I love the idea of buying cute new shoes and being able to wear them right out of the store, but I’m never able to actually do that. I’m sure most people don’t really think about their shoe size daily, but having big feet makes it so that I have to constantly think about it. I’m a feminine person, but my big feet have always made me feel out of place in my aesthetic.
As I walk through the many rows of Nike, Converse, and Adidas, I scour the shelves for something I want to get. Boxes of sixes, sevens, and eights are scattered about. The biggest size I see is about a nine. I pick the pair up.
“Do you have this in an 11?” I ask as always.
“No, sorry, we might have some tens in the clearance section though,” the worker replies, as I expected.
With a small sigh, I drag myself into the clearance area. Under the size 10 section, there are about four pairs of knockoff Vans in a tan color. I can feel myself visibly frowning.
As I turn back to make my way into the men’s section empty handed, I walk past the worker.
“If you want, we can order online and have something sent to your house,” they say.
“Sure, that would be great!” I say, as always.
I walk back to the Nike aisle, scooting past two girls carelessly holding size six and seven shoe boxes, and pick up a pair of pink Nikes. They’re perfect for back to school. The light salmon accents and the baby pink swoosh make me so happy.
I walk up to one of the cashiers, “Excuse me, could I please order these in a size 11?”
“Of course!” she says.
Although the cashiers are always nice to me, it can be a bit humiliating to have to order shoes in a size bigger than what they carry in the store.
“They’ll be at your house in 10-14 business days,” she informs me.
Whenever I go shoe shopping I always leave feeling self-conscious about something I have absolutely no control of. It may seem silly, but stores never seem to want to accommodate the people who don’t fit into the small box the world calls average. It feels like I get laughed at and I always find myself feeling a little ashamed.
As I finish paying and start to leave, I see people walking out of the store with clean, bright new shoes on their feet. How is it fair that people who fit the average just get waltz out of the store with what they came in for?
These discrepancies cause insecurities in people who don’t see representation of their struggles and features such as being too tall or having a disability in media while growing up can be really discouraging to not have things readily available to people who need them. Why is it that people who aren’t the “standard” are left out and often have to use more effort to attain everyday items?