Fuck-me shoes

Last updated

High-heel shoes worn in an overt sexual context Sexy-Legs-With-High-Heels.jpg
High-heel shoes worn in an overt sexual context

Fuck-me shoes, alternatively fuck-me boots or fuck-me pumps (occasionally extended to knock-me-down-and-fuck-me shoes), is a slang term for women's high-heeled shoes that exaggerate a sexual image. The term can be applied to any women's shoes that are worn with the intention of arousing others. It is sometimes used to imply condemnation against the women who choose to wear them or in a misogynistic fashion toward the women who wear them. [1]

Contents

The term is similar in meaning to kinky boots, although typically kinky boots refer more specifically to boots suited to a particular fetish.

Term and usage

The phrase possibly originated in the United States, where two similar terms are used: "'fuck-you shoes' implying a disregard for convention or propriety, or 'fuck-off shoes' where 'fuck-off' means both outsize and aggressive". [2] Tight trousers were called "come fuck-me's" as listed in a 1972 British dictionary of slang (The Queens' Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon), while a 1974 book (Myra & Gore: A New View of Myra Breckinridge and A Candid Interview with Gore Vidal: A Book for Vidalophiles) is cited as making a reference to a person wearing "a pair of fabulous 1940s-Joan Crawford-fuck-me's". [3] The song "We are the Dead" from David Bowie's 1974 Diamond Dogs album mentions "fuck-me pumps". [4]

In Shelley Winters' first autobiography, "Shelley: Also Known as Shirley", she recounts a memory from being Marilyn Monroe's roommate: "These were a special kind of sandal–tied in front with a bow–that Marilyn and I used to 'borrow' from the studio. Giggling, we called them our 'fuck-me shoes.' They really were the sexiest shoes I've ever seen. Whenever we did pinup photos for the soldiers, we wore them." [5]

Prominent feminist Germaine Greer brought what had been an "obscure" term to more mainstream notoriety when she used it in 1995. [2] Greer used the term in referring to fellow Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore as having "hair bird's-nested all over the place, fuck-me shoes and three fat inches of cleavage". [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Greer made the remark – in a column originally submitted to The Guardian but then published in a toned-down version, sans the above quote, in The Spectator [11] – in response to a comment Moore had made to the "Londoner's Diary" [12] over Richard Neville's (false) claim that Greer had a hysterectomy scar on her abdomen, [13] with Moore framing Greer's supposed hysterectomy as a voluntary decision to have herself sterilized. Greer was also quoted during the 1990s as criticizing a number of women writers that she termed "lifestyle feminists" [14] who were, in her view, espousing feminism at nothing more than a superficial level. Pamela Church Gibson identifies Greer as a dominant player in defining an anti-fashion feminist rhetoric. [15]

Moore's response to Greer was that her fashion choices were dictated by her own tastes and not to please men: "As someone who grew up with punk and Madonna, I take it for granted that women dress to please themselves and not men". [16] Moore has said her footwear is "not worn just for the benefit of men", implying that the intention is twofold, to please both her and observers, although she also says "Most of the pleasure [of buying shoes] involves a private fantasy that starts with me and ends at my feet. Men don't get a look in." [17]

The incident, and the term, received coverage in British media and beyond, and the term has become associated with Greer in popular culture. [18] Greer had been denouncing stiletto shoes as symbols of women's subordination as early as 1970 (in The Female Eunuch ). [19]

The expression was further popularized by the success of British soul singer Amy Winehouse’s single "Pumps", originally listed as "Fuck Me Pumps" on her 2003 album Frank .[ citation needed ]

In January 2011, in a forum with teenaged students in Cartagena, Colombia, Greer noticed the popularity of silicone breast implants in the audience. She asked students why they thought women tennis players wore skirts, and asked why a young woman would choose to wear stiletto shoes: "So you think the shoes are her fetish? […] I call them fuck-me shoes," she said, "because you can't walk in them but you can wear them in bed." [20]

Cultural debate

The underlying conflict arises from the question of what is considered an appropriate way for women to present their bodies, particularly in public spaces. Feminists are divided on the issue, with first-wave feminism more likely to condemn certain forms of clothing, whilst second-wave feminism began to take a more sex-positive stance, and third-wave feminism has largely come to view criticisms of fashion choices to be "slut-shaming", an action viewed as misogynist, even when coming from other women. The development of the SlutWalk protest demonstrations against dress codes is influenced by this position.

When punk fashion was on the rise during the late 1970s, young women consciously played with the symbolism inherent in their accessorizing, mixing choices that created a jarring visual clash; leather was combined with lace, steel spikes with velvet, stiletto heels with heavy ankle chains. The result was to exaggerate a look of sexual aggression, turning "'fuck me' shoes into signifiers of 'fuck you'". [19] The punk influenced youth counterculture continues with this trend, part of the wider trend of fetish fashion.

