'Scientists prove high heels really ARE sexy'

[Puffer]

The Mail on Sunday (UK) today included the following article under the above heading.   It was apparently culled from a respectable professional journal, but make of it what you will.

'They have divided fashionistas and feminists for generations, but scientists now claim to have proof that high heels are sexy.

Researchers recruited 52 female university students aged 18 to 24 and shot videos of them walking in flat shoes and in their own high heels, varying in height from 8cm to 10cm.

Editing software was used to erase their feet so that only the women’s body movements could be assessed – and all had been instructed to wear similar dark, tight-fitting T-shirts, with jeans or leggings and have their hair tied back to ensure uniformity.

Scientists have decided heels really are sexy after research involving more than 150 men and women and computer software

The videos were then shown to more than 100 male and female volunteers who were asked to rate the women on a scale of attractiveness from one to ten. The results were overwhelmingly in favour of heels.

‘Irrespective of raters’ gender, higher attractiveness ratings were assigned to models in the high heels condition than in the flats condition,’ the scientists said.

The findings apparently endorse the opinion of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe, who once said: ‘I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.

And high heels were a feature of the hit television series Sex And The City, with its lead character Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, obsessed by shoes.

Her favourite designer, Manolo Blahnik, once said: ‘People walk differently in high heels. Your body sways to a different kind of tempo.’ According to the scientists from the University of Pecs, in Hungary, the main reason high heels make women sexy is the effect wearing them has on ‘lumbar curvature’ – the way the back curves during motion.

They claim that if a woman’s spine curves in a certain way, the shape can send a positive subconscious signal that she is at a lower risk of being infertile.

The scientists explained that wearing high heels brought about ‘lumbar wedging’, which seemingly increased the length of a woman’s tail bone.

An extended tail bone, they say, indicates a lower likelihood of back injuries and increase in the capability to have multiple births.

The study is thought to be the first to use video to show the link between high heels and attractiveness.

And while the wearing of them could spark ‘intra-sexual rivalry’, it did not stop women finding other females more attractive in high heels, the scientists added.

The Mail on Sunday’s You magazine fashion editor Sophie Dearden said: ‘I’m not surprised women were perceived as more attractive when wearing heels. I personally feel way more confident when in heels. They elevate your look and the way you hold yourself. Confidence is very attractive.’

The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.'

[RonC]

This may have been the first to use actual video, but prior studies have come to the same conclusions.  I doubt this will change much of anything in terms of what women want to wear - or men for that matter.

[Puffer]

8 hours ago, RonC said:

This may have been the first to use actual video, but prior studies have come to the same conclusions.  I doubt this will change much of anything in terms of what women want to wear - or men for that matter.

I'm sure you are right that the study will have little influence on what is worn.   There are 250+ comments on the article to date - almost all (even more than normal for such an article) are trivial or sarcastic.   A few are (predictably) condemnatory of high-heel wearing but most are along the lines of laughing at the article for stating the obvious or for giving pervy professors some pleasurable research!

[Shyheels]

It is sort of a meaningless study when you think about it. I suspect most of the women who wear high heels as a regular thing do so primarily because they like the feeling of being in heels and the sense of empowerment they bring, not because they want to attract men. They might enjoy the attention (or might not give a damn one eway or the other), but I suspect either way their reasons for wearing heels are selfish (in a good way) and personal. 

[Puffer]

I agree with Shyheels - with the addition that women often wear heels because they want (or think they need) extra height.   That may be empowerment but just as likely to be a form of preservation of stature or status.   In other words - to keep up with (most) men rather than specifically to surpass them.

At the end of the day (or other suitable cliche), who really knows what goes on in a woman's mind?   I'm not sure that they usually know either! 

[Shyheels]

9 minutes ago, Puffer said:

I agree with Shyheels - with the addition that women often wear heels because they want (or think they need) extra height.   That may be empowerment but just as likely to be a form of preservation of stature or status.   In other words - to keep up with (most) men rather than specifically to surpass them.

