Are high heels used to make women weaker?

[angell84]

I am in a cafe having a cup of tea with a friend.

A small woman stumbled in, in high heels that she could barely walk in. She was with a large domineering man - he was striding ahead, and she could barely keep up.

I looked at her, and I had a thought that I have had a few times.

Why do women wear high heels? And Why do the fashion industry keep pushing high heels at women?

They are uncomfortableto wear, they physically hurt us in the long run- I looked at a scientific study online before I wrote this. It said that wearing high heels weaken women's muscles.

And they make us incredibly weak and vulnerable - we are barely able to walk - let alone run, wearing them. I.e it suits men with bad intentions - for us to wear them.

Does anyone else think this?

the Problem with a lot of completely flat shoes is that they’re flat, but thick and unresponsive.

A lot of physios, podiatrists etc encourage wearing 'barefoot' shoes which are technically flat but also light and flexible and allow the foot to respond to the ground.

I hope to be able to wear some one day when my plantar fasciitis fucks off.

But RE the OP. Yes, heels encourage the shortening of calf muscles, they tilt the pelvis, and give people bunions.

Sure Prince looked great in them but WHY did he feel the need? Because short men are derided because they can’t possibly be masculine.

Sure, the make dresses look less 'frumpy' but in what way? Because they tilt your pelvis and make your bum stick out more - and who is that for?

I believe people can choose TK wear what they want, but like a PP said - this stuff doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are a million little social messages that influence these decisions and I think it’s responsible to think critically about them sometimes.

I have just read @Cos1ma's post though and agree with your/her summation.

Pretty sure woman can do whatever they want and wear whatever they want. So yeah your being unreasonable.

I agree, I was traveling on the tube late one evening and was struck by the number of young women barely able to walk due to wearing impossibly high heels.
I like nice shoes, I'm not really a trainer person but I must be able to walk and if necessary run in any shoes that I buy!

Pretty sure woman can do whatever they want and wear whatever they want. So yeah your being unreasonable

I agree. I love wearing heels. I also own my own business which I started from scratch, ive achieved an awful lot in a "mans world" as a woman so I really resent being told I'm basically a silly woman who has been brainwashed by clothes designers. I have no health problems- i jog every day and wear flats when I want to and when I feel like it and I wear heels when I want to and when I feel like it. OP- are you also this passionate about the health issues associated with smoking and drinking? because they cause the NHS far more problems than heels do. Both of those habits have been linked to cancer.

Threads like these always ooze superiority and judginess that other women have chosen to live their lives differently and therefore are somehow "wrong". I hate it. Why not encourage women and build them up rather than criticise them and tell them their choices arent as "valid" as yours.

I hate wearing heels. I feel most sexy and empowered in my biker boots. I want to get to where I’m going with a confident stride in my step.

Heels obviously invoke a feeling of power otherwise historically it wouldn't have been the case that they were worn commonly by wealthy men. (And also to make their calves look more shapely) so we know they have a psychological impact too.

I like wearing a few inch block heels, I think my bottom looks much more shapely and I like wearing them but I couldn't do those crazy high ones where walking is restricted

Heels obviously invoke a feeling of power

Agree- they make me feel very powerful!

Or maybe it’s an illusion of power?
Lol

Or maybe it’s an illusion of power

lol nope. Its not an illusion when youre arguing with an arrogant, mysogynistic prick whilst sitting in a board room meeting and then you both get up. I'm 6 foot in heels and he's 5'6".

Its both powerful and fantastic!

Being tall doesn't make you powerful, @AlexisCarringtonColbyDexter .

Ever heard of Napoleon? Churchill? Mussolini? Alexander the Great? Stalin? Lenin? Franco? Kim Jong-Il? Cleopatra? Queen Victoria?

None of them were over 5'6.

Or do you think that all of their power was 'illusory'?

Short men are very very insecure in my experience. They dont like women being taller- ive had lots of comments from men about being "too tall" - its definitely a "thing" that makes them insecure.

Studies have shown height is related to power and social status and interpersonal dominance:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4342156/

www.apa.org/monitor/julaug04/standing

rdw.rowan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2251&context=etd

www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/2/140216-short-tall-height-perception-psychology-bias-science/

That doesnt mean you cant be powerful and short, but height IS related to social status and dominance and perception of power, hence the well known "short man" syndrome.

Do you think that really gets you their respect? I’m not so sure.

Do you think that really gets you their respect? I’m not so sure

I dont do it to get "respect"- I like it because it makes me "feel" powerful and confident. I'm not sure why that seems to be antagonising people so much but apparently a woman feeling powerful and confident annoys the hell out of some of you. Perhaps you would prefer me to feel small and insignificant instead?

Conversely, are you saying that wearing flat shoes would earn "respect"?

Or maybe it’s an illusion of power?

No I am not a stupid woman thanks, I know how something makes me feel. Heels to me sound power, standing taller & straighter makes me feel powerful. It gives me confidence.
I get that’s not the case for you but how dare you tell the rest of us women that how we feel about something is an illusion.

I’m just trying to get to the truth.

Personally, I’ve seen plenty of senior women wearing flats at work and they are certainly not short of respect. It didn’t make a difference to me anyway. I‘m not a fan of artifice myself. If something is an illusion I don’t see the point in pursuing it. That’s all.

The thing is, I have heard comments and observed reactions to female heel wearers from men that made me suspect that men don’t see the wearing of heels in the workplace as a mere matter of equalising height.

I didn’t say your feeling was an illusion. I meant that the power was illusory. Ie you feel power, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have any.

But shouldn't we be doing what we can to aid us to feel powerful?

Yes we should ffswhatnext 😃

If something makes some women feel powerful like heels then who are other women to mock that. We all have ways of upping our confidence/ feeling powerful.

Me and the above poster didn’t say we HAD power (although I own my business so I have) we said it make us FEEL powerful

The thing is, I have heard comments and observed reactions to female heel wearers from men that made me suspect that men don’t see the wearing of heels in the workplace as a mere matter of equalising height

So?

Yes some women can run in heels. I would imagine most could run faster in other footwear. Don't see stilettos becoming the footwear of choice for the Olympic 800 metres.
But hey, I can't fun in flats either.

I run fasted in my ASICS Gel Nimbus 15 but I’m not going to start wearing them to work just on the off chance I get stabbed or there is a terror attack en route.

I will continue wearing my heels and walk normally in them.

I have heels but l hardly ever wear them. Yes women can wear what they want, but women can wear corsets and dresses to their ankles as well but very few do because they aren't practical and well they were imposed. If men wear heels too, it would be fine. But they don't.

I found it odd that so many women appear on eg Breakfast News or other topical
Programmes wearing the same beige stilettos. Took me a while to realise that they were stock shoes for women when the appear on tv.
Have always chuckled at women in stilettos... they never seem to know how ridiculous their posture is when they walk.
Why a woman would want to commit to bunions and back pain in their later years is beyond me.
It’ll never change though...

If men wear heels too, it would be fine. But they don't.

Men do wear them. Prince and Tom Cruise have already been mentioned as well as others iirc.

Never mind actors, dancers, drag queens etc.