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?

Just... don't wear them? I couldn't walk in heels if my life depended on it, so I don't wear them. Obviously a lot of people DO buy them so that's why they sell :S (I wish I could walk in them as I have the shortest stumpiest legs ever.)

The majority of women wearing heels are choosing to do so, so should take responsibility for their own fashion choices and the physical consequences rather than blaming it on men. That's not to say some women might not be pressured into wearing them by men, but most aren't. The fashion industry pushes them because women buy them.

I agree with the OP. However it's (usually) the woman's choice to wear heels, or not. I don't own any heels any more. I am under 5'3" so would be an ideal target consumer, probably.

I do believe that just because someone makes a specific choice, it doesn't mean they necessarily feel free to make that choice, IYSWIM. For example, who removes their body hair? And how many women wish they felt confident enough to leave it? And makeup, how many threads /posts have we all seen from women who struggle to abandon their makeup, because they just "don't feel right / confident / whatever" without it?

A LOT of it is down to confidence, less people than you think actually give a crap if you wear flats or heels. Unless they love shoes, they won't even notice.

I wear a lot of suits with flat shoes. Never been seen as less professional or taken any less seriously.

I also wear the odd dress, and occasionally wore mini-skirts with high boots. Never seen any difference in the way people react or treat me. Maybe it's because I work in a male environment, and women would have something to say about my heels or lack of?

I feel a bit sorry for women in heels. They look so dated and try hard, kind of desperate to get men to fancy them. The only woman in my office who wore them looked like she’d walked straight out of the ‘90s. Why on earth would you choose to disable yourself just to make your bum wigglier?

From about the 17th Century, upper class men and women of breeding used to encumber themselves with bizarre fashion items as a sign of their wealth and status, to signal that they were not ‘trade.’

Keith Thomas writes really well about this in his new book ‘in pursuit of civility’.

Things were particularly hard for women because both well bred men and upstart men in trade needed to prove that their wife could be idle as this was a sign of their great wealth.

High heels are a left over remnant of this. Women in 50 years will probs think women were a bit barking still to be wearing them.

Now children's shoes and schools. They're a bloody good example of bad shoes.
Trying to find a decent pair of hardwearing shoes that fits the schools' criteria is hard. A lot of them were at least, basically flimsy ballet style. As an adult, I won't wear them, especially in the pissing down rain. Yet young girls are supposed to put up with this,

Then buy the 'boys' shoes for your girls at the wrong age, and omfg, the comments from other children are bizarre. They should be going home pissed off, saying hey how comes Jayne can be in school all day with dry, warm feet but I cannot.

I don't think made the choice with regards to conforming or not. I just went for shoes that were practical and comfy.

Are they remaining in those silly shoes because of what society in general tell them, or because of parents personal choice? Oh, they did have the silly shoes as well because they wanted them at some point, and well until you try you don't know how crap they really are lol.

Yanbu. The day I decided to never wear them again was a happy one indeed. I think I read that a woman who was killed in a London terror attack fell while trying to run away in high heels. I like clothes that are comfortable and keep me warm, shoes I can walk and run in, nails that still allow me to use my hands properly. My main purpose is not decorative, I want to be able to use my body.

I feel a bit sorry for women in heels. They look so dated and try hard, kind of desperate to get men to fancy them.

nice goady post, but it's only showing YOU in a ridiculous way, not the ones who like heels. Try harder

Wasn't there a woman in the London Bridge attack who tried and failed to take her high heels off? That sent shivers down my spine, poor woman

www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/13/london-bridges-youngest-victim-died-slipped-high-heels-attempting/amp/

My youngest daughter wears kickers. Fashionable and practical, no difference from her brother at school. You can buy shoes for girls. You can also buy trainers and any footwear you fancy!

I have never bought or worn high heels. Any man who suggested I should would get a fairly blunt two word response.

If you want to wear them, go ahead. If you don’t, don’t. Just don’t try to depict them as some sort of misogynistic plot. They are nothing of the kind.

@JustInCaseCakeHappens Still true though.

There was me in thinking I wear them to accentuate my legs (they need all the help they can get

I would also say I can move around in heels of all seizes quite comfortably. You cannot dress for fear of something that almost certainly won’t happen, nor blame the entire male race for the actions of a few evil men - not that such an opinion is particularly popular on MN

LellyMcKelly
you think women need heels to attract men's attention? I see what your problem is, I feel sorry for you. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself hey

@JustInCaseCakeHappens
Like I said things may have moved on.
When my dd's where in school they had a cap on the amount you could spend. Kickers etc fell into wrong uniform camp.

They were somewhere between 10 and 12 at the time. Weird hormonal stages. The transition from primary to secondary looming/in progress etc. Suddenly a little thing that had been fine for years suddenly became an issue. It was really bizarre. Kids hey, would have em?😂

Most men (including DH I have to say) seem to hate some of favourite heels. Some men do have very "conservative" taste. Is that supposed to stop me from wearing them?

You really need heels to empower you?

I’ve always felt self conscious in heels purely because I reach 6ft3-4 in them and that seems to make men generally a bit uncomfortable. I often used to get comments on how “big” I am (I’m not big fwiw), which I admit in my youth was not what I wanted to hear...

Perhaps they worry I can see their bald spots from up here 😂

However I can imagine that if I was shorter, it would be nice to look people in the eye and not the armpit, particularly at work.

You really need heels to empower you

Yup! When youve been told your whole life youre "too tall" by men who perhaps were in fact too short, then its very empowering to embrace your height and in fact increase it even more! Its fab

When youve been told your whole life youre "too tall" by men who perhaps were in fact too short

So you're doing it as a reaction to criticism from men?

So you're doing it as a reaction to criticism from men

OMG no lolol I'm finally doing something I always wanted to do but never did before because of negativity from men! Thats why its empowering. I no longer give a shit what anyone else thinks of my heels. I love them.

I feel a bit sorry for women in heels. They look so dated and try hard, kind of desperate to get men to fancy them. The only woman in my office who wore them looked like she’d walked straight out of the ‘90s. Why on earth would you choose to disable yourself just to make your bum wigglier?

Whoever said they didn't see any sexism, this post flew the sexism flag. Also good job willfully ignoring the posts saying other reasons such as health, not a - paraphrasing - wiggly bum

That’s why Marilyn Monroe said she wore them @Pollypocket89.