I'm a teacher, musician, and filmmaker from Lawrence, Kansas https://twitter.com/beatmastermatt
Monday, May 26, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Why Do Women Wear High Heels?
One of the many reasons why I am glad that I am man- I don't have to wear high heels. Everyday, millions of women wear shoes that significantly raise their heels above their toes, despite the fact that the shoes are very uncomfortable and can cause chronic foot damage.
High heels can put a women's pelvis out of alignment. They can cause ingrown toe nails, compression of the spine, stress fractures, athlete's foot, and calluses. They can increase wear and tear in the joints and soft tissue, eventually causing arthritis. Wearing high heels actually shrinks the Achilles tendon, which causes great pain when you switch to flats. High heels are not practical- they get stuck in things. Have you ever tried hiking or driving in high heels? I know I haven't.
Women hate wearing high heels. A survey by the College of Podiatry found that 1 in 4 women found the pain of wearing high heels so great that they danced barefoot at a bar or club. In case you have never been to a bar or club, know that the average floor of a bar or club is cleaned about once a year and often caked with sticky remnants of adult beverages, spit, urine, vomit, and who knows what else.
Yet, women can't help but wear high heels, especially young women. In fact, the younger the woman, the higher their heels tend to be.
But why? Why on earth do women put themselves through such agony? And how long has this been going on? Perhaps a more important question is: Why did men stop wearing high heels?
That's right. The first high heels were worn by men, in the 9th century. Persian horse riders wore high heels to help hold their feet in stirrups.
At the end of the 16th century, the Persian king, Abbas I, sent diplomats to Russia, Germany, and Spain in order to see if they could help him defeat the Ottoman Empire. Europeans who saw these Persian men arriving in high heeled shoes were impressed. In fact, aristocrats were big fans- they believed that wearing such shoes gave men a masculine edge. The Persian high-heeled shoes began to become popular in Europe, so popular that even people of lower rank in society began to make and buy them. In response to this, aristocrats kept increasing the height of their high heels. Thus, the modern high heeled shoe was born.
Aristocrats believed that walking around in high heels was another way to announce their privileged status, as the shoes would be impractical for the working class. High heels were also a great way for them to not step in the poop on the streets! In addition, high heels allowed aristocrats to look down on people of lower rank (pun definitely intended.) Famous king dude Louis XIV of France had a hard time looking down on people, for he only stood 5 feet 4 inches. To help with this issue, he wore 4 inch high heels, which usually were elaborately decorated with battle scenes. The heels and soles were always red. In the 1670s, Louis XIV ordered that only members of his court were allowed to wear red heels. His influence was widespread. Soon kings everywhere were wearing high heels.
Around the same time, many European women were trying to look like men. I'm not kidding. There were women smoking pipes, wearing hats traditionally worn by men, cutting their hair, and...oh yeah...wearing high heels, in order to appear more masculine. Let me repeat that again- women began to wear high heels to look more like men.
By the end of the 1600s, both men and women in Europe's upper classes were wearing high heels. However, as the 1700s began, Europe was now in what became known as the Age of Enlightenment,. During this time, men began to abandon the wearing of jewelry, bright colors, and fancy clothes in favor of a darker, more plain and modest look. Men's clothing no longer signified social class, and thus the popularity of the male high heel declined. By 1740 men had stopped wearing high heels altogether. Women continued to wear them for awhile, but around the time of the French Revolution high heels fell out of style for just about everyone.
However, in the mid-1800s high heels slowly came back into style, but mostly with women. As women usually walk differently from men, high heels were found to help exaggerate the feminine aspect of the movement of their limbs as they walk, making them more attractive to men.
World War II seems to be an important event in high heel history. It was during the war that the ideal of a woman in very high heels became embedded in images of female desirability. After the war, the creation of a delicate, very thin heel that could rise in height but also not break easily helped increase the popularity of the shoe. These shoes, called stilettos, were invented by a man, of course, whose name was Roger Vivier.
Since then, they have fallen in and out of fashion many times, but nearly all high heels have been worn by women, not men.
Heels continue to be worn for one apparent reason- to attract males. They're definitely not worn for their comfort or practicality, that's for sure.
