Jeanette Joy FisherWhy do women look sexy wearing high heels?
Last night is the last night for my $400 heels. I can’t even give them away or sell them because that would encourage some misguided woman to hurt her feet, back, and confidence.
Before you judge me and think it’s just because I’m overweight, know this: the skinny models wearing heels and designer gowns left the event wearing jeans and bare feet because it hurt too much to put on shoes.
When I told my surgeon friend I was never wearing heels again, he said “But they make women look so sexy!” I asked why. He said, “Because you arch your back when you walk and that looks sexy.” Another friend said women look great in heels because they make the calve more shapely. In other words, women who contort their bodies to stand up look sexy…?
Women blister their feet, give themselves backaches, permanently damage their feet, get spikes caught in grates, trip over wires (last night), turn their ankles, and suffer so men can look at them. What for? If your smile and conversation don’t excite a man, you don’t need him.
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Thank you! Love this! Haven’t worn my heels since I fell flat on my face, with legs sprawled, glasses across the floor and shoes off my feet! Now that was not at all sexy!
Such truth telling Jeanette. I love it! You’ve spoken for all of us!
I’m laughing thinking about a formal Industry Event called the Detroit Auto Show Charity Preview. I attended annually for 25 years, walking in High Heeled shoes on a thin layer of carpeting meant to provide comfort over the cement floor. Needless to say, it didn’t! I always called it “Hell On Heels Night” because midway through the event, a few trusted lady friends and I would head to the Ladies Lounge to massage our feet so we could hope to last for the After Parties!
Being somewhat short and wanting to look as if I had an ankle, I’d always worn heels until my Prolotherapist suggested I wear low heeled shoes while recovering from a Sports Injury. I begrudgingly made the switch and have enjoyed a greater degree of comfort ever since. I’ll probably “never say never” as I have some somewhat low heeled black leather boots that just seem to work for trips back East in the Fall/Winter.
I got over the feeling that I was no longer sexy in “flatties” after aquiring a number of low slung shoes that allow a bit of “toe cleavage” to show. Yes, I did say “toe cleavage.”
Now my only challenge is trying to look sexy in my Vibram’s “Five Finger” sports shoes: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com … I’d best look for a Mature Frog Prince!
Thanks again for a great blog post written for EveryWoman!
Jane!
I love your “toe cleavage,” “flatties,” and “Five Finger” shoes!
Thank you for your encouraging comment.
Hear, Hear ! ! !
I absolutely agree!
High heels are the bane of womankind. I lost interest in them in my 20’s when I realized they were damaging my feet, compromising my ability to balance, and ruining my disposition–which was always bad when I had those torture chambers on my feet.
Fortunately for me I have a very low pain threshold and I simply could not/would not tolerate that much discomfort no matter what the primise.
As a result of my shunning this evil custom at an early age I have beautiful healthy feet that carry me wherever I desire to go painfree and attratively. People–particularly men–frequently comment on how pretty my feet are. The very ones I was supposed to be being “more attractive” for by wearing rediculously high heels.
Hummmm . . .
from email…
Hi Jeanette,
I love this fun post! It’s funny that I found this today, as I was just bouncing around the house in my Skecher Shape Ups… and I mean bouncing! I feel fit and healthy just wearing these shoes! (Thank you Andrea Metcalf and http://NakedFitness.com)!
I’m heading to Stockholm for a wedding in two weeks, and I told my husband I wanted to wear my Skechers rather than heels. I’m not sure they’d look very good at the wedding, especially as I’m wearing a dress, but I hate heels! I have a great collection that look good on my shelves, but don’t feel good on my feet. 🙁
I want to know who invented high heels anyway? I’m guessing it was some guy who never wore them!
Keep up the good work Jeanette and thanks for shining your light so brightly. You inspire me and always make me smile.
Hugs,
Gail
http://InspireMeToday.com
When I left medical research and started medical practice, I also left my heels in the closet and bought perfectly flat “nurse shoes” that were appropriate to wear with scrubs. My feet never hurt so badly! So I returned to my wardrobe of skirts and heels, with the addition of a white clinic coat. I walked faster, felt better and by the end of the workday, I was ready to go out dancing. I think it’s important to wear shoes that fit well. If You get blisters, callouses, sore feet and backaches, it is probably more due to the shoes not fitting. I haven’t worn anything lower than a three inch heel since 1993. Different strokes for different folks, and all that jazz. For me, even a 5-inch pin heel is more comfy than fluffy bunny slippers.
