable, there’s no going back.” –

Participant A“A skin girl only really wears three types of shoes; she wears Doc Martens, brogues (which are usually Doc Martens brogues), loafers, and that’s it…

That’s the good thing about being a skin girl, you never have to worry about heels. The only problem is I’ve been a short arse all my life because of it!” –

Participant B

UNDER THE HEELS OF PATRIARCHY

“The uses of the female body for patriarchal satisfaction inspires Riot Grrrls to fashion the body itself as a political site. Understanding that the body is a text and that body image

both off and on stage is an important signifier, a sense of “posing” and “posturing” prevails. It is not uncommon to see Riot Grrrl members in feminine, baby-doll dresses juxtaposed with clunky Doc Marten boots, creating a parody of daddy’s little girl while simultaneously toying with notions of machismo. In choosing to wear

the "anti-fashion" Doc Martens rather than spike heels--which phallicize women’s legs

and, therefore, reinscribe objectification--Riot Grrrls resist domination under the heels of

patriarchy.” Isaksen, 1999. Bikini Kill in Doc Marten

shoes

A ‘REAL’ GIRL?“In this narrative [whereby women are manipulated into conforming to

the masculine gaze in how they clothe themselves], the stiletto is the

epitome of women’s oppression… One cannot be a feminist and

empowered and balance atop four inches of needle-sharp steel at the same time. Flat, wide shoes and

heavy boots symbolize the rejection of the tortured sexuality that the

stiletto represents.” Brydon 1998 : 8

THE END… BUT NOT OF HIGH HEELS.

Scott Henshall Doc Martens

Blessed Ethel P J Harvey

Olivia Morris Doc Martens

KEY READING Brydon, Anne and Sandra Niessen (eds.) Consuming Fashion: Adorning the Transnational Body. Oxford: Berg, 1998. Isaksen, Judy. ‘Identity and Agency: Riot Grrrls’ Jouissence.’ Enculturation, 2 (2) Spring 1999. Accessed via http://enculturation.net/2_2/isaksen/

McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and Youth Culture. London: Macmillan, 2000 (second edition). Oakley, Ann. “Interviewing Women: A contradiction in terms” in Roberts, Helen (ed.) Doing Feminist Research. London: Routledge, 2013, pp 30-61.

Overell, Rosemary. Affective Intensities in Extreme Music Scenes: Cases from Australia and Japan. London: Macmillan, 2014.

Riches, Gabby. “A Force to be Reckoned With: The Role and influence of Alcohol in Leeds’ Extreme Metal Scene” in Thurnell-Read, Thomas (ed.) Drinking Dilemmas: Space, Culture and Identity. London: Routledge, 2015, pp 99-113.

Roach, Martin. Dr Martens. Northampton: AirWair Ltd, 1999. -------- Dr Martens: The Story of an Icon. London: Chrysalis Books, 2003. -------- Dr Martens: A History of Rebellious Self-Expression. Northampton: AirWair Ltd, 2015. Thornton, Sarah. Club Cultures: Music, Media, and Subcultural Capital. Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1996.