Boys in heels not pretty, but send a message

PALMER — If someone were to suggest you “walk a mile in her shoes,” the basic idea in mind would be to place yourself in the other’s predicament. This is what a group of boys at Palmer High School did April 23 — in a slightly different way.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Around the country, the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event is used to raise awareness about what it is like to be female in our society and face the danger of sexual assault.

To bring the event to high school, Alaska Family Services Director of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs Judy Gette asked for high heels to be donated by Bishop’s Attic and Turn A Leaf thrift stores and brought them to the school. Health teacher Samantha Ure coordinated the males interested in participating and wound up with few willing participants.

Come Friday, however, when the shoes were put on the table and students were filing into the gymnasium for the assembly, the scene of the school’s top athletes putting on high heels was interesting enough to get more boys to join in.

While the point of the event was to raise awareness of a serious topic, the boys were quick to make it a light-hearted affair. Said one while putting on the heels: “Oh, these little buckles are crazy!”

Ure prefaced the boys’ entry into the gym with: “Men and women think about safety differently. Guys, ask yourselves when the last time was that you asked someone to escort you to your vehicle in a dark, public parking lot because you were afraid. Or, how often do you look at what you are wearing and are concerned that you could be accused of ‘asking for it?’ How many warnings do guys get about not walking alone in the dark, or watching their drinks because a woman may slip something into it? Women and girls think about these things all the time.”

In a crowded gymnasium of their peers, the 10 boys took turns sashaying about the room, nearly collapsing only once, and waving to their fellow students.

“We got to strut our stuff,” one said, struggling to take off his pumps.

When asked what it’s like to walk in a woman’s shoes, another answered, “It isn’t pretty.”

Dylan Gette-King is a high school sophomore and works for social justice. She home schools and is part of the Teens Against Dating Abuse presentations in the high schools.