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Shoes and Self Russell W. Belk ABSTRACT Bases on questionnaires, observations. and interviewsin 19%) and 2000. 11s clear that 10 most Americans, their Footwear isa extension and expression of themselves. The study finds strong _gender differences, with women being more ale to the symbolic Implications of shoes than men. Shoes aflect our perceptions of thers and our perceptions of self, including our passage into adulthood, Among the magical transformations we attribute to shoes is their ability to supercharge our athletic performance. Not only iy Footwear an extension of self it also acts. a repository of ‘emocy and meaning in our Hives How tovelyarertfeet with shoes, oh prince’ danghter Sone of Solomon 71 Shoes.are totems of Disembodied Last. They are candy jor the letey for the feet icing on sour soul. They stand for ‘eversthng oH veever wanted: glamour, success.arapierli tvs ate with dhe Sex God of vourchovee, Barbie’ s wedding dress. Ses hint thar attaining thse things is just as easy as shppi fu mae vow into somecne else. someone without skin pre them an you feet. They seem ohare the magic power lens. someane within thin hale. somevne wih fay laugh And they do (Pond 1988, p13 An initial impression might well be that there is no more ‘ordinary and unremarkable consumption object than shoes. For sone of dhe people included inthis U.S. study the impression is accurate —buying, wearing, cating fer, and disposing of shoes isfor them a necessity with which they concern themselves as Title ay possible. But far more commonly. shoes are sen as highly signii- ‘cantaniclesof clothing that are regarded as expressing the wearer's personality and perhaps ws even capable of magically transforming then ints heautitl, handsome. happy. confident, or hemoic people ‘Shes are seen by ost of those studied as revealing age. ex. and personals and as creating moods and captuting: memories. For adolescen’s, shoes are a key signifier of their identities. and the shoes they desire often conflict whet thei parents regand as appr Driale. Shoessppearasikey vehiclethrough shich adolescents and Young alts work out issues of identity, individualism. confor. rity. litestyle gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and personality "nis aper draws an portions of two studies conducted in 1990 tind 00H sm Salt Lake Cty, Utah, Fhegan with 3 half dozen eepth fatervices and small scale student survey involving ideas about footwear. subsequently enlisted 96 university stadents32an 1990 ‘another 4 n 2000) to examine dei wardrobes and wrie-upan ‘autobiography of thei shoes in a manner suggested by the work of Kopytaff (1986) and Lifgren (1990), Bach student subsequently ‘onducted semi-structured depth interviews with two non students and prepared transcriptions. The students in the 2000 study also conducted and wrote-up observations of shoe buying behaviors White the shoe autobiographies come from university stuents primarily in their early owenties, the interviews include a wider set ‘of people ranging in age tom 16(074, Just under 19 percent ofthe 288 nie view sand aulobingraphies were from people born outside of the LS sind they are exeluved from the present analysis University of Utah SHOE SIGNIFICANCE FOR MEN AND WOMEN ‘The small, non-representaive, survey of 30 students in 1990 ‘vealed that nen owned an average of 12 pairs of shoes or boots ‘while women owned an average of more than 30 pairs. Men, Fuowever, paid approximately $25 more for their most expensive tiorweat, The depth interviews and shoe autobiographies con- ‘ductet in 2000 support ese findings, but only after excluding two ‘women who paid more than $1200 for their most expensive shoes ‘or boos. Interviews and autobiographies also revealed that while reported owning more than 30 pairs of footwear, several ‘women had over 100 pats and a dezen owned between SO and 70 ain The survey also found that women were significantly more fikely Man men wo agree with statements that | often fook at what shoes women wear. {often look at what shoes men wea [Hike to window shop for shoes. | would like to buy new Footwear soon, [often huy footwear fo indulge myselt. {have a dificult time throwing aut old footwear. Some of my Footwear has sentimenist meaning for me. + Theseis at ica one pair of my footwear that will probably’ keep forever Men were moe likely than women to agree that + have had erotic thoughts about women wearing certain sons af shoes oF stockings. + For nie, shies are just utilitarian thing ané style doesn't can meh Nevertheless. both sexes overwhelmingly rejected the latter state ment Shoesare seen by both men nxt women as important and