See also

Related Research Articles

Feminazi is a pejorative term for feminists that was popularized by politically conservative American radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fetish fashion</span> Extreme or provocative clothing

Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an item, it cannot have fetishistic, special nature. They are usually made of materials such as leather, latex or synthetic rubber or plastic, nylon, PVC, spandex, fishnet, and stainless steel. Some fetish fashion items include: stiletto heel shoes and boots, hobble skirts, corsets, collars, full-body latex catsuits, stockings, miniskirt, crotchless underwear, jockstraps, diapers, garters, locks, rings, zippers, eyewear, handcuffs, and stylized costumes based on more traditional outfits, such as wedding dresses that are almost completely see-through lace, or lingerie for men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boot</span> Type of footwear extending above the ankle joint

A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece. Traditionally made of leather or rubber, modern boots are made from a variety of materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoe fetishism</span> Erotic attraction to shoes

Shoe fetishism is the attribution of attractive sexual qualities to shoes or other footwear as a matter of sexual preference, or an alternative or complement to a relationship with a partner. It has also been known as retifism, after the French novelist Nicolas-Edme Rétif (1734–1806), also known as Rétif de la Bretonne, who wrote a novel about it called Fanchette's Foot, which preference or penchant seems to have been if not "all the rage" at the time at least known to have been practiced or suffered by more than handsful of somewhat important individuals of that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thigh-high boots</span> Boots extending above the knee

Thigh-high boots, known also as thigh-length boots or simply thigh boots, are boots that extend above the knees to at least mid-thigh. Other terms for this footwear include over-the-knee boots, a name originally used for 15th century riding boots for men. These are sometimes called pirate boots, especially when cuffed. Over-the-knee boots are sometimes abbreviated to OTK boots. Lengths vary from reaching just over the knee to reaching almost to the crotch.

A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethead scene is a coherent youth culture closely linked to a discernible fashion style. The scene emerged in the late 1980s on the basis of electro-industrial, EBM, and industrial rock music. The associated dress style draws on military fashion and punk aesthetics with hints of fetish wear, mainly inspired by the scene's musical protagonists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiletto heel</span> Shoe with a tall, thin heel

A stiletto heel, or just stiletto, is a shoe with a long, thin, high heel. It is named after the stiletto dagger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boot fetishism</span> Sexual fetish

Boot fetishism is a sexual fetish focused on boots. Boots have become the object of sexual attraction amounting to fetishism for some people and they have become a standard accessory in BDSM scenes and a fashion accessory in music videos. Boots are seen as perhaps the most fetishistic of all footwear and boots are the most popular fetish clothing attire.

<i>The Female Eunuch</i> 1970 book by Germaine Greer

The Female Eunuch is a 1970 book by Germaine Greer that became an international bestseller and an important text in the feminist movement. Greer's thesis is that the "traditional" suburban, consumerist, nuclear family represses women sexually, and that this devitalises them, rendering them eunuchs. The book was published in London in October 1970. It received a mixed reception, but by March 1971, it had nearly sold out its second printing. It has been translated into eleven languages.

Victim feminism is a term that has been used by some conservative postfeminist writers such as Katie Roiphe and Naomi Wolf to critique forms of feminist activism which they see as reinforcing the idea that women are weak or lacking in agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-heeled shoe</span> Footwear that raises the heel of the wearers foot significantly higher than the toes

High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, accentuating the calf muscle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court shoe</span> Type of shoe with low-cut front

A court shoe, or pump, is a shoe with a low-cut front, or vamp, with either a shoe buckle or a black bow as ostensible fastening. Deriving from the 17th and 18th century dress shoes with shoe buckles, the vamped pump shape emerged in the late 18th century. By the turn of the 19th century, shoe buckles were increasingly replaced by black bows, which has remained the contemporary style for men's formal wear, leather or patent leather evening pumps ever since. This latter style is sometimes also called an opera pump or opera slipper.


The ballet boot is a contemporary style of fetish footwear that merges the look of the pointe shoe with a high heel. The idea is to restrict the wearer's feet almost en pointe, like those of a ballerina, with the aid of long, slender heels. When upright, the feet are held nearly vertical by the shoe, thus putting nearly all of the body's weight on the tips of the toes. However, a properly tight fit will hold the shoe to the wearer's instep and heel, thereby reducing the weight on the wearer's toes.

