Psychology paper on high heel wearing

[at9]

Found whille browsing https://www.improbable.com/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01875/full

[Shyheels]

It seems like a great deal of overanalysis.

I noticed they approached the whole business with the preconceived notion that women wear high heels mainly, or entirely, as a means of attracting men. I think that’s a dodgy premise. 

I suspect women wear heels because they like them, because they feel empowered; they wear heels to please themselves, nobody else and certainly not to attract men although attraction, wanted or otherwise, may well be a by-product. 

[nzfreestyler]

I'll have to read that out of curiousity but I know heels have nothing to do solely being worn to attract men. Total bollocks.

I wear them all the time and a lot of my friends wear heels always too. Heels are worn because they're beautiful and its how they make you feel. Heels are worn more for yourself (and other women), women definitely don't wear then because guys will/may notice them. Its because they feel better about themselves when in heels.

[nzfreestyler]

That research was focused around the curvature of the lower back being greater in heels than flats - which is definitely true, and they found the statistics collected supported that. Then previous research states that curvature of the womans lower back is a significant factor in attractiveness to males. Interesting how the statistical results of observed women in flats vs heels did not show a strong coorelation there - just a slight coorelation. Very wishy washy - nothing significantly conclusive. Given the sample size of women used in flats vs heels was only 12 women, and that they were all celebs - should bias the sampling mechanism, and a weak conclusion from the data should be ignored due to the poor & small smapling method being a likely contributor of false results.

Enough from me. Amazing what constitutes research nowadays. Using pre-existing google images etc in research for pics of the women..... how can the pic/posture/clothes of the person be standardised etc for objectivity.. the results are likely crappy. I'd better shut up again.

[Jkrenzer]

How about people who wear heels are typically in better physical condition than those who don't.  And well I don't know why, but I'm normally attracted more to people who are fit than those who are not. Maybe this is the reason people are more attracted to others in heels because a higher percentage of them are simply more attractive. 

[Shyheels]

You make a good point about fitness. From my (quite limited as yet!) personal experience I would say that women who get about in high heels regularly must have very fit legs, feet and ankles and that alone should give them a better bearing. I have very fit legs, do thousands of miles of cycling each year and yet standing in a pair of stiletto boots is quite an intense calf workout for me; women who wear these regularly must've calf and ankle muscles like steel cables.

Women like heels for the same reason men like heels - that certain je ne c'est quoi.  Remember women 'stole' high heels from men in the late 17th/early 18th century. They liked and coveted them way back then, just as we do today... 

Edited January 17, 2018 by Shyheels

[HappyinHeels]

The age-old conversation about gender and fashion. There are some inescapable truths about the nature of men and women. There is always some measure of seduction between the two but it takes various forms both overt and not. I have heard it explained by women as nzfreestyler puts it and I have also heard it put in a much more obvious way. Probably the best quote I remember was from the 1970's era of television. It was Angie Dickinson of Police Woman fame ( and OMG did she have gorgeous legs) who said "I dress for other women but I undress for men." Style, comfort, value, and on occasion the need to seduce men figure into women's fashion choices. Men do this as well but in a more utilitarian way. HAppyinHeels

[Cali]

That's why they have a show called "Fashion Police" (google it)

[HappyinHeels]

Exactly Cali!

[vector]

Sorry to be a (very) late comer to this conversation.  I must also disagree with mist of the people on this thread.  Outside of fetishists (IMHO) women will wear their highest heels to dressier/special occasions and/or when the want to feel sexy.  A woman who wants to look good for her man or perhaps (ahem) "bait the hook" will always wear her highest heels.  

Comments?

[Gudulitooo]

4 hours ago, vector said:

Sorry to be a (very) late comer to this conversation.  I must also disagree with mist of the people on this thread.  Outside of fetishists (IMHO) women will wear their highest heels to dressier/special occasions and/or when the want to feel sexy.  A woman who wants to look good for her man or perhaps (ahem) "bait the hook" will always wear her highest heels.  

Comments?

 

Maybe there is a Darwin evolution thing behind this. I mean - women wearing attractive garments having more chances to reproduce.

The question could be "how the interest in attractive garments is passed from one generation to the next, and how does the fashion industry follows up ? ".

 

 

[SF]

This quote was in the article.

“In short, despite the widespread prevalence of high heels, the reasons whywomen wear high heels are not well understood.”

I found it curious since it only addressed ladies. Heck I don’t understand why I like to wear gals shoes and high heels, just have, ever since I was a pre teen.  