According to one study, the average woman owns about 20 pairs of shoes. Of those, they only put five into regular rotation. The biggest reason why? Most of their shoes are uncomfortable. So will this trend continue? Is it really worth it, ladies, to damage your feet in the name of fashion? Will men ever wear high heels again? I think I'll just stick to my sneakers.
High heels can put a women's pelvis out of alignment. They can cause ingrown toe nails, compression of the spine, stress fractures, athlete's foot, and calluses. They can increase wear and tear in the joints and soft tissue, eventually causing arthritis. Wearing high heels actually shrinks the Achilles tendon, which causes great pain when you switch to flats. High heels are not practical- they get stuck in things. Have you ever tried hiking or driving in high heels? I know I haven't.
Women hate wearing high heels. A survey by the College of Podiatry found that 1 in 4 women found the pain of wearing high heels so great that they danced barefoot at a bar or club. In case you have never been to a bar or club, know that the average floor of a bar or club is cleaned about once a year and often caked with sticky remnants of adult beverages, spit, urine, vomit, and who knows what else.
Yet, women can't help but wear high heels, especially young women. In fact, the younger the woman, the higher their heels tend to be.
But why? Why on earth do women put themselves through such agony? And how long has this been going on? Perhaps a more important question is: Why did men stop wearing high heels?
That's right. The first high heels were worn by men, in the 9th century. Persian horse riders wore high heels to help hold their feet in stirrups.
At the end of the 16th century, the Persian king, Abbas I, sent diplomats to Russia, Germany, and Spain in order to see if they could help him defeat the Ottoman Empire. Europeans who saw these Persian men arriving in high heeled shoes were impressed. In fact, aristocrats were big fans- they believed that wearing such shoes gave men a masculine edge. The Persian high-heeled shoes began to become popular in Europe, so popular that even people of lower rank in society began to make and buy them. In response to this, aristocrats kept increasing the height of their high heels. Thus, the modern high heeled shoe was born.
Aristocrats believed that walking around in high heels was another way to announce their privileged status, as the shoes would be impractical for the working class. High heels were also a great way for them to not step in the poop on the streets! In addition, high heels allowed aristocrats to look down on people of lower rank (pun definitely intended.) Famous king dude Louis XIV of France had a hard time looking down on people, for he only stood 5 feet 4 inches. To help with this issue, he wore 4 inch high heels, which usually were elaborately decorated with battle scenes. The heels and soles were always red. In the 1670s, Louis XIV ordered that only members of his court were allowed to wear red heels. His influence was widespread. Soon kings everywhere were wearing high heels.
Around the same time, many European women were trying to look like men. I'm not kidding. There were women smoking pipes, wearing hats traditionally worn by men, cutting their hair, and...oh yeah...wearing high heels, in order to appear more masculine. Let me repeat that again- women began to wear high heels to look more like men.
By the end of the 1600s, both men and women in Europe's upper classes were wearing high heels. However, as the 1700s began, Europe was now in what became known as the Age of Enlightenment,. During this time, men began to abandon the wearing of jewelry, bright colors, and fancy clothes in favor of a darker, more plain and modest look. Men's clothing no longer signified social class, and thus the popularity of the male high heel declined. By 1740 men had stopped wearing high heels altogether. Women continued to wear them for awhile, but around the time of the French Revolution high heels fell out of style for just about everyone.
However, in the mid-1800s high heels slowly came back into style, but mostly with women. As women usually walk differently from men, high heels were found to help exaggerate the feminine aspect of the movement of their limbs as they walk, making them more attractive to men.
World War II seems to be an important event in high heel history. It was during the war that the ideal of a woman in very high heels became embedded in images of female desirability. After the war, the creation of a delicate, very thin heel that could rise in height but also not break easily helped increase the popularity of the shoe. These shoes, called stilettos, were invented by a man, of course, whose name was Roger Vivier.
Since then, they have fallen in and out of fashion many times, but nearly all high heels have been worn by women, not men.
Heels continue to be worn for one apparent reason- to attract males. They're definitely not worn for their comfort or practicality, that's for sure.
According to one study, the average woman owns about 20 pairs of shoes. Of those, they only put five into regular rotation. The biggest reason why? Most of their shoes are uncomfortable. So will this trend continue? Is it really worth it, ladies, to damage your feet in the name of fashion? Will men ever wear high heels again? I think I'll just stick to my sneakers.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
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