The Stress Caused By The Study Of High Heels

So my last english paper of my first year in college was a research paper. I decided what could be better to write about and research then shoes?

They are exciting, beautiful, and fun. I am going to share my paper with you guys, although I know you do not intend on reading the whole thing.

This paper became Extremely frustrating towards the end. There are so pretty interesting parts though!

A Study Of High Heels

Woman look graceful walking down the street with long legs emphasized by small dainty feet in the elegant heels they choose to wear. Many women have had a desire to look attractiveto the opposite sex and high heels have embodied an element of functionality, sensuality, and sexuality for many years. Historically high heels haven’t always been so elegant and so popular. They have served very many purposes. The historical background of the heel, why woman wear them, and the overall science of them is very interesting. For art purposes, the higher the better but for the wearablity aspect, there is a point where the high needs to stop so you are able to walk. High heel shoes have history, psychology, science, and art all mixed into one.

Historically shoes have been created for both functional and aesthetic reasons. In the early 1400s stiletto heels did not exist. There were dual purposes in wearing elevated shoes. Women were interested in improving their height as well as keeping their long skirts off the damp and muddy ground. The cobblers of the era came up with stilt-like devices called chopines.

Chopines were usually made out of stone or wood and, in extreme cases, elevated the female 18 inches above the ground. (Encyclopedia.com) Sometimes women were so unstable in these unrealistic creations, they required one servant on each side to provide balance as they walked. Although women often loved what the chopine did to their bodies, they were so unrealistic that the ladies were restricted in going out a lot of the time. Around 1550, the first actual high-heel was created and made out of cork. (Encyclopedia.com) Designed by Italian creators for Catherine de Medici, the wife of the French king, she made the shoe popular and fashionable. These shoes made the feet seem dainty and cute while adding height at the same time. The heels lost their appeal to women around the French Revolution because fashion was considered pretentious and an outrageous luxury with little regard for the common “woman.”

The high-heeled shoe went in and out of fashion for the next 100 years. The stiletto was the next big thing with high heels and that become outrageously popular in the 1950s. Similar styles of the stiletto and the platform shoe have been released to this day.

Women have obviously been wearing high heels for a long time. But why? What is the psychological reason that women put their feet into shoes that create huge discomfort and pain? The psychology often relates to a sense of sexuality and sensuality. The psychology of high heels is also created by the media. High heels often elongate the legs and make the feet look petite. Women wear them a lot of time to feel good about the way they look and to also attract the opposite sex. In the 21^st century one cannot flip through a magazine without seeing beautiful, famous women gliding through crowds in their stilettos. Followers tend to try to emulate their idols. Some research points to the a perceived notion that long legs makes one look attractive. “In this study, researchers at Wroclaw University in Poland had male and female subjects evaluate the relative attractiveness of different silhouettes of a man and woman. They found that a person of average height (5 ft. 4in. tall) was rated most attractive when their inside leg measurement was 30.5 in, which is about 5% longer than the average leg measurement for a person that size. In other words, you could be more attractive if you could lengthen your legs by a few inches.” (Mid Brain)

While many women feel that heels are great for making you feel womanly and beautiful, there are also some downfalls. These shoes are usually not made well and tend to be flimsy. They make walking down the street so much harder then it has to be. Susan Brownmiller states, “They create a sex difference that impedes our ability to walk.” (Brownmiller) According to her research, heels make women the weaker sex psychologically because females are unable to stand tall and walk firm like men are able to in their shoes. (Brownmiller) Comfort is something to consider when buying a heel but most likely they will make your feet ache and your back hurt. In this day and age comfort is a trade off for beauty.

The science of the stiletto heel is very interesting. Maybe one day we will have heels that are so ridiculously comfortable. We just need to get the physics right. Since the point of the stiletto heel is such a small area, the pressure that it puts on the ground is tremendous. Other research looks at the science. A questions was asked: “What exerts more pressure-per-square inch when walking, a 100 lb. woman in high heels or a 6,000 lb elephant in bare feet? [At the moment when only the heel rests on the ground.] … (Stiletto heels have an area of about 1/16 of a square inch. Elephants, unlike humans, walk with two feet on the ground at a time. Each foot is about 40 square inches. Thus, the woman "wins" by far more than 1,500 psi versus 75 psi.)” (Pressure Under High Heels)

It is almost impossibly for someone to walk in heels a little more then five inches tall due to the physics. Professor Paul Stevenson has actually came up with the formula to find the perfect heel height for your body height and foot length. “Stevenson took up the challenge and came up with h=Q x (12+3s/8)—a formula that expresses the maximum heel height you can go without tipping over. In this case, h is the height of heel, s is the length of the shoe (as measured by the UK shoe size) and Q is a variety of sociological factors. The numbers express how changes in foot slope increase tippiness.” (Stilwell) Who would have guessed that fun and sexy high heels could have so much to do with science?

While heels have many purposes to a woman, there is also an art factor. When physics does not matter and a designer is making a heel just for a season or a fashion show, they tend to go all out. Wild designs fill the stage while people wait in anticipation for the model to fall. These shoes are so beautifully made and outrageous they make your mouth drop in awe. They are the kind of heels where if you saw a normal every day human being walking around wearing them you may think that they are extremely weird. When you see them on stage, they make your heart skip a beat.

For example, designer Noritaka Tatehana has a new collection with heelless heels that defy gravity.

Alexander McQueen’s spring 2010 collection featured the Armadillo heel, soaring in height a staggering 12 inches.

Chau Har Lee has an incredible collection for 2010. The collection shows shoes that look like beautiful pieces of furniture that are made from plastic and wood.

Stuart Weitzman is known for having extremely expensive heels

and, from what I have been told, he has made the world’s three most expensive pairs of shoes. Yes, these shoes are wearable but are still considered out-of-this-world pieces of art because they are dripping with crystals and rubies. The most expensive pair he has made was worth $3,000,000, which for obvious reasons, the average person could not afford. The lavishness of them makes

these heels into art pieces, which could be displayed in a museum. While some of these shoes are not realistic, the art factor is incredible and everyone should be exposed to the sight of a swan-like woman walking down the runway in a pair.

High heel shoes have history, psychology, science, and art all mixed together. People have worn heels for many different reasons. In some form, heels have been around since before the 1400s. Heels were worn to be taller and to provide protection for women’s hems of their clothing while others appreciated the added advantage of height.

Psychologically, as a woman, I feel the immense attraction towards heels and really can not explain why except that its been drilled into my brain as beautiful. They are uncomfortable, make you wobbly, and make your feet swell up. Women, over thousands of years, have made this sacrifice for the lift of confidence they experience. When you put on a pair of heels, even if you are in pain, they make you glide through the streets with your head held high. This may not be a fair trade-off for some people, but if something you put on your feet makes you all that more confident, then go for it. Maybe one day they will be able to release a heel that feels like clouds surrounding your feet. That is what the physicists need to be working on. I look forward to a new equation scientists come up with for just enough platform and heel to give you the same effