I hate galoshes, but I would totally wear a pair like that.
Tell the Goon to keep rocking.
Seriously, itās like they think the worst thing a man could be is a somewhat womanly (not that pink actually has anything to do with women), but no one has a problem with women being somewhat manly. Itās stupid.
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I agree with @BZMacLachlan - menās shoes tend to run a bit wider. I have really flat feet (wide in front) so I buy menās running shoes/trainers/whatever when Iām buying casual footwear. Theyāre comfortably wider in the front, and only slightly wider in the heel. If you buy womenās āwideā shoes, theyāll be wide all the way down. They slip right off my narrow heel. With menās shoes, I can just pop a bit of moleskin in the heel and that fixes the fit so thereās no slipping (no blisters!).
Also: on womenās shoes, heels tend to be higher - unless theyāre one of the styles set to reverse your balance. I recommend going to an outlet and trying shoes from several manufacturers. They each have basic cuts they stick to.
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What technical differences would there be? Feet are feet. Of course all feet are unique, so if you want to be sure you get the right shoes for your feet, go to a shop where an expert can advise you on the best shoes for your feet. One type of shoes for men and another type for women is ridiculous. Personal differences are far bigger than the differences in gender-based averages, other than size. In fact, when my sister and I looked for good running shoes, we ended up with nearly the same model.
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Iām kinda torn on this one - as someone who was bullied mercilessly from the age of 11 my first instinct was āwhy the fuck are you going out of your way to turn your kid into a bully magnet? Donāt you know you are preparing your son for a life of torture and misery?ā
Then I think of my daughter - we went out of our way to provide gender neutral toys and not to force her to be anything she didnāt want to be. She ended up all ponies and Disney Princesses with little encouragement from us, maybe osmotically absorbing the cultural norms from society. I would have supported her wholeheartedly if she wanted to play GI Joe and football with the guys.
Would I try and dissuade a son who wanted to wear pink chucks though? I dunno. I think I would. Any sign of being effeminate when I was growing up was a green light for assholes to bully you. Sigh.
TIL Iām a bigoted asshole.
Maybe we should start a Goon and Company fan club/support group for all the little Boing Boing related urchins. Just something somewhere to say youāre a cool kid and itās great to be just who you are. When I was a little boy I loved flowers. I went to Catholic grade school and frequently brought big bouquets of flowers for the Virgin Maryās shrine. I caught unmerciful shit about being a little pansy flower boy but I hung in with it. Little did I know I was a closet pagan as well as a closet gay kid. It sure would have been great to have someone tell me my choices were cool.
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As a non-parent, I think thatās an awesome idea.
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Thanks, Maybe some of the BB staffers could figure out a section that would appeal to the little boingsters and the older of us could share our support for them. Might be a fun connection of strange minds.
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Maybe in grade school, the answer is to say something along the lines of āthatās probably a battle youāll fight better later.ā Let him have the shoes, but for a secret identity, and tell him to play the conventional role most of the time. Then, if he still wants the pink shoes when heās older, think about it some more. Middle school and high school kids are such sensitive fashion deviation detectors that playing a role starts to require real dedication. If all the work of a careful and deliberate deception donāt appeal, just stop. A an all-out āfuck you, Iām doing it my wayā attitude is a partial defense at best against tween/teen nastiness, but, done well, itās got to be better than partial conformity that still draws bullies. Iām not sure about this though. I tried to keep my head down at those ages, and I always ended up getting something wrong. I may have a bias in favor of trying it any way but the way I did.
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As a trans woman, the most significant difference seems to be size availability.
I like the colorful stuff. My roommate has some purple running shoes with pink rubber and highlights and Iām pretty jealous because gods those things are cool. 
Maybe itās all that time watching Star Trek TNG growing up as a kid but I canāt really get behind hating on the new colorful sneakers.
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For what itās worth, Iāve been noticing a big comeback of pink as a trend in urban cyclist fashion for both men and women.
Itās everywhere lately, from upscale roadie chic apparel brand Rapha to cool-kid fixed gear bikes from both old and new fashion-conscious builders.
And somehow young men from China to Brazil seem to have no problem embracing all this baby and hot pink simply as fun and vibrant colors.
Not sure where this comes from exactly or how much the historical importance of the color in Italian cycling tradition has to do with anything, but itās definitely a thing.
I think they look like a hyperactive three year-oldās description of a Chris Foss spaceship. But not in a good way.
Now that you mentioned it, Iām pretty sure a Nike/Foss ācollaboā special edition sneaker would be both awesome and highly coveted.
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Iām not sure why that is. They may only be thinking about its visibility for people who have color vision. At night, and for people with color blindness, reds are colors to avoid when seeking visibility. Anyone riding a hot pink bike, or wearing hot pink while riding, needs to make sure their reflectors and lights are working.
Hereās a short page on different color visibility for daytime cycling and color blindness.
Thatās pretty interesting stuff, but I donāt think being hi-viz factors at all in this kind of āpink or notā decision for most of the demographic I was thinking of. Maybe being visible in the ādo I still look really cool from afarā way is a consideration. (:
Bicycle color barely registers from the front or back so itās not much of a consideration for real world safety. What I think works as a ābeing seenā strategy is strong front and back lights first, bright white shirt or helmet second. That should give ya at least a fighting chance day or night, color vision or not.
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