This document discusses the history and gender issues within sneaker culture and the sneaker industry. It notes that sneaker culture originated in the 1970s with hip hop culture and brands like Run DMC and Air Jordans mainstreaming sneakers. However, the industry has traditionally catered more to men and hypersexualized or marginalized women. More recently, female sneakerheads have utilized social media to assert their place in sneaker culture and advocate for greater women's sizes and products through campaigns like #pleasejustdoit. While progress has been made, men still tend to discredit women's interest and expertise in sneakers.

1. female identity in
sneaker subculture
Kelly Zepeda
youth & subculture
april 27, 2015

2. 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

3. 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

5. women’s spending power
in sneaker industry

7. 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

8. • 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

9. 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

10. 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

12. 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.”

13. Pelin Keskin
Q. 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?

14. 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.”

15. 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.”

16. 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