Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you've heard about Democratic Senator Wendy Davis' historic filibuster that took place at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday.
The bill Davis was fighting, SB 5, would have put an end to abortions after 20 weeks and potentially closed all but a handful of the state's existing clinics.
With a strong, boisterous conservative majority in the Texas Senate, the likelihood that the bill would pass and become law was too great to ignore for pro-choice advocates. So with a roaring crowd of feminist supporters, Davis stood for hours and succeeded in shutting down the controversial bill.
During her filibuster, Davis sported a pair of pink Mizuno Wave Riders, which have attracted quite a bit of attention in the marketplace this week. Knowing that rules prohibited her from leaning, sitting or taking breaks during her filibuster, Davis opted to wear supportive athletic shoes.
Many believe the senator chose the shoes because pro-life Republican feminists are often referred to as "pink elephants." In 2010, Sarah Palin emphasized that there would be an increase in pink elephants in the coming years, promising an increase in GOP women fighting against pro-choice rights.
Harper Cornell, public relations manager at Mizuno, spoke to CultureMap about the phenomenon and its effect on the company. "The resulting attention from media and social media has driven a significant increase in traffic to MizunoRunning.com and the Wave Rider 16 product page, specifically. [Mizuno's] daily website traffic totals nearly double compared to the same day last week, and the Wave Rider 16 product page led as the no. 1 viewed page."
Cornell continued, "[They] are proud of the running shoes [they] develop for customers and know the Wave Rider’s design is able to provide the comfort and cushioning needed for any endurance event, whether it’s a 5K, a marathon or 10-hour filibuster."
Cornell wasn't able to disclose if Wave Rider sales had noticeably increased since Mizuno is a privately-held company, and emphasized that while the company appreciate's Davis' choice in footwear, Mizuno does not maintain a corporate position related to the issue in discussion.
For those Austinites hoping to get their hands on a pair of these now-historic shoes, you're in luck. Both Luke's Locker and Texas Running Company have the mesh pink shoes (the technical color combination is "Rogue Red/Apple Green") in stock.
And if you have extra time, it's worth reading the comical Mizuno Wave Rider 16 reviews on Amazon.com, which note that shoes are "marathon shoe[s] for marathon filibustering" and "fit perfectly up a Republican's rear."
Wendy Davis' Mizunos.
