History Main / ShoeSizeAngst

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* [[https://www.deviantart.com/art/Feet-260973190 This comic]] by ''Zombiesmile''.
[[/folder]]

In many works of fiction, a character will be ashamed or made fun of for the size of their feet. If the character is female, then their feet will usually be larger compared to their peers, as large feet are considered unfeminine. If the character is male, then their feet will usually be on the smaller side, due to the stereotype about [[BiggerIsBetterInBed men with big feet]]. Said characters will often be on the receiving end [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer taunts and jeers from those around them]], but they'll ultimately learn to accept their size by the end of the story, and maybe even find an asset in their feet.

Subtrope of AppearanceAngst.

* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', one episode had a subplot about Shelly's embarrassment over her unusually large feet, brought on by having to buy new shoes. This was apparently inspired by the actor, Cynthia Geary, herself having those feelings.

* Asuka Tanako from ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'', whose large feet make it hard for her to find comfortable shoes, hence [[DoesNotLikeShoes she prefers to walk barefoot]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Leela wears size 12 shoes and is made fun of a couple times because of it.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:RealLife]]
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding Foot binding]] was a common practice among Chinese women to stunt the growth of their feet, as small feet are considered beauty and status symbols in Chinese culture. Its popularity decreased drastically in the early 20th century once the practice became linked to several long-lasting disabilities.
* Many celebrities (particularly female) with exceptionally large feet have often been quoted about their dislike for their large feet:
** Creator/KateWinslet has mentioned before how disproportionate her size 11 feet are to her height (5'7"). Apparently, during the filming of ''Titanic'', she had to put up with her co-star Leonardo Dicaprio's teasing of her "canoes", as he would call them.
** Creator/AudreyHepburn used to be discontent with how big her feet were.
** Same for Creator/ParisHilton (size 11). At least she was able to launch her own shoe line.
** Creator/SalmaHayek, Creator/ShantelVanSanten, Music/MandyMoore are other examples of this.
** Subverted with Creator/GretaGarbo. She was often mocked and caricatured as having oversized feet, in spite of wearing an average size 8.
** Creator/MargotRobbie is a size 8.5, which is rather disproportionate to her 5'6'' frame.
--->''“I have big feet. Do you know how embarrassing it is when you ask for a shoe and they look at you like, ‘No, we don’t make these heels for Bigfoot, sorry. And I’m 5’6. I’m not that tall!”''
** Music/{{Brandy}} worried while filming ''Film/Cinderella1997'' that her feet would look too big when she tries on the glass slipper, lamenting on ''Series/TwentyTwenty'' that size 9 looks more like 12 on TV.
* People of any gender will usually have complaints if their shoe size is well above the average, as shoes in their size are both scarce and expensive. Ditto with people who have smaller than average shoe sizes, as some would be forced to shop at the children's department and look for designs that aren't too infantile.
* This is a frequent point of angst for {{drag queen}}s and transgender women. The general rule of thumb to convert men's shoe sizes to women's (at least with American sizing) is to add two; if the person is on the smaller side and wears a 7 in men's, they can easily find size 9 women's shoes. But if they're tall and wear a 14, not only is it hard enough to find ''men's'' shoes in that size, but their size in women's would be '''16'''. Needless to say, you are not going to find that at Macy's. Nowadays, the internet has made it much easier to find extended women's sizes (men's too, for that matter), but in decades past, such a person would have to seek out specialty drag shops nestled deep in the {{Gayborhood}} of a major city. One such example of an inclusive shoe brand is [[https://pleasershoes.com/ Pleaser]], whose styles come in sizes as large as size 16 and are geared towards drag performers, fetish subcultures, and transgender women.

