Day 10

I just could not get myself to wear high heels this morning. The thought of how i felt at the end of last Wednesday (extremely bad mood) put me off. So i went in my flat sandals and was so much happier.

Ok, so over the past ten days i have researched the history of high heels, why women where high heels and the damage they can have on especially one's feet but other parts of one's body too. And i still don't really get it. Women want to wear high heels to attract male attention, but at what cost? How far will we go to attract the opposite sex?

Smith and Helms (1999) explain this behavior as being fitness enhancing. Many of these fitness enhancing behaviours "are not driven by an underlying genetic predisposition but are the outcome of cultural practices that persist in the face of biological costs" (Smith and Helms, 1999). An example, other than the wearing of high heels, is smoking. Nicotine, as we all know, is a dangerous, extremely addictive drug. Teenagers, however, will begin smoking in order to be more socially accepted even though they know it is detrimental to their health.

High heels make women feel more accepted by the male population and therefore are willing to go through the pain and potential damage.

Bibliography

Smith, E & Helms, W, 1999, Natural selection and high heels. Retrieved October 5, 2010 fromhttp://www.eosmith.com/pdfs/Articles/JournalArticle27.pdf

Day 9

After exploring the damage high heels can do to one's body and what women put themselves through to wear these high heels, i was shocked. I therefore decided to investigate when and why the heels were invented in the first place.

Today, high heels are mostly worn by women, however, throughout history this was not he case. High heels were originally worn by men when riding in order to prevent their feet from slipping out of the stirrup. In the ancient Roman times, high heeled or elevated sandles were worn by men and women for the purpose of lifting them above the mud and dirt on the streets. These elevated shoes were known as Chopines. The heel or more wedge like lift was made out of wood or cork and sometimes they were as high as 24 Inches.

Image of chopines (scribble terror 2007)

This shows us that in the past, high heels were worn for productive purposes rather than to look good.

Bibliography

Heel (shoe) on wikipedia.com. (2010). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(shoe) (retrieved October 10, 2010)

Scribble terror [Image] 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2010 from

http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/2007/06/chopines.html

Day 8

The topic of foot surgery yesterday got me thinking about other ways in which women change their bodies in order to be beautiful. Over the past few years, plastic surgery has become more and more popular. Women and men can have nearly anything on their bodies molded to perfection. Is this painful plastic surgery done for the sole purpose of attracting the opposite sex or is there another benefit to being beautiful?

Studies show that there is in fact a premium to being beautiful. Firstly, it was found that employers who were attractive had higher confidence levels and "higher confidence increases wages" (Markus and Rosenblat 2006). Secondly, people with higher confidence levels, due to attractiveness, are often seen, by employers, as more able. This in turn would give them preference to the job placement. Lastly, it is found that again, due to confidence, physically attractive people have better communication and social skills "that raise their wages when they interact with employers."

While this gives extra information as to why people want to be beautiful, it also describes why top business women enjoy wearing high heels to work. High heels assist a women in feel beautiful, sexy and in turn confident which has proven to increase ones salary. Of course this is something everyone wants.

The image of the business woman (Shutterstock images 2010)

Bibligraphy

Mobius, M & Rosenblat, T, 2006, Why beauty matters. Retrieved October 11, 2010 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/30034362

Shutterstock images [Image] 2010 Retrieved October 11, 2010 from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54617512/stock-photo-business-woman-standing-in-full-length-isolated-on-white-background-beautiful-mixed-race-chinese.html

Day 7 - If the shoe wont fit, fix the foot.

Today i read an article about women who are so desperate to keep up with the latest fashion trends, in terms of shoes, they have extremely dangerous surgery done to their feet. According to Harris (2003), "vanity is always in fashion" and therefore women are willing to have their toes shortened, have collagen injected into the balls of their feet and have bunions removed all so they can fit into the latest fashionable high heel shoes and look the part.

This can in some ways be understood when looking at what Tseelon's (1997) theory says about women and dress. He suggests that "women have historically been defined as trivial, superficial, vain, even evil" (Entwistle 2000)due to what they were wearing. "In one case a woman's shoes were used to imply that she too was cheap." (Entwistle 2000)

This unfair assumption of a woman's culture, class or personality due to what she wears makes the surgery semi understandable. Males, for some reason are not judged in the same way.

Bibliography

Harris, G. 2003. 'If shoe wont fit, fix the foot? Popular surgery raises concern', The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://www.s118842024.onlinehome.us/textbooks/PM-China/Shoe%20does%20not%20fit--fix%20the%20footpdf.pdf

Entwistle, J. 2000. Chapter 1: Addressing the body. In: The Fashioned Body. Cambridge: Polity Press. Pp 22

Day 6

Continuing from yesterday, i found out why the balls of my feet feel bruised. When wearing a heel of 3 1/4 inches, the pressure on the ball of ones foot increases by 76%. This pressure, in the long run, can lead to foot problems such as hammer toes, bunions and neuromas. Also, due to the foot being in a constant downward position, the angle of the foot changes and points outward, this affects the Achilles tendon and can lead to Haglund's deformity. (High-heeled shoes - Bad for the body 2010)

Here is a youtube video where a doctor discusses the negative affects of high heels. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6KAkg1OU7M&feature=related.

The image of Hammer toes (Riverside 2010)

The image of bunions (Natural remedies to treat bunions 2010)

The image of Haglund's deformity (Haglund's deformity 2010)

Bibliography

Haglund's deformity [Image] 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from http://www.myfootshop.com/images/medical/ortho/haglunds_deformity_mod.jpg

High-heeled shoes - Bad for the body on about.com. (2010). http://foothealth.about.com/od/shoessocks/a/HighHeelsBad.htm (Retrieved October 8, 2010).

Natural remedies to treat bunions [Image] 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from http://blog.itechtalk.com/2010/natural-remedies-to-treat-bunions/

Riverside [Image] 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from http://www.riversideonline.com/source/images/image_popup/w7_hammertoes.jpg.

Day 5

After wearing high heels for 5 days, my toes are getting blisters and the balls of my feet feel bruised. I researched and found that high heels eventually take their toll on one's Knees, ankles, hips, posture, back and foot bones (High-heeled shoes - Bad for the body 2010).

Due to the way high heels make the body lean forward, it responds by "decreasing the forward curve of the lower back to help keep the body in line" (High-heeled shoes - Bad for the body 2010). This could lead to muscle overuse and in turn to back pain.

Blisters forming on my toes.

Day 4

Ok, so i think i have figured out why high heels are inappropriate for college. High heels are worn to make a statement. Whether it be for professionalism or to gain male attention, college is not the place. College is a place for learning and girls who arrive in high heels tend to display an ulterior motive for being there.

So, as seen in the picture below, my feet died today and Yael had to give me a lift down to Limnos. Of course, beauty does not come without pain, however this pain cannot be doing any good. I have therefore decided to research the damage that high heels does to one's body.

Yael giving me a lift to Limnos!