Men in high heels. For some, that may seem like an odd sight, but for men at Longwood University, they strapped on their stilettoes for a great cause.
The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event happened on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. This event involved men from Longwood literally walking a mile in red or black high-heeled shoes.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is the International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. It is a fun way for men to get involved in order to raise awareness in their own community about the serious causes and effects to men's sexualized violence against women.
The event began at 3:00 p.m., but each man was instructed to come at 2:30 p.m. in order to receive their high heel shoes, that were provided by an outside source, so that each man could have a pair of shoes that fit their feet.
The event started out with a speaker in the Ballroom of the Lankford Student Union. Then, it moved outside to start the walk. With water stations set up along the route around campus, the mile-long loop started at the Chi Fountain and finished there as well.
Over a hundred spectators came out to support the approximately fifty men who participated in the event, which was record breaking for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes at Longwood. The spectators held supportive signs to encourage and support the men as they walked.
After walking through the whole route, on the home stretch of the walk, many of the men ran to the finish, feeling empowered (and some with foot pain) from the event.
JuniorBoone Kirkpatrick, who participated and helped with the marketing of the event, said, “The actual walk itself was a mile in ladies high heels, which was fun, [and] a little painful. I think some people stumbled and struggled.”
After the walk, there was a reception with refreshments and mingling inside the ballroom.
Walk aMiles in Her Shoes was sponsored by the Student Educations for Active Leadership (S.E.A.L.), the Inter Fraternity Council (IFC) and the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council (SDIC).
The work was split up amongst the sponsors, with S.E.A.L. and SDIC doing most of the coordinating by getting the shoes and the speaker, then IFC handled the tabling and marketing side for the event.