shoe styles. color condition, and match with clothing are seen as telling cles for making inferences aboot others. “These findings are supported by other work on shoes, The average American woman i said to own 30+ pats of shoesand 88 percent of women buy shoes that are a size to0 small (O'Keeffe 19063, Americans buy approximately a billion pairs of footwear a year aad 80 percent of these are estimated to be parchesed for purposes of sexual attraction (Rossi 1993). Shoes figure promi rently in stories and fairytales, including Cinderella (a highly Sexuized tale in A'S more original versions-e.g...Bettleheim 1936), Puss w’ Boots, Seven League Boors, The Wicard of O:, The ed Shoes. aid The Old Woman who Lived ina Shoe,as well amore contemporary tales (e.., Bid 1998, MeMurtry 1982; Nicholson (997: Wolfe 1987; Vonnegut 1987). Shoes and our desire fr them ae the olyets of am (eg. Ctton 1999: West 2001; Warhol 1998), satire (e.g . Alderson 1998: Pond 1985), museum exhibitions (e.@, Michel! (997: Prat and Woolley 1999; Ricci 1992), films (Turim 2001), and exposés (e.g, Goldman and Papson 1998, Vanderbilt 19961, And they are the objects of a grossing aumber of histories, cafulogs.cssays,andtributes(e.g., Beard 1992; Caovilla 1990; Cox 199%; Grow 1997: Mazza 1994: McDowell 1989; Patterson and Cawthome 1997; Steele 1999; Sunshine and Tiegseen 1995; Trasko 989 Yue and Yue 1997). Asal ofthis actention suggests, what We swear an onefeetistar from amatler of indfference or uilitarianism ” Advances in Consumer Research Volume 30, © 2003 28 Shoes and Self SHOES AND IDENTITY Rites of Passage In other times end places including Scotland (Wright 1922) ‘and Mexico (Heyman 1994), the mere possession of shoes was ‘enough 1 confer status, with the rich being known as“people with shoes.” Inothercontexts, including American adolescence, thetype of shoes wom is the more critical marker of age and economic status, One of the more common rites of passage involving shoes, isa young git! symbolic transformation to womanhood through her frst pair of high heeled shoes. The poignancy and meaning sttached fo this purchase is evident in reports such a this one: 1 was in 6th grade when I decided I was ready to venture into {he world of womanhood: Ineeded io bless my virgin feet wi thet first pair of high heels. I began to save every penny and nike! leamed. leven charged one of my father's houseguests rent for staying in my room. Every time my family went ‘Shopping, [begged to go seeif‘my” shoes were still there, 10 ‘make sure that nobody had stolen them sway from me, When [nally had enough money, my mother took me to Payless to sgetmy shoes. was sothrilled. She eptasking mei I was sure wanted those shoes, those white, fake-leather, sandal-like shoes with a two-inch cork heel. Undaunted, I walked out of the store in my shorts with my new high heels on. I wore my new shoes home proudly, feeling like real woman, sexy and mature 4Justas more traditional ites of passageinvolve sufferingatrial or an onieal, many women reported that they suffered Blisters, sprained anes, falls, and embacrassment on first weating heels. Although high heels are the most common shoe rie of passage for ‘young woman, some also reported that fst owning ballet slippers, ‘non-orthopedic shoes, or pantyhose were their marks of becoming Obtaining and wearing certain shoes was also seen as rite oF passage for men during their adolescence (see also Barthelemy 2001), When Iwas around twelve years ol, always wanted to have 4 pair of leather shoes. There were couple reasons why 1 always wanted to have leather shoes, especially black leather shoes for school. Firstly, it was about time that [eft grade school and got ready for junior high. I felt a pair of black Jeather shoes could upgrade my status from being a kid toa teonager. A pairof leather shoes could make me fee! that was ‘more mature andalotmore independent. The reason why Ifelt that way because my parents determined not to buy leather shoes for their kids until they graduated from grade school ‘They felt kids were kids and they didn’t need 10 wear expen sive things, However, they felt that graduation from grade school reflected that kids were more knowledgeable and self-discipined than before. Unpopular shoes duringchildhood couldalso be stigmata (Goffman 1963), Some of those whose parents" forced them to wear unpopu: Jar footwear resigned themselves to wearing the hated shoes until they wore out or were outgrown, while others resored to more devious strategies of superannuating their shoes ‘Thanks to some tasteless blue fight special-Mom and Dad arrived home one night wit a large sack full of shoes, The shocking thing was that only one of usa the time was in need ‘of anew pairof sneakers, We peaked intothe sack only to ind ten pair of bright green sneakers, My frst thought was how UGLY they were. Of course, who could pass up 2 good $1.99 per pair deal-certanly, my parents couldn't! From then oa ‘over the course of 3 years my brothers and I were forced to ‘wear those awful shoes. ‘One of my childhood memories in rogard to shoes was when ‘my fethermade me purchase apair of shoes hecause they were sturdy". 