Walk the Walk – In women’s heels!
Imagine walking into a business meeting and overhearing a conversation revolving around the fine art of shaving your legs and balancing on four-inch heels. Now, imagine if this conversation is between a group of guys! This is exactly what happened last week in Michigan. I must admit I was a little taken aback as this was a college health and wellness conference, not audience participation watching Rocky Horror Picture Show!
Tony Thompson, my client and leader of the peer education network at Saginaw Valley State University, explained to the audience how he and a group of college students participated in a program called Walk A Mile In Her Shoes. It is, in essence, a mile-long journey made by men who, above all, wear women’s shoes. These brave men not only participated, they rallied several hundred SVSU men to walk with them!
If you happened to see a parade of hairy-legged men in stilettos and heels, think you’d ask the question, “What…?” THAT, loyal reader, is the exact answer Tony and the boys wanted! The whole idea of Walk A Mile In Her Shoes is to raise awareness of sexual assault. Since the vast majority of this crime is committed by men, this program is designed to encourage men to be a proactive part of the solution.
As Tony and the men from his peer education network explained all the work that went into the event, I wondered one thing: would I have the guts to do this? Now, if there was a group of a few hundred guys, sure, I’d put on a pair of shoes and start walking. But what if this idea did not work? What if the day of the event came and Tony and these three or four guys were the only ones willing to participate? That is precisely the question asked by his fellow educators.
Tony’s response is one of those rare flashes of courage that have sparked much social change:
“Standing up for what you believe in is always a risky proposition.
If you believe in your heart that one thing is right, the rest will fall into place.”
How right you are! And history proves his point! If the colonists hadn’t stood up for what they believed in, our country would look very, very different today. If Harriet Beecher Stowe had not made her views known in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, our country could still oppress human beings with slavery. If Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the other women in Seneca Falls had not made their presence known, the women may never have gained the right to vote, let alone hold public office. And the list goes on and on …
Going against popular opinion is never easy, even when there is little resistance. Standing up for what you believe in through constant ridicule, intimidation, or outright force is what really makes the difference. To take such an active interest in helping to remove an injustice is commendable, not just commendable, but just brave. I hope that Tony and her Walk A Mile In Her Shoes continue to be successful and that the rest of us are inspired by her example.