Last week, I read a post on Fit Chick in the City about Skechers Shape-ups for Girls. Not girls as in females, but girls as in little girls.

Jess asked the question, “Is this commercial sending the wrong message to girls about body image or is it just encouraging a new generation that being active is important?“

Without even watching the video, I responded with my outrage:

Horrible idea. Not just because the shoes themselves are dangerous (they gave my mom a stress fracture in her foot) but more importantly because they send the idea that being fit and toned is what is important — not the actual EXERCISE which encompasses so much more than just looks. Terrible for body image, terrible for message. Children do not need an “easy way out” of exercising. They need to learn to love being active.

And then I watched it.

Uhh . . . this commercial says absolutely nothing about the fact that these are not regular sneakers. I would assume that by now most people — most parents — are familiar with Shape-ups, but what about those that might not be? Those parents will have no clue, based on this commercial, that these shoes claim to: “burn more calories, tone muscles, improve posture, reduce stress on back and legs.” And this is how they claim to do so:

“Designed to improve your life by changing the way you walk, Skechers Shape-ups feature a unique soft kinetic wedge insert and dynamic rolling bottom to stimulate walking barefoot on a yielding surface such as sand.”

To explain, this creates an unevenness and a need to use your muscles to balance, which is where the “toning” work comes in.

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It is one thing for an adult to make the decision to try these balancing shoes out (although I have strong opinions about this as well, and they aren’t pretty), but a child? That commercial makes these shoes seem fun and cute. Never mind the fact that there is a warning that come with the shoes explicitly stating NOT to run in them. What young girl in the playground with her friends will know that‽ That’s actually how my mom got her stress fracture with these shoes — she ran for less than 30 seconds in an urgent situation. That is all it took. Less than 30 seconds. Do you really think a kid in recess is going to say, “Sorry guys — can’t play. My shoes are for toning, not running around.” And that is assuming the girl even knows that her shoes are for toning (REALLY?! TONING a child’s legs?!”) and is aware that she should not run in them.

Especially when “Heidi’s got new Shape-ups, got everything a girl wants. She’s got the height, got the bounce. She’s lookin’ good and havin’ fun ‘cuz Heidi’s got new Shape-ups.”

These commercials are being aired on the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, targeted to children as young as PRE-SCHOOL age.

Disgusting.

So let’s ignore the fact that the commercial is totally misleading. Let’s assume that everyone knows what these shoes are for.

For their intended purpose, Sketcher’s Shape-ups for Girls are horrifying on two levels:

1. Body-image

I often feel sad that there is so much pressure to be thin and wonder how things got to be this way. There are so many more important things to think and worry about, and THIS is where we spend our money, our time, our energy? I love working out and I do it for many reasons — being “skinny” at the very bottom of my list, I can’t deny that it is there — and I wish more women would focus on being strong and healthy.

I constantly think about how when I have children, I am never going to say a single word about my body in front of them — unless it is to say how strong I am, or how I am happy with the way I look and feel. They are never going to hear a single negative thought. They are never going to hear that I wish my side-stomach area was smaller. I’ll always think it, but they will never know this. I don’t want them to have a single negative reference when it comes to judging their own bodies — at least none that come from me.

And here we have a commercial targeting babies — BABIES! — for shoes that indirectly tell them they need to tone their legs and their butts. Four-year-olds. Toning their tushies.

Kids should learn from an early age to love exercising.  Love it because it is fun, because it is healthy. Go to summer camp and be active. Join sports teams. Take dance, like I did my entire life — even though I sucked. The benefits to exercise are infinite.

It is one thing for adults to choose to buy these possibly dangerous shoes and try to find a quick fix, an “easy” way to tone up. Kids do not need to be toned. They do not need an easy way out of exercise. They do not need to be sent a message (even though the commercial isn’t clear, it does come down to this) that they need to tone up their legs and butts.

Things are so f*cked up as it is when it comes to body image these days. We should be promoting healthy body image. As Jezebel perfectly says, “Little girls should not worry about toning their thighs and butts.”

2. Safety

People see Skecher’s Shape-ups (and other similar shoes from different brands) as a way OUT of exercising. A shortcut. But there are no shortcuts! You want to feel magnificent and look great? Exercise! That is how I do it. That is how most of us who are healthy and in great shape do it.

There are many claims and at least one lawsuit that these shoes are dangerous and can cause injuries.  My own mom got a stress fracture wearing them! The woman with the lawsuit has stress fractures in both her hips. Maybe it is a fluke and the shoes are not responsible, but we don’t know for sure. Shoes like these have not been out for very long, and we do not know the long-term effects. Is that really something we want to experiment with on children?

Kids do not have the judgement to make that decision.

Thoughts?

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