1 came from a large family where money was a ‘concem and, therefore, each of us as children only owned one of if you were lucky, two pairs of shoes. This situation made it more important that the shoes purchases were of good ‘quality. Nevdlessto samy father made me purchase “sturdy’ toes, In this particular case, the “sturdy” shoes were ugly. I hhatedthem, [twas only my father’s persuasive personality that madle me break down and say | would wear these shoes. [wore the shoes, buthated every second. I purposely tried to destroy them. kicked walls, mocked them against curbs, and dragged them along the sidewalk while riding my bike, However, ‘nothing would destroy these shoes. To my great dismay, they were truly “sturdy” shoes. [ended up wearing them for what 1 felt was a very long, long time. ‘What I would do. is get on my skateboard: and I'd go out and ride my skateboard and sit down on my skateboard and get szoing fast down a hill and drag my feet dow the hil, The roleof parentsas garekeepersin deciding when itis time forthe sought-after rite of passage shoe is evident in these conameats. By ‘keeping children in their childhood shoes for longer, these parents are perceived to be withholding adulthood (or the next stage of adolescence) from their children, There is some indication of the ‘importance of these developmental status symbols in reports of sleeping with the desired shoe once it was acquired. Such shoe attachments are similar to those of transitional abjects which symbolically bridge the gap between child and absent parent (eg, ‘Guteree 1991, Winicott 1953), except that in the present case they fare more accurately separation objects which reflect the newly independent status of the child from the part By Their Shoes Shall We Judge Them shoes thought to be expressive of self. itslikely because ‘we judge others within our culture according to their footwear. One ‘woman began by stating that she had an open mind when iteame to shoes wom by others, but her subsequent comments call this judgment into doubs: {don't think I have too strong ofan attitude about what men and women should wear on thir fect... don’t like wornen ‘wearing shoes that look too muchlikemen’s business shoes. also don’t ie it when women wear spiked heels that look ike thetype of thing some of the women on State Steet wear. like wild shoes as long as they are tasteful, but four-inch clear plastic heels just doesn't do anything for me. [also think that the shoes that look ike nurses shoes or orthopedic shoes are the worst thing ever invented to put on your feet. Sure they might be comfortable to wear, but they are ugly as sin! For mens’ foot wear, [have ahardtime with men Wearing sandals, ‘especially the fl footed type like huaraches...1 Igo think that ‘men should never where white shoes unless they are tennis or running shoes oF unless they are ina wedding line, I don’t {know why it bothers me so much but T HATE mens’ white dress shoes! ‘Strong negative expressions like hate were common in evaluations ‘oF ceriain sae styles worn by mea and women There is one kiskl and women’s footwear that just cannot stan, High, high heeled shows. Lhate them with a passion. 1 have never understoed how women can stand to wear ther. ‘wonder f they know how stupid they Took when they attempt {oak im them, What iseven funnier is that you know the feet are killing them. | would much rather see 2 wornen 4 ‘more practical such as short pumps or Mats. The ‘only other footwear that [ bave song thoughts about ate faddish shoes, For instance, Vans off the wall” tennis shows, Those things diove me crazy More recently is the tal of haviny steel tippet shoes an bos ‘ike wemen’s shoes to he classy and feminine, The ultimate weno for mei that you can se the eracks Berwe | don’t like tis. perhaps iis ke seeing what I affectionately tenn “plumbers bun.” which Dan Akroyd made famous on Savucay Night Live dees shoe is when it scl 0 10 heroes, Pin nor sure why | hate 1 when people wear black shoes with biue jeans black or grey jeans i's okay, but Link it Looks Sup ith blue fans, lo other cases shoe styles worn by others were the basis tor “applying stereotypes and categorical labels to these people ‘When. person wears sandals