At the end of the day (or other suitable cliche), who really knows what goes on in a woman's mind?   I'm not sure that they usually know either! 

Who really knows what goes on in anyone’s mind? My own is full of contradictions I can barely keep track of

[Chorlini]

This research, at your expense of course, was brought to you by the Open Door University. 'We confirm what you already know!'

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

I agree with Shyheels - with the addition that women often wear heels because they want (or think they need) extra height.   That may be empowerment but just as likely to be a form of preservation of stature or status.   In other words - to keep up with (most) men rather than specifically to surpass them.

At the end of the day (or other suitable cliche), who really knows what goes on in a woman's mind?   I'm not sure that they usually know either! 

You'd be surprised what men have actually learned, once they realize they could pool their knowledge together via the internet. As men often do when confronted with a major problem, we pool knowledge and do research. I reckon by now men know women better then they know themselves. Of course the results aren't flattering, so they're being kinda repressed.

[Puffer]

5 hours ago, Chorlini said:

This research, at your expense of course, was brought to you by the Open Door University. 'We confirm what you already know!'

You'd be surprised what men have actually learned, once they realize they could pool their knowledge together via the internet. As men often do when confronted with a major problem, we pool knowledge and do research. I reckon by now men know women better then they know themselves. Of course the results aren't flattering, so they're being kinda repressed.

Well said!   But I do wonder whether our collective knowledge (plus our undoubted wisdom - not the same thing) has truly allowed us to reach firm conclusions on this contentious subject.

[Bubba136]

As a husband and a father, having raised a son and two daughters, I’ve been there, done that.  While teaching our son how to be a man, the upbringing of the girls rested mainly with my wife.  My wife was, to me, the most feminine female person ever to walk the earth.  Mannerisms, attitude, beauty creams, clothing, colors, fashions and accessories, jewelry, etc.  the whole nine yards.  A true “Southern Belle.  She knew it all.  And, she thoroughly taught our girls everything very well.  Shoes were a fashion accessory or be coordinated with the handbag and dress. The dresses must be appropriate for the function/occasion for which it is worn.  There were even rules about heel heights and which height was to be worn according to the occasion, time of day, etc. Complicated.  One thing she never could understand about me was my love of woman’s shoes and heels.  Her puzzlement was why I wanted to wear heels when, as a man,I didn’t have to?  I guess that one of the main reasons we were so happy together is that after a couple of years we stopped trying to figure each other out and were content to let us just be ourselves.  

[RonC]

@Bubba136, after that description, I am jealous.  While my wife was a heel wearer, I doubt that would have been the case if not for my desire to see her in them.  She did dress nicely, but not with the dedication to fashion you described for your wife.  She can no longer wear a heel of any type thanks to bad feet and spinal stenosis, and since she no longer works and isn't out and about in the world too often, her fashion sense has waned considerably.  I find it amazing that she was ok with you wearing heels.  Not trying to be nosy, but you used the past tense several times when talking about your wife.  Hope all is ok.

[p1ng74]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

It is sort of a meaningless study when you think about it. I suspect most of the women who wear high heels as a regular thing do so primarily because they like the feeling of being in heels and the sense of empowerment they bring, not because they want to attract men. They might enjoy the attention (or might not give a damn one eway or the other), but I suspect either way their reasons for wearing heels are selfish (in a good way) and personal. 

As one writer once said, Nancy Pelosi was not trying to attract any man while wearing stilettos during her 8 hour speech on the House floor on DACA.   

[Shyheels]

Clearly not!

She's doing very well at 80 to wear stilettos while giving an eight-hour speech. 

[Bubba136]

20 hours ago, RonC said:

@Bubba136, after that description, I am jealous.  While my wife was a heel wearer, I doubt that would have been the case if not for my desire to see her in them.  She did dress nicely, but not with the dedication to fashion you described for your wife.  She can no longer wear a heel of any type thanks to bad feet and spinal stenosis, and since she no longer works and isn't out and about in the world too often, her fashion sense has waned considerably.  I find it amazing that she was ok with you wearing heels.  Not trying to be nosy, but you used the past tense several times when talking about your wife.  Hope all is ok.

