Do you mean dragging their feet...I guess they do but I'm not too sure. I haven't seen many do it in Beijing. If they did they'd probably get ran over since it always gets crowded in the subway.

There are girls back home who drag their feet too, and it's really annoying. I think part of the problem is that a lot of them wear high heels, or shoes with a thick sole, which makes them more difficult to walk in. Many women here wear heels, but they don't know how to walk in them. It's kind of like how some people hunch their shoulders but they don't seem to notice. They don't seem to mind, but it seems really uncomfortable. Whatever the reason, you can say something, but they won't change how they walk, sorry.

Laziness.

And some girls think it's cute (in a childlike way) / sexy / shows a submissiveness that men are attracted to.

Because they are all cowgirl wanna be's and think that is the way they should walk.

You haven't noticed the "Chinese girls walk like a duck" effect?  Not all, but there are a lot that do.

I notice the same thing in the US for girls who ride horses a lot - and most of the girls you see do that here are a bit bowlegged.

I think maybe it comes from the history of horse riding.  Just an idea...

When you see a girl in China walking like a duck, look at her knees to her feet.  Her calves probably look like this:  () - not straight, but curved.  If she stands with her feet together, there is a space there.

I truly think is an evoltionary leftover from Mongolian horse riding culture - that shape of leg mkes it easier to ride a horse.  Many people of Mongolian heritage have this feature.  Since the Mongols ruled China for quite a while (oh, I mean it was a "Chinese" emperor...) it makes sense that some people would carry on this genetic trait.

This is a general observation, not meant to be racist or anything.  But look at the girls that shuffle their feet (and guys too) and check out the structure between the knees and feet.  You'll see what I mean.