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!

Day 3

Today was a very long day! I was at Vega from 8.30 until 3 and my feet were in agony - even more motivation to find out why woman do this to themselves.

It seems that the main reason women put themselves through the pain of high heels is to attract favorable attention. This attention is gained through the changes that high heels have on a womens body - making them more attractive to males. High heels make legs look longer and the bum and calves look more defined. On top of this "high heels force the back to arch, pushing the bosom forward and the buttocks rearward, thus accentuating the female form" (Life's little mysteries 2010). Women wearing high heels feel sexy and attractive therefore building their confidence - a characteristic men are attracted to - hence gaining the women even more attention.

"High heels communicate important information about the mating suitability of the wearer, even though they pose a substantial risk to those who engage in the display." (Smith & Helms 2010)

Good example! this picture would not be the same without the heels!

Bibliography

Life's little mysteries on mail online. (2010). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-548730/Lifes-little-mysteries-Why-women-wear-high-heels-did-kamikaze-pilots-wear-helmets.html (Retrieved October 5, 2010).

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

Why do women wear high heels? (2010). http://srinidhicr.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/why-do-women-wear-high-heels/ (retrieved October 5, 2010).

Day 2

Today was my first day at Vega in high heels and choosing what to wear this morning was a lot more difficult than usual. I changed three times. The temperature today was 25 degrees and i therefore wanted to wear my denim skirt or shorts. I could not bring myself to wear either as "what is considered appropriate dress will depend on the situation or occasion" (Entwistle 2000). In my view, a denim skirt and heels is a night time outfit and wearing it during the day, especially to college, says something huge about one's personality. For example, a male classmate today commented that "a girl who wears high heels portrays a girl that tries too hard."

Due to my experiences today, i have decided to start researching the reasons why women wear high heels. I think that the reasons for women wearing high heels will lead to the reason why high heels are inappropriate for college.

These are my shoes for the next ten days!

This topic shall continue tomorrow.

Bibliography

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

Day 1

After much thought into the many things that make me uncomfortable, i have decided that for this project, i am going to wear high heels everyday. I have decided this as, in my life, high heels are worn on extremely rare occasions and flat shoes are always in my bag to prevent my night from ending early.

In this blog i shall investigate the history of high heels and the affect high heels have on ones posture, muscles and feet. I also aim to further understand the stigma attached to the wearing of high heels, as well as research whether men actually find women in high heels more attractive; this will lead to the reasons why women put themselves through this torture.

Below i have inserted pictures of my wardrobe in terms of shoes. On the right are my 24 pairs of flat shoes and on the left, my collection of a whole 4 pairs of high heels. This shows my dislike for high heels.