Fundraiser requires contestants to don heels

A group of Pitt men will walk a mile for charity on Tuesday.

But instead of their usual sneakers, these men will be wearing high heels.

The sisters of Pitt’s Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority will host “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” at 9 p.m. Tuesday in 121 David Lawrence Hall. Admission costs $1 and all ticket-sale proceeds will go to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit that benefits families with premature children.

Junior rehabilitation sciences major and Gamma Sigma Sigma Public Relations Coordinator Maria Lopez said she hopes the silliness of the event will attract a large crowd of students.

“We did not anticipate that so many guys would be willing to do it,” Lopez said. “We’re definitely trying to get the largest-size shoes that we can.”

The 10 to 15 male contestants represent various campus organizations, including Delta Chi fraternity, the club Quidditch team, Triangle fraternity and Brazil Nuts, a Portuguese and Brazilian culture club active on Pitt’s campus.

They will compete in several events: a tug-of-war, a race and a pageant-like promenade, all in their high heels.

Senior Jenna Monocello, Gamma Sigma Sigma president, said she is excited to see how the contestants perform.

“They’re going to be graded on poise and grace,” Monocello said. “And how many times they trip.”

A panel of three Gamma Sigma Sigma sisters will judge participants during each event. The winner will receive a prize of $200 to go to the charitable organization of his choice. A second prize of $175 will go to the charity selected by the student organization with the most members present at the event.

“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” is also the name of a national organization that hosts similar events to raise awareness for domestic violence and violence against women.

Monocello said the Gamma Sigma Sigma event is in no way affiliated with the national Walk a Mile in Her Shoes organization, which helps to coordinate similar events.

She said she was not aware that the event she was planning shared its name with the national organization.

Monocello said she first thought of the idea to host the event at Pitt after meeting a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma from a different chapter at the sorority’s national convention in St. Louis. Other chapters of Gamma Sigma Sigma had been putting on similar events to raise money for the March of Dimes, and Monocello loved the idea.

“Being a group of 200-plus girls, we all have the real possibility of benefiting from this organization,” she said. “And a lot of guys aren’t really exposed to it. It’s going to affect them just as much if they’re in a family. We might as well raise awareness now and get them thinking.”

Todd Reeser, director of the women’s studies program at Pitt, said that an event like this highlights how our society views gender.

Reeser said that when men wear traditionally feminine clothing such as dresses or high heels, they are affirming that they are not like women by presenting themselves as distinctly contrasting with the feminine clothing. Laughter, he said, is the audience’s way of confirming the absurdity of a man in women’s clothing.

“Gender is always complicated, and there is no single answer to what gender in this situation means,” Reeser said. “Needless to say, the fact that this gendered event is for charity means that good will be produced.”

The restaurant Chipotle will provide refreshments, and Oakland community organizations will be present to pass out literature. Raffle tickets will be sold for prizes including gift baskets and gift cards from Maggie & Stella’s, the University Store on Fifth and Gap.

The Pitches and Tones, an a cappella group, will also perform at the event.  

Although Tuesday night’s event will be a first for Pitt’s chapter of Gamma Sigma Sigma, the sorority’s members said they hope to hold this event annually to benefit the March of Dimes if this year’s event is a success.

Regardless of the turnout, Lopez and Monocello said it should be a worthwhile affair for the male participants.

“I think it’s only funny because they don’t do it,” Monocello said. “They’re not used to the pain in the front of the shoe and the wobbling around. It’s just going to be funny to see them do what we do on a regular basis.”