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Yes, Not was the word that should have been in there. I have corrected it. I agree - it is great that girls have more openings and are not being pigeonholed but boys need the same latitude and there seems to be little movement in that direction.

I assume you meant '... not a fetish thing ...'? I think you are right about girls, much more than boys, being in the 'genderless' spotlight. All part of the female striving for equality. Nothing wrong with that, if it cuts both ways - but men are still denied much that is supposedly reserved for women, including certain clothing I could mention.

I don't recall any interest in heels when I was young or that much interest in footwear in general, other than a general feeling of being left out because girls could wear interesting boots and boys could not. Then, as now it seemed unfair. It was not a fetish thing or an obsession, just a fashionable wistfulness that manifested itself in the autumn when new boot styles would appear in the high street shop windows and I would realise, ruefully, that all of them were 'forbidden' to me. Although there is much talk of genderless play and toys these days, nearly all of that is about making certain that girls do not feel obligated to stick to pink and girly toys, but feel free to explore their inner selves. Boys are still overwhelmingly directed to boys toys.

I'm sure most of us can relate to this, either personally or through our offspring. I know that, as a youngster, I admired several female shoe styles - flattish boots and strappy sandals in particular - and coveted the idea of wearing them as a change from ugly, boring conventional 'boys' footwear - although it never happened (then). And the prevailing fashion for stilettos was not lost on me either, although I fully realised that they were, literally, a step too far. I didn't even have the courage to wear men's cuban heels in the 1960s - I had to wait until almost 2010 before I got any. My grandson (3 1/2) is mad on tractors, diggers, cranes, buses, trains and the like. But he also quite often puts on his older sister's frilly tutu, Supergirl outfit or sparkly party dress. It is all part of make-believe and play for them both and has no connotations beyond that, as far as I can tell. However, last time we visited, my wife took off her bootees (3.5" tapered heel) and left them in the hall. Said grandson appeared wearing them shortly after - so there may be hope (or not) for him yet!

That’s quite true. I quite innocently fancied a pair of go-go boots as worn by a very pretty red haired girl in my class, never really giving any thought to the idea that they were strictly for girls. I’m not sure I was even fully aware of it. It was 1970 and fashions were quite colourful and fluid and I thought those boots were really cool. I don’t recall what it was that clued me in, but when I realised that I had been wanting a pair of girls boots I was mortified and relieved that I hadn’t yet asked for a pair, as I had been about to. That set me off on a course of distrusting my own tastes and style. I was in my mid-fifties before I finally dared buy and wear a pair of knee boots. Now I wear them all the time. And the world didn’t stop spinning. Nor did I attract the least bit of notice. Never did buy any go-go boots though...