A few years ago I confided in a psychologist friend of my about my fondness of women’s shoes. Other than saying it was a bit out of the norm, that in the big picture it was not a big deal, just something that I was “afflicted” with, her words not mine.  Her advice to me and my wife, go shoe shopping, so we did!  

Take care all.....   sf

[Steve63130]

Excellent advice! I'm glad you took it to heart.

"When the going gets tough, the tough go...shoe shopping!"

Steve

[SF]

That’s right !!   Very therapeutic too!!  ha ha ....    sf

[MackyHeels]

My take on it is as some commented heels are made to excite males because woman are wearing them to accentuate there booty. Yes, some do find that particularly attractive but the basis of the research is skewed for that belief making a woman's body more attractive or sexual etc.. In many respects woman don't enjoy wearing heels 90% find it painful and not comfortable. Only reason some woman wear heels is social acceptance meaning if there at a wedding wearing a dress heels are mandatory shoe to wear or at the  workplace. While in everyday life woman wear comfortable shoes only wearing heels on special occasions to highlight or standout with there outfit. Making other woman jealous with envy with there unique designer heels flaunting themselves not only towards males but there peers for compliments. Why wear a particular outfit that nobody notices or says i love you in that or that looks so pretty, worth the time and money to boast woman's ego.

Feel it's a costume woman want to be seen wearing for few hours a gown heels makeup hairstyle, manicures, pedicures, cinderella complex of dress up observing closely what there peers can show off giving to new ideas of fashion sense. Becomes sort of a hobby for woman to architect there outfit for that weekend ballroom dinner or special charity event. 

The research also doesn't figure on what type of heels woman wear. Is block two inch sandal, block bootie, something they considered? Have they just assume a classic stiletto heel as the research base line?

Also comparing woman's back arch in heels have they done or shown any evidence of females sitting in heels in effect losing the arch in the back. Ask themselves why females in heels sitting can look as good when they are standing?

My reasoning on why we wear heels is we look taller thus feel we cheated our genetic makeup of height by using artificial means such as heels. Woman cheat by adding butt enhancement, silicon bra pad lifts, corsets to make there waist smaller etc..  Add to that as  primitive animal species we instinctively believe anyone taller is automatically stronger, powerful someone to back away from with fear. Bear goes up on it's hind legs makes it look taller to discourage predators etc..

Heels also males us feel good when people look upon us more taller we are the more we stand out. Woman works hard spending money and time to outfit themselves then wears flat shoes nobody cares, no compliments or notices which is disappointment. While if she puts on platform stilletos she rises above the crowd to be gawked upon convincing  herself people like what i'm wearing, while it's only her height people are noticing. 

Brief example work with this older posh lady she outfits herself well with three inch heels or so block heels peep toe sandals etc.. So one day after our summer vacation she walks into a room with Jimmy Choo nude platform stilletos heels must of been five or  six inches. Everyone turned there heads while i stood admiring her incredible stunning appearance in flower printed green summer dress. She knew it instantly the attention she received to me she looked over 6 or 7 feet tall but that was my initial perspective upon her, bigger then life. Later on we greeted one another face to face although she was little taller then me in the platform heels it was different then my normal interaction looking upon her eye to eye or slightly below with regular shorter heels. So hight heels change our perspective whenever we observe someone regularly suddenly we look upon them as taller. Like a child growing up we take things for granted, then suddenly kids are grown adults and we are stuck with memories of there appearance from the past. 

We as humans like to change and our appearance  that  comes naturally through our aging process. While fashion changes by the seasons woman need to adapt new things thus some slim sleek outfits look better with narrow slim heel. Let's face it everything we do is attract attention to whatever we want to sell our clothes or bodies as attractive no matter the gender.

If your buying a car a dealership may put the car on ramps to showcase the vehicle to stand out more. We buy flowers putting in pots and vases but never do we keep them on the floor but project them on pedestal higher up from terraferma.

   Human body wants to be seen we try to buffer our primal web feet off the ground to project our entire bodies better then blending into the earth. We may stand on a box or lift ourselves off the ground to achieve a more pleasing shape. Woman fitness competitions are exclusive to sandal heels to achieve a more statuesque appearance. Can't be possible to pose on stage in flat shoes or barefoot yet the model bodies appear to stand out in heels better. Added to that woman wear thong bikini's while the male competition frowns upon it least of all wearing a heels  for men yet it makes perfect sense for aesthetic purposes, yet i digress again for another topic..

  

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by MackyHeels

[Shyheels]

Don’t underestimate the “adventure” aspect of it - the sense of daring, taboo breaking, risk taking.