or orthopedic shoes. automat cally stereotype hitn ur her as granola or very ide adie Preppies have the penny loafers, and thrashers all they wear arc hightops, and stuf ike that. ust sort of woes with en 1 dom fike“tapper’ shoes. | don’t like combat boots because they scare me hocause L know the people who are wearing thom ase probably racist Feecauve shoes varty many connotations. they quickly reflec Uifferem personalities and interesis. Cowboy boots sugges! ‘one strom the country: extremely high tees insinuate pro rmiscutv; and hiking boots reflect the mew “back to nature” Iitesyte As pat of the last comment suggests, high heels were highly valued, by both men and women for their sex appeal verging ‘om tishism for some, As Veblen (1899) noted, highheels not ‘only sncapacitatea woman, but als signal hor class, inasmuch asssuch shoes preciude manual labor. Nevembeless, because of different values and lifestyles there {s a lack of consensus about whether certain stereolype-cvoking footwear spook ar bad, Consider for insiance the cowbay boot.3 ‘uniquely “american comtibution to fooxwear fasion (Beard 1992) ‘One of the most unatractive looks for men isthe business suit tnd exsboy oot combination that is somewhat popular in ‘Utah, Every time I see that, it makes me cringe. Those silly high heeled, pointy toed things definitely belong onthe ange 12 board sem, They look fine inthe place, but inthe effect oF a pinstiped suit sole Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 30)|29 [think itis great when men wear cowboy boots. I don’t know whats but [love boots. My grandpa has abouteightdiferent kinds of cowboy boots-shakeskin, eel skin,ote. and they look so sharp Righly ur not, cowboy boots, for me, now symbolize every thing tha Jean’t stand: F-Dudes. bigbelt buckles, people who call their gilfiends and wives thei old ladies, people who poke along in those mucldy Four-by-fours slowing traffic 10a stand sll and worst of all redneck pride and mentality There is a cenain classficatory zeal evident in the first ‘comment above, which sees cowboy boots as appropriate in some ‘conten, but naw in others. Tis is oe jast an outsiders perspec: tive. For those who wear cowboy boots, there are even more specific canon of what represents appropriate footwear As got older style became more important to me.I grew up in small ow and became a cowboy. I recalé the need for ‘cowboy boots, both a functional and for style. The fist pair bough wanan impulsive act, I had $35.00 in my pocket and sass pait For $29.95. They just happened to fit, 1 was so proud 16 wear boots. However. when my peers leamed | bought cheap pair of Ace's, ! was again humiliated. Real ‘cowboys wore Tony Lama boots, and patd well over $100.00. ‘his was an early "70"s price. Lan’t remember the next pair ‘hoot [bought bat fom then on bought quality {As became more serious about being acowhoy. realized the importance of quality boots. Cowboys do funny things with their expensive boots, I got heavily into rodeo and rede saddle bones and balls, The cowboy boot sa very important tool for rexdeo riding, | bad « pair of Justin brand boots that had to rnwalify forridng saddle brones, leu the inside ofthe heel off| tofarnadeeppocket For the stirrups, This aided in keeping my tet in the stirrup while ring the brone. Tuber cut slit al the way down the back to allow my foot to slip out in de event T go! bucked off and my Foot hung up in the stirrup. A good, [expensive pai of boot is needed to hold upto the abuse of icing brones. I neededadifferent pair of boots to ide bulls, This pairneeded tebe as tight and deep as possible because besides your band, yout feet kept you on the bull. If your foot came out of your tyaot, you lost your spurring ability and you'd be bucked off. 1m 19741 bought a pair of Tony Lama's that had a good siding Tis, was 15 inches deep and cost close to $200.00 I slit the front and back slighty 1 aid in tucking in my pants while T rx, [tll ave those boots today. And with « bit of polish ‘every now and then still wear them for dress sometimes, This is the best quality boot ar shoe F've ever purchased During my cowboy days twas alsoin style for what we called “freak shoes." These had big, blocky heels with wing tips on the toes twin 0.10 Wear them for fashion to mostany place ‘we went, But don't be caught wearing them t@ a rodee. Not ‘only id they provide no function, but chey simply were not ‘cowhoy. ‘The American cowboy heroicmyth is invoked by these boots. along witb the characterises associated with his myth. inluding rugged individvatism, udependence, quit sireneth, and alienation from mn sce Caweld 1971), ivi

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