Rare is the woman who doesn't have at least one pair of high heels in her wardrobe. Their ability to lengthen and shape the leg have made them an icon of fashion that, along with a pretty dress, are the clearest expressions of femininity. The desire for heels among women is nothing new, but high-street stores such as Gap and Next are now under fire for marketing high heels to tots, fuelling the debate about the sexualisation of children.
A quick scout around a mall in the UAE will turn up 3cm heels on shoes from size 24 to 32 (the size of an average three-year-old and upwards) in both Next and Accessorize and, in last season's collection, a 5cm heeled shoe in Gap. Both Gap and H&M have come under fire for failing to sign up to the latest campaign by influential online group Mumsnet: "Let Girls Be Girls." Reacting against increasing parental outrage at the marketing of adult-style clothing to children in the West, Mumsnet sent letters to retailers asking that they commit not to sell such products.
Not only is the increasing sexualisation of children a concern, but there can be long-term physical issues to contend with if children are allowed to wear high-heeled shoes. The foot problems that women experience from wearing high heels easily apply to children. Dr Sami Tabib, a podiatrist at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi and the Chiropody Center in Dubai says: "High heels make the foot pronate [turn in] more, which therefore puts the child at risk of developing a bunion deformity."