Our story is well documented in the early pages in the archives of this site. Long story, short.  I met my wife on our first day in college.  I confessed my heeling habit as soon as it became apparent that we were going to  more than just a college romance and that she deserved to know what she was getting.  After a couple of months reflecting upon the issue, she decided that she could live with it.  We both were 19 years old at that time and got married the following July, at the end of our Freshman year.  She passed away a couple of years ago leaving a giant empty space in my (our) lives.

[RonC]

On 1/12/2021 at 5:28 PM, Bubba136 said:

She passed away a couple of years ago leaving a giant empty space in my (our) lives.

Sorry I missed that part @Bubba136  And very sorry you lost her.  You were a lucky man.

[Bubba136]

22 hours ago, RonC said:

Sorry I missed that part @Bubba136  And very sorry you lost her.  You were a lucky man.

Thanks!  You have no idea just how fortunate I am.

[Histiletto]

Sorry to burst this bubble, but the report said the heels and feet were edited out of the video and all the volunteer critics saw were the ways the girls' bodies were moving as they walked. The footwear could have been some of the ugliest examples of heel styles that showed the feet in unflattering positions and perspectives, which could have made lots of differences as far as the sexiness of the footwear. So this claim of high heels being sexier wasn't established by this report, but it verified that just the walking in high heels looks sexier. 

Each person has their own high heel preferences for the sexiest and most attractive footwear. Then again, some people might not look as stunning to others and possibly myself, if they chose to wear my preferences. So what an individual wears has to be their decision, because it is really nobody else's business. Suggestions and advice can be offered, but the final decision is meant by nature to be the wearer's. 

[Puffer]

As a follow-up to the above, the Daily Mail included on 2 November the following article, followed by comment from a staff writer.   You can find it it at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10158761/Size-DOES-matter-darling-height-heels-improve-world-one-inch-time.html#comments but, as some of you will not be able to access it, I show below the full text, but have omitted the sizeable illustrations (which add little - we all know what high heels look like).   Make of it what you will; it doesn't appear to me to have much scientific credibility.   The readers' online comments (70+ so far) are hardly worth reading; the usual mix of females moaning about sexist articles and fashions and men liking the look.   A couple of people advocate male heel-wearing - what a weird idea!

= = = = = =

Size DOES matter, darling! As a study finds heels lift your love life, how - from a perter bottom to a boost in the boardroom - the height of your heels can improve your world... one inch at a time

Women have long assured their lovers that size doesn’t matter. Yet this week, scientists ruled that a specific number of inches are key to sexual satisfaction — just not in the way you think.

A study found that wearing a pair of two-inch heels can boost a woman’s love life by helping to tone her pelvic floor.

Researchers said that shoes of this height tilt the pelvis just enough to make the muscles in the area contract, keeping them in such good shape that it may lead to more powerful contractions during orgasm.

But could your stilettos help lift more than just your love life? For, although we’ve long complained about their being uncomfortable, there are scientifically proved benefits to wearing heels — not to mention social ones.

From good posture to getting a promotion, TANITH CAREY looks at how heels could improve your life . . . inch by inch.

ONE INCH HEELS... FOR PERFECT POSTURE

If you want to hold your head high, a shoe of just under one inch high may help — as The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki demonstrates here

If you want to hold your head high, a shoe of just under one inch high may help — as The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki demonstrates here.

Physiotherapist Tim Allardyce, clinical director at Surrey Physio, says: ‘Wearing a heel under one inch high can move your centre of gravity forward, encouraging you to hold yourself more upright as you try to come back from a forward position.

‘As you elevate the heel, your centre of gravity moves forward. This means that to bring your body back to a neutral centre of gravity, you may tend to arch your back slightly and lift your posture into a more upright position.’

Footwear expert Katie Owen, of shoe company Sargasso & Grey, agrees: ‘Wearing styles with a small heel is better for your feet than wearing completely flat ones.