Lipstick feminism is a variety of feminism that seeks to embrace traditional concepts of femininity, including the sexual power of women, alongside traditional feminist ideas. The concept emerged within the third-wave as a response to ideals created by previous movements, where women felt that they could not both be feminine and a feminist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Vivier</span> French shoe designer

Roger Henri Vivier was a French fashion designer who specialized in shoes. His best-known creation was the stiletto heel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go-go boot</span> Style of footwear

Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot first introduced in the mid-1960s. The original go-go boots, as defined by André Courrèges in 1964, were white, low-heeled, and mid-calf in height, a specific style which is sometimes called the Courrèges boot. Since then, the term go-go boot has come to include the knee-high, square-toed boots with block heels that were very popular in the 1960s and 1970s; as well as a number of variations including kitten heeled versions and colours other than white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuck Me Pumps</span> 2004 single by Amy Winehouse

"Fuck Me Pumps" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse from her debut studio album, Frank (2003). Written by Winehouse and Salaam Remi, the song was released in the United Kingdom as the album's fourth and final single on 23 August 2004 under the title "Pumps"—with "Help Yourself" as its coupling track—reaching number 65 on the UK Singles Chart. A clean radio edit was released for promotional purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germaine Greer</span> Australian writer and public intellectual

Germaine Greer is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How to Be a Woman</span> 2011 non-fiction memoir by British writer Caitlin Moran

How to Be a Woman is a 2011 non-fiction memoir by British writer Caitlin Moran. The book documents Moran's early life including her views on feminism. As of July 2014, it had sold over a million copies.

References

  1. Egan, R. Danielle; Hawkes, Gail Louise (May 2012). "Sexuality, youth and the perils of endangered innocence: how history can help us get past the panic". Gender and Education . 24 (3): 269–284. doi:10.1080/09540253.2012.666232. S2CID   146753285.
  2. 1 2 Thorne, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (3rd ed.). London: A&C Black. p. 172. ISBN   978-0-7136-7529-0.
  3. Sheidlower, Jesse, ed. (2009). The F-Word (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN   978-0-19-539311-8.
  4. O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel. Winchester/Washington: Zero Books. ISBN   978-1-78099-244-0. 'fuck-me pumps': One of the first recorded usages (originally referring to a style of strapped, wedge-heeled shoe favored by Joan Crawford) in the English language.
  5. Winters, Shelley (1980). Shelley: Also Known as Shirley. New York: William Morrow. p. 117. ISBN   978-0-688-03638-6.
  6. Birch, Helen (May 18, 1995). "Unsisterly conduct as feminist generations fall out". The Independent . p. 3. ProQuest   312324771.
  7. Alderson, Andrew (May 21, 1995). "Sparring partners". The Sunday Times . p. 12.
  8. Gerrard, Nicci (May 21, 1995). "Middle-aged feminist rage shocks and amuses". The Observer . p. 12. ProQuest   294823188.
  9. Treneman, Ann (November 4, 1998). "Dr Greer, I presume". The Independent . p. 1.
  10. Wallace, Christine (1999). Germaine Greer: Untamed Shrew. New York: Faber and Faber. p. 269. ISBN   978-0-571-19934-1.
  11. Greer, Germaine (May 20, 1995). "We shall not be neutered". The Spectator . p. 54.
  12. "So why no child for the female eunuch?". Evening Standard . May 5, 1995. p. 8.
  13. Neville, Richard (1995). Hippie Hippie Shake: The Dreams, the Trips, the Trials, the Love-Ins, the Screw Ups… the Sixties. London: Bloomsbury. p. 71. ISBN   978-0-7475-1554-8.
  14. Thackray, Rachelle (February 21, 1999). "Germaine smacks her sisters". The Independent. p. 3. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  15. Church Gibson, Pamela (2000). "Redressing the Balance: Patriarchy, Postmodernism and Feminism". In Stella, Bruzzi; Church Gibson, Pamela (eds.). Fashion Cultures: Theories, Explorations and Analysis. Milton Park/New York: Routledge. pp. 349–362. ISBN   978-0-415-20685-3.
  16. Moore, Suzanne (1996). Head over Heels. London: Viking. p. 294. ISBN   978-0-670-87074-5.
  17. Moore, Suzanne (Autumn 1997). "Help, I'm Addicted to Shoes". Red. p. 60.
  18. Calcutt, Andrew (2000). Brit Cult: An A–Z of British Pop Culture. London: Prion. p. 223]. ISBN   978-1-85375-321-3.
  19. 1 2 Edwards, Tim (2011). Fashion in Focus: Concepts, Practices and Politics. Milton Park/New York: Routledge. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-415-44793-5.
  20. Wood, Gaby (January 29, 2011). "Hay Festival Cartagena: passionate Germaine Greer's still a class act". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2014.