Children's Company Slammed for Selling High Heels to Babies — Yeah, You Read That Right
A children's footwear company called Pee Wee Pumps is facing backlash for selling heels for babies.
According to since-removed comments on popular parenting Facebook page Let Clothes Be Clothes, people found the photos of infants covered in feathers and pearls while wearing the soft, stilleto-inspired styles offensive because they "sexualize" children.
One parent reportedly sounded off, "You have to be kidding me! Sorry but this is sick! Children should be allowed to be children, not dressed up to look like hookers." Another added, "Do they realize that the reason heeled shoes are perceived as sexy is because the heel forces the wearer to walk with the chest/buttocks out for balance and exaggerated arch in the foot mimicking (apparently) feet during orgasm?" And another snarked, "Absolutely beyond a joke. Who the hell actually buys these monstrosities??? Sickos sexualizing babies & children."
Pee Wee Pumps creator Michele Holbrook isn't taking the comments seriously. "They look at it like you're sexualizing babies," she told Footwear News. "That's their opinion if they want to take it, but they are intended as a photo prop, and mothers want to use it as a fashion accessory. ... It's like putting a baby into a cute romper or tutu - it's an accessory and there's no more to it." She added that the shoes, which retail from $10 to $25, aren't made for walking and only go up to six months in sizing, "when babies start to crawl."
This isn't the first time she's faced critiques online either - in fact, Holbrook says negative comments are cyclical and drive traffic to her site regularly. "There's no such thing as bad publicity; if it brings attention, it'll help you," she explained. "Especially when a celebrity picks it up."
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