‘A heel will take the strain off the achilles tendon [the tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone] and will actually feel more comfortable than having no heel at all.’

TWO-INCH HEELS... FOR A SIZZLING SEX LIFE

Heels have helped make many women feel sexier and, it seems, that translates into physical benefits, too.

Researchers at Shanghai’s Fudan University, quizzed 1,263 women about the height of the heels they wore — from under one inch to more than three inches.

They found that those who wore two-inch-high shoes tilted their pelvis just enough to make the muscles there contract, keeping them in better shape and likely to contract more strongly during orgasm.

But it’s not just your sex life that can be improved with a pair of two-inch heels.

Four in ten British women struggle with bladder control. And a study published this summer in the journal Translational Andrology And Urology reported that two-inch heel shoes are just the right height to keep a woman well balanced and also to strengthen the muscle fibres in the area.

‘Wearing shoes [like this] for more than eight hours per day was protective for the pelvic floor function of women,’ they explained.

In turn, this could support the muscles that open and close the urethra — the tube that runs from the bladder to outside of the body — helping to prevent leaks.

However, the researchers did add that it was important that the heel width of the shoes should be around three centimeters wide, in order to keep the wearer’s body centred.

‘An added benefit of heels is that they can help tone your important leg muscles,’ says Mr Kumar Kunasingam, consultant orthopaedic surgeon of the schoen-clinic.co.uk.

‘High heels do augment and build muscular calves as women become used to walking and effectively balancing themselves with the added height.

‘The toning effect can reach the calves, hamstrings and even glutes, as shoe heels effectively tilt us naturally forwards as we place them on our feet.

‘The wearer then has to work to keep upright by slightly leaning backwards to stand straight and walk forward.’

Podiatrist Simone Paul, of The Third Space Medical, says heels can improve circulation in the legs, too. ‘Two-inch heels activate the calf muscle, which is good for circulatory flow to the feet and legs, as well as providing arch support [in the foot].’

THREE-INCH HEELS... FOR A HIGH-FLYING CAREER

As one of our most respected business women, and the founder of the 30% Club to improve gender balance in the boardroom, Dame Helena Morrissey knows how to dress for success.

While some may claim it’s anti-feminist for women to wear heels in the workplace in this day and age, Dame Helena has always been a keen advocate of them.

‘I’m not embarrassed to admit I wear high heels because I feel more powerful in them,’ explains Helena, author of new book Style And Substance.

While she says there is no exact ‘ideal’ height, her preferred heel is a bit over three inches — taking her up to an impressive 5 ft 10 in.

And it would seem that scientists agree. In fact, when given digitally lengthened and shortened pictures of females, both men and women judge a tall female as more intelligent, assertive, independent and ambitious, a study by the University of Liverpool found.

Helena adds: ‘I don’t think there is a single ‘ideal’ for all women in business — the ideal is what makes a specific woman feel at her best, most authoritative, most confident, most impactful.

‘Personally, I like the extra height that heels bestow and the fact that they help me feel more confident — and improve my posture. I stand up straighter, hold my shoulders better.’

According to America’s Brigham Young University, this heel height also makes a woman more careful about spending cash, too.

Researchers found that the heightened sense of balance means women in higher heels are more likely to weigh up their options and buy a product that’s better value, according to a study for the Journal Of Marketing Research.

Marketing professor Jeffrey Larson says the study shows how physical feelings can affect the decisions we make, adding: ‘If you’re someone who tends to overspend, or you’re kind of an extreme person, then maybe you ought to consider shopping in high heels.’

THREE-AND-A-HALF-INCH HEELS... FOR A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR

 

A study in The Archives Of Sexual Behaviour found if a woman dropped a glove in the street while wearing flat shoes, it was picked up and returned by men 60 per cent of the time. Yet if she wore heels over 3.5 in high, men returned the glove 95 per cent of the time. It may be that high heels make a woman appear vulnerable, more feminine and in need of assistance.

Heels don’t make females totally helpless, though.

