TikTok Archer Has the Final Word on Combat in High Heels
Ginger Rogers did everything backwards in high heels, but that doesn’t mean we should be held to the same standard.
A TikTok archer known as David the Arrow Bard (@blumineck) released a new video criticizing the trope of women fighting while wearing high heels. But he doesn’t just talk about it: He demonstrates it himself by donning a pair of stilettos.
David the Arrow Bard has made many videos about stage/screen combat versus the real thing. He’s covered all sorts of fighting tropes, from shooting upside down to shooting multiple arrows at once. He has also previously covered gendered double standards, such as the popularity of female archers in fiction, which boils down to archers not needing to be as tall as melee fighters, associations with archery in history and mythology, and archery as a fighting form that’s considered more graceful and further from the action than hand-to-hand combat.
But what makes his videos so entertaining is his willingness to demonstrate the ridiculousness of many tropes by embodying them himself. David the Arrow Bard has done stunts in dresses, kilts, and high heels, and often brings out a pole to swing from like he’s Bayonetta. His informative but humorous style has made him very popular on and off TikTok.
Why Do We Care
I want to be clear, David the Arrow Bard is not the first person to do this. People have been making fun of combat heels for decades. Stage combat YouTuber Jill Bearup has multiple videos critiquing the ridiculous defenses of combat heels/wedges such as “they’re for cavalry” or “it’s made up, why do you care.” The latter of which is a particularly ridiculous argument.
We care because we’re invested in stories that claim to be realistic but put their female heroes in high heels. We care because “combat heels” can make stunts more dangerous for women stunt doubles who are forced to wear them. We care because it’s a ridiculous beauty standard that refuses to die: “Oh women can be badasses, but they also have to be hot while doing so.”
All of this speaks to a greater need for more women in writers’ rooms and directors’ chairs, where these decisions are being made. It should be noted that out of all the Marvel films, the ones that did not use combat heels (like Black Panther and Captain Marvel) were films that highlighted the experiences of women characters. And in the case of Captain Marvel, they also featured a woman co-director in Anna Boden.
The Root of the Problem
Hollywood is a major contributor to this problem, but much of this stems from the fashion industry. Many fashion brands seem to be prioritizing style over comfort, to the point that modern heels are almost impossible to walk in for long periods of time.
It’s important to remember that it hasn’t always been like this. Women wore heeled slippers and boots for centuries. But those shoes had heels that were shorter and blockier, a.k.a. heels that were made for dancing and movement, not just for show.
Just because Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did backward and in high heels doesn’t mean that every woman should be held to the same standard. Especially when these heels are outright dangerous to walk in, much less fight in.
(featured image: screenshot/TikTok)
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