waddling ducks
せっかく高いヒールを履いたなら、かっこよく歩きたいと思いませんか。
JAPAN’S ‘WADDLING DUCKS’ UNDERGO STILETTO THERAPY
Feminists, look away! Fashion police in Japan want to “empower” women by persuading them to wear high heels, insisting the country’s historic “kimono culture” has led to many women having poor posture.
The Japan High Heel Association (JHA) is calling on women across the country to trade sensible shoes for a pair of stilettos, insisting that standing tall will give them “confidence” — and improve their gait.
“Japanese women walk like ducks,” JHA managing director “Madame” Yumiko said at her plush Tokyo salon.
“They waddle along, pigeon-toed, with their bottoms sticking out as if they’re bursting to use the toilet. It looks ghastly,” she added.
In an apparent bid to improve this situation, the all-female organisation charges thousands of dollars for etiquette lessons, including special classes where women are taught to walk correctly, and particularly in high heels.
Critics have branded the idea sexist and laughable, particularly as women are still battling against a deeply ingrained patriarchal culture that once expected them to pace three steps behind men.
（以下省略）
今回取り上げる表現は、見出し部分の”waddling ducks”です。
まずwaddle(waddling)に注目します。
Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、” walk with short steps and a clumsy swaying motion”とのことでした。
また『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版、大修館）には、「（アヒルのように）よたよた[よちよち]歩く」と載っておりました。
文中で“Japanese women walk like ducks,”と述べられていることから、見出し部分のducksは日本人女性のことの比喩であることが分かります。
以上をふまえ” waddling ducks”は、「（まるでアヒルのように）ぎこちなく歩く日本人女性」のような意味になるかと思います。（Gomez）