Researchers at Portsmouth University found that an average woman wearing heels actually walks faster, taking 110 steps a minute, compared to 106 steps in flat shoes.

FOUR-INCH HEELS... FOR A PERKY DERRIERE

Who needs to spend hours doing squats in the gym when you’ve got a pair of killer heels, as Scarlett Johansson demonstrates.

In heels, the pressure on the front of the foot rises from 30 lb per square inch to as much as 240 lb.

This tipping serves to push the body forward, forcing the muscles in the calves, thighs and ultimately buttocks to work harder to help keep the wearer upright, according to a University of Indiana study.

And the higher the heel, the more the bottom has to tense to stay upright, with a four-inch heel doing the most to mimic the look of a toned behind.

‘As soon as your toes are forced forward, your body leans forwards and your calf and buttocks start to tense up to oppose that force,’ explains podiatrist Christophe Champs, of PODO London.

‘The glutes look more toned because they are trying to hold you back.’ However, he adds: ‘It’s only a temporary effect because you are not building muscle.’

P.S: STICK TO FLATS FOR BEAUTIFUL FEET...

While heels may make your body look slimmer and more elegant, unfortunately prolonged wear won’t do the same for your feet. 

This is because the pressure put on the ball of the foot increases with the height of the heel.  

This forces the delicate foot bones into a narrow space, and they form claw toes. 

Flat shoe wearers, such as Anya Taylor Joy, are also spared the most common and unsightly foot problem known as hallux valgus or bunions. 

This is when regularly forcing the foot into a triangular shoe shape under pressure tilts the big toe over towards the smaller toes and a bony lump appears at the base of the outer joint. 

Studies estimate about 30 pc of women suffer with bunions, particularly those who wear high heels for long periods for work.

 

 

High heels pave my way to good sex!   

BY ROSIE MILLARD FOR THE DAILY MAIL 

There is nothing quite like wearing heels. And however much fashion editors or wildly tall women such as Carla Bruni might try to suggest flats should replace them in women’s affections, we all know that’s rubbish. 

When I was a child in the 1970s, I remember my headmistress ringing my mother, a doctor, begging her to write some learned tract for her to use in assembly about how platform heels may ruin the ‘organs’ of girls. 

My mother laughed her head off. ‘They might ruin your back but that’s it,’ she said.

There is no question high heels have a sexual alchemy which is irresistible. Even though they can be painful. Particularly now. After two years of lockdown, my feet aren’t used to being in heels. Not that I care. 

Yes, I will be reawakening my relationship with the chiropodist. Yes, it will be brutal.

Yes, it may involve laddered tights, pedicures, blister plasters or those metatarsal pads for the balls of your feet. 

But, oh, how wonderful it is to whip on those leg-lengthening, curve enhancing, sexy accoutrements once more. 

They make clothes instantly look better. And, believe me, the best ones are designed so you can actually run for the bus.

I write this as a marathon runner who has had about as many running shoes as heels. 

At my wedding day this year, I was going to sport a pair of sensible heels (in other words, dowdy) until the day dawned and my Best Lady Alison and I realised they would not do. 

‘Put these on,’ ordered Alison, holding a pair of 4in beauties. ‘They are so much sexier, don’t think about the pain.’ 

She was right. Heels make you feel desirable. The fact my new husband is almost a foot taller than me — he’s 6ft 7in — also means that if I wear flat shoes he is breathing a different atmosphere. 

Are they the key to sexual fulfilment? Well, they might pave the way. In a sometimes uncomfortable but always gorgeous manner.

[pebblesf]

On 1/12/2021 at 6:28 PM, Bubba136 said:

Our story is well documented in the early pages in the archives of this site. Long story, short.  I met my wife on our first day in college.  I confessed my heeling habit as soon as it became apparent that we were going to  more than just a college romance and that she deserved to know what she was getting.  After a couple of months reflecting upon the issue, she decided that she could live with it.  We both were 19 years old at that time and got married the following July, at the end of our Freshman year.  She passed away a couple of years ago leaving a giant empty space in my (our) lives.

So sorry Bubba.........