In many works of fiction, a character will be ashamed or made fun of the size of their feet. If the character is female, then their feet will usually be larger compared to their peers, as large feet are considered unfeminine. If the character is male, then their feet will usually be on the smaller side, due to the stereotype about [[BiggerIsBetterInBed men with big feet]]. Said characters will often be on the receiving end [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer taunts and jeers from those around them]], but they'll ultimately learn to accept their size by the end of the story, and maybe even find an asset in their feet.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Yenny}}'' is largely about a girl who's biggest wish is to be a model, but is constantly hindered due to her massive feet (she wears size 18 U.S. Mens). Ironically the greatest successes for Yenny in the series so far have resulted primarily because of her feet, [[spoiler:as when she becomes a foot model, earning a huge fanbase on Facebook]].

--> '''Egon:''' "We're running out of time, Ray!"
--> '''Peter:''' "Can't she go any faster?"
--> '''Ray:''' "I'm afraid the vibration would shake her to pieces. We should've padded her feet."
--> '''Egon:''' "I don't think they make Nikes in her size, Ray."

* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', one episode had a subplot about Shelly's embarassment over her unusually large feet, brought on by having to buy new shoes. This was apparently inspired by the actor, Cynthia Geary, herself having those feelings.

* Donna from ''Series/That70sShow''. She's pretty insecure about her big feet, and is teased by Jackie.

* Suzy from ''Music/MissA''. Her feet are not even that big for western standards, merely a size 8.

* The late Creator/RichardJeni once talked about how he once worked at a woman's shoe store to meet women (although he acknowledged it did not work in the slightest). He said a common situation was women being upset that their feet are too big to fit into the shoes that they want, and then become mad at HIM.
--> "What do you mean I need a size 10? That's the largest size they make! Why do I need a size 10?" "Well, you put on a 9 and it exploded!"

* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'': As was shown in the UDON comic, the size and volume of Felicia's feet makes wearing shoes a painful and uncomfortable experience for her.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Leela wears size 12 shoes, and is made fun of a couple times because of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': A few episodes show Peggy being ashamed of her unusually large feet, which are interestingly enough asymmetrical at both size 16 and 16 1/2.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Although never a true inconvenience, Lila's giant feet don't allow her to wear anything that's not open-toed. This makes sense, since she's actually a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti sasquatch]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHigh'': Marisol Coxi is Bigfoot's daughter, and as such she has huge feet compared to the rest of the cast. Turns out she has the smallest feet of her village, though, about which she was insecure.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding Foot binding]] was a common practice among Chinese women to stunt the growth of their feet, as small feet are considered beauty and status symbols in Chinese culture. Its popularity decreased drastically the early 20th century once the practice became linked to several long-lasting disabilities.

** Creator/KateWinslet has mentioned before on how disproportionate her size 11 feet are to her height (5'7''). Apparently, during the filming of Titanic she had to put up with her co-star Leonardio Dicaprio's teasing of her "canoes", as he would call them.

* This is a frequent point of angst for {{drag queen}}s and transgender women. The general rule of thumb to convert men's shoe sizes to women's (at least with American sizing) is to add two; if the person is on the smaller side and wears a 7 in men's, they can easily find size 9 women's shoes. But if they're tall and wear a 14, not only is it hard enough to find ''men's'' shoes in that size, but their size in women's would be '''16'''. Needless to say, you are not going to find that at Macy's. Nowadays, the internet has made it much easier to find extended women's sizes (men's too, for that matter), but in decades past, such a person would have to seek out specialty drag shops nestled deep in the {{Gayborhood}} of a major city. One such example of an inclusive shoe brand is [[https://pleasershoes.com/ Pleaser]], whose styles come in sizes as large as size 16 and are geared towards drag performers, fetish subcultures and transgender women.

[[folder:ComicStrip]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Yenny}}'' is largely about a girl who's biggest wish is to be a model, but is constantly hindered due to her massive feet (she wears size 18 U.S. Mens). Ironically the greatest successes for Yenny in the series so far have resulted primarily because of her feet, [[spoiler:as when she becomes a foot model, earning a huge fanbase on Facebook]].

[[folder:Films - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'': After going back to the day that Cinderella was fitted with the glass slipper, Anastasia is clearly distressed when she has to stick out her huge foot to try it on.

* ''Film/LoveAndSex'': Adam, played by Jon Favreau, jokes about the size of Kate's feet at one point. She's played by Famke Janssen, who's known to have some big feet herself.

* Jodi from Netflix's comedy drama ''Film/TallGirl''.
-->"''I'm a high school junior wearing size 13 Nikes. Men's size 13 Nikes. Beat that.''"

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

* Grace from ''Literature/IWishForYou'', by actress and writer Creator/AmyHuberman. For a relatively petite person, she claims to have large feet that she is pretty self-conscious about. She has to keep reminding herself that Audrey Hepburn had size ten feet.
* Sarene from ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'' blushes when she has to accept socks and shoes in men's size. [[StatuesqueStunner It's only fitting]] , though.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* In ''Series/NorthernExposure'', one episode had a subplot about Shelly's embarassment over her unusually large feet, brought on by having to buy new shoes. This was apparently inspired by the actor, Cynthia Geary, herself having those feelings.

[[folder:{{Manga}}]]
* ''Manga/LudwigRevolution'' features a version of Cinderella whose feet are abnormally large (at least for a japanese girl, and most definitely for Cinderella), which she looks embarrassed to admit.

[[folder:{{Music}}]]
* Suzy from ''Music/MissA''. Her feet are not even that big for western standards, merely a size 8.
--> "My feet are too big to wear pretty shoes. Sometimes I put on heels that are too small for my feet when I go on stage, so my heels end up hurting a lot."

[[folder:{{StandUpComedy}}]]
* The late Creator/RichardJeni once talked about how he once worked at a woman's shoe store to meet women (although he acknowledged it did not work in the slightest). He said a common situation was women being upset that their feet are too big to fit into the shoes that they want, and then become mad at HIM.
--> "What do you mean I need a size 10? That's the largest size they make! Why do I need a size 10?" "Well, you put on a 9 and it exploded!"

[[folder:{{Toys}}]]
* ''Toys/MonsterHigh'': Marisol Coxi's pet peeve is listed as following, in her own words:
-->''"Shoe stores that do not carry my size. My feet are a work of art, so is it too much to ask for a store to carry a variety of stylish "frames" in my size?"''

[[folder:{{VideoGames}}]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'': As was shown in the UDON comic, the size and volume of Felicia's feet makes wearing shoes a painful and uncomfortable experience for her.

[[folder:WebComics]]
* [[https://www.deviantart.com/art/Feet-260973190 This comic]] by ''Zombiesmile''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'': Although never a true inconvenience, Lila's giant feet don't allow her to wear anything that's not open-toed. This makes sense, since she's actually a [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti sasquatch]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'': The episode "Love Thy Neighbor" reveals that [=LaCienega=] is an amazing swimmer...because she has huge, flipper-like feet, a hereditary trait from her father's side. She is deeply embarrassed by them, especially when she's laughed at by the other students, but she learns to accept them after a pep talk from Oscar, and she wins a beauty pageant with a synchronized swimming performance.

* ''Love & Sex'': Adam, played by Jon Favreau, jokes about the size of Kate's feet at one point. She's played by Famke Janssen, who's known to have some big feet herself.

* The children's book ''Betty Lou Blue'' revolves around a girl who is made fun of for her big feet. She later becomes a hero after her peers sink into a snowdrift and she saves them when her feet make for a natural pair of snowshoes.

* Grace from ''I Wish For You'', by actress and writer Amy Huberman. For a relatively petite person, she claims to have large feet that she is pretty self-conscious about. She has to keep reminding herself that Audrey Hepburn had size ten feet.

-->''“I have big feet. Do you know how embarrassing it is when you ask for a shoe and they look at you like, ‘No, we don’t make these heels for Bigfoot, sorry. And I’m 5’6. I’m not that tall!”''

-->''“I have big feet. Do you know how embarrassing it is when you ask for a shoe and they look at you like, ‘No, we don’t make these heels for Bigfoot, sorry,. And I’m 5’6. I’m not that tall!”''