female identity in sneaker subculture

Kelly Zepeda youth & subculture april 27, 2015

history• Started in the 1970’s while the

b-boy movement was on the rise in nyc

• run dmc signed a 1 million deal with adidas in 1986, becoming the first rap endorsement in history

• sneaker culture hit mainstream when nike and michael jordan introduced air jordans in 1985

gender• The footwear industry is, at the

core, a sports-centric market which inherently caters to men before women due to the bigger market for sports footwear and sneakers

• women are have no “validity” in the sneaker culture due to their gender

• females are either hypersexualized or viewed as sexless tomboys

• sneaker culture always focuses on the male gaze, rather than what appeals to female buyers—even when it’s a female product

women’s spending power in sneaker industry

key insights• Women are older, more educated, have more sneakers and

spend more money than men

• Women own (on average) almost 50% more sneakers than men

• 26% of all women sneakerheads have completed grad school or higher levels of education compared to only 7% of men

• women do not dress to please men and never have

• female sneakerheads have no specific style

• their only common denominator is the importance they place on the sneakers on their feet

• their styles run the gamut from super-girly to super tomboyish

style

internet• the internet has been a very positive tool for female sneakerheads

• instagram and other social media outlets allow them to voice their opinions and style without any inhibitions

• by showcasing their style, some female sneakerheads are amassing their own following, giving them some validity

purple unicorn• an online campaign started by emilie Emily Hodgson and Emilie Riis,

two female sneakerheads struggling to build their collections

• #pleasejustdoit openly asks Nike to manufacture men’s sneakers in women’s sizes

• they asked women (and men) to take part and tweet the hashtag until nike couldn't ignore it

• their website also includes a fantasy sneaker shop that includes all the sneakers they wish, but cannot acquire

nike’s reply

“We have been in touch with Emilie and Emily and we find their campaign very interesting. We have always been and will continue to be supportive of feedback from our consumers. Nike is committed to our sneaker community and will continue to work on offering new and exciting product.”

Pelin KeskinQ. In 2013, Kicks on Fire tweeted “Female sneaker heads generally start

collecting in two ways: 1. Because their boyfriends do 2. Because they want a

boy to look at them.” It seems that men love to take credit for their influence over

women’s interests in sneakers when us women know how false this is. What was

your introduction to the sneaker culture and what was it that appealed to you?

Pelin: “As a woman, the fashion world has always been our territory. Men always love to

appropriate our things. We've been chilling in the kitchen since the dawn of patriarchal time

but then they created the culinary industry, made this army-like system of head chef/sous

chef, made this cute uniform-like outfit and now we have more male chefs working in

restaurants than female. They love to split it into what they think is our frivolity and separate

it from their Serious Man Thing. They can't acknowledge the fact that they're in our territory

but have drawn a line and decided that that part is theirs and we need to stay out when we

didn't even know any land was theirs to take. So... my interest in sneakers came because I'm

interested in fashion and the fashion world is a lucrative thriving industry thanks to women

and we are the tastemakers and sneakers fall under the category of fashion.”

Q. Why do you think that men love to discredit female sneakerheads?

Pelin: “Men like to discredit anything women do all of the time. They can't accept that their manly thing can

be talked about and known by a woman. It's why the gaming world is so misogynist. It's why women can't

talk about sports without being joked about.”

Q. Do you think female sneakerheads resist against society’s norms of beauty and what a woman should

and should not wear?

Pelin: “Absolutely. Our comfort isn't taken into account when it comes to clothing. How we decide to dress

ourselves has been assumed to cater to the male gaze and I think female sneakerheads are trying to break

down that assumption. The whole concept of the dress and sneakers is my favourite because it's such a great

juxtaposition and a wonderful marriage of someone's femininity - which is a powerful thing in itself - and her

concern for her comfort and her style. Female sneakerheads are just nerds, like any sneakerhead. That in

itself is, as a different layer, another way in which society's norms of beauty are challenged.”

progress made

• nike is slowly starting to use women’s apparel and footwear to grow their industry with designer collaborations

• puma appointed rihanna as their creative director

• Vashtie become’s first woman to design her own jordan sneaker