Men, boys walk on heels for Women’s Month

WITH broad shoulders, a round belly, and a beard that makes him look like a movie villain, nobody would expect 57-year-old Lando Comeros to dress like a woman.

But yesterday he did.

The councilor from barangay Lorega-San Miguel in Cebu City  donned his wife’s pink floral blouse, ankle-length white skirt, a neon orange wig, and pink fashion glasses to make a statement about women.

“All I want is for women to be treated with tender, loving care by men,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Comeros joined 200 individuals from different sectors for the celebration of Women’s Month with a “power walk” from Fuente Osmena circle to the Capitol compound.

Several young men walked in high heels, the better to experience life in the shoes of women.

The activity “In Her Shoes” was organized by the National Youth Commission (NYC) with the office of Provincial Board Member Antonio Miguel Magpale.

The unusual parade included members of the academe, government, and the  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer (LGBTQ) Communityy.

Some guys wore pink balloons around their heads while others wore purple.

Arbe Abesa, a 15-year-old student from Abellana National School, was in his white school polo and khaki pants . He paired this with four-inch orange platform shoes.

“I wanted to experience what it’s like to do things women do,” he said, the better to understand his mother and 10-year-old sister.

Abesa said he realized it’s difficult to balance on high heels for just a few minutes.

Kit Cruz, NYC commissioner-at-large Kit Cruz, also wore his wife’s purple high heels.

“We are not doing this to trivialize the situation of women or to make fun of them,” he said during a speech at the Capitol grounds.

Cruz said that the discrimination and prejudice against women still exits today.

A deep patriarchal mindset needs to be changed, he added.

“What we aim to do today is start changing that perception—to see women as more than just objects of beauty or just objects, but to see them as equals,” he said.

Cruz said he hopes to organize a similar event in the years to come.

“If doing it every year means finally changing how we see women, then we will do it,” said Cruz.