Love to You, Jeannette! You are always fun to read and a great friend with whom to tweet. So Sweet!
Jeanette,
I threw my high heels away at an Anthony Robbins Seminar and walked around in my stocking feet for the rest of the day. I have not looked back. Living in Florida, most days my shoe of choice are my Teva Mush flip flops (simply the best flip flop on earth) If I have to wear close toed shoes then I reach for my sperry topsiders. Dress up occasions are a challenge so I try not to plan many of those…lol
Thanks for the article, I’ve oft thought that high heels are nothing short of torture for women!
Barbara Langford
Interesting article, and it got me thinking, I just realized what it was that I always found sexy about women in high heels, it makes the calve and the legs more shapely, I guess it is because of the position which it forces a women wearing them to be in which contracts the muscles, and the arch in the back is sexy, and it just hit me and I kind of feel selfish for having found that sexy considering the health problems which a women can develop by wearing high heels, but you know what I have always found even more sexy, a women who will take off her high heels because she wants to be comfortable, now that is sexy, and as for Gail’s comment about wearing sketchers ratter then heels to a wedding, go for it you’ve got my support.
High heel shoes are invented and made by men but never ever wore by men. It’s sexist to think women in high heels are sexier than women wearing flat comfortable shoes.
I think women should wear comfortable shoes all the time because there is nothing more sexy then a comfortable, confident woman who doesn’t have to worry about the high heels and the hurt afterwards.
I don’t find it sexy that women have to hurt and mistreat their feet for a misguided sense of sexy. In this new century men and women suppose to be equal so I don’t see the reason for women to maintain a myth from the past.
Sexy women’s legs are from women who work and treat their feet/legs right in my opinion as a straight man.
Great website!
Greetings,
nick
I don’t think anyone can site any one particular reason why high heels are so sexy, but they most certainly are. I do not have a fetish of the sort, but if a gal is wearing high heels, my eyes are drawn to look and deep inside my mind something is stirring…dare I even suggest all that hormonal/endorphin stuff. Course, some guys don’t care, but high heels strike me as extremely sexy.
Some will site the added height, others suggest the curve of the backside and still others will comment on the calves….but it’s definitely more then that. As proof, even a women sitting down (no height, no arc of the back, etc) can cross her legs and have that one shoe off the ground and there it is with it’s stiletto heel, straps and all that intricacy. We’ve even seen pictures of women’s high heeled feet getting out of a car with the shoes under the car door and that’s alluring & sexy. Replace it with a pair of flats or some granny sandals and it all falls boring.
What strikes me is how an entire outfit or look can be markedly changed by shoes alone. Take for example the “Little Black Dress”, tag it with some flats and it’s cute, perhaps sassy and fun….but change those flats for some high heels and suddenly the outfit takes-on a whole new sexy and attention commanding look.
The type of high heel you wear also makes a statement. Anything over 5″ is pretty much “attention whore” territory, anything less then 2″ is Librarian (boring) and flats may actually be a better pick (cute beats-out frumpy!). For formal events, something between 3-4″ is stylish, sophisticated, elegant and hopefully manageable, best to try on several pairs to find what works for you.
My tip is to look for ways to cheat the system. Today it’s in-style to let the front (toe) of the shoe be on a slight platform, so while the backside is on a 4″ heel, the front platform being on a 1″ platform creates a shoe that feels and walks like a 3″ heel. Another great trick are ankle straps! Ankle straps are incredibly sexy and add a dramatic stylish flair that visually adds height to the rear of the shoe, dare I suggest a 4″ heel with straps almost appears as a 5″ heel. Why are straps sexy? Perhaps a relative to the S&M bondage thing with all those straps, buckles and other hardware.
The fact remains that high heels add a dramatic and stylish component to any ensemble, they are sexy, alluring and in some cases downright stunning…thus explaining the reason women will endure the foot discomfort as a price for the look, just ask Kelly Ripa!
While I like your article, I do disagree about with you on the shoes situation. For me, wearing a high quality pair of sexy shoes isn’t about the men – it’s about me. The misconception is that you need to wear heels that force your toes into a mangled mess at the end of the day. This isn’t the case. If you’re buying the right heels, you’ll be able to walk with minimal pain and without injuring yourself.
And when I wear my shoes, I feel stunning. It’s not about the attention the guys give me, but rather the way I feel about my posture, my poise, and my grace.
Why would anyone ” walk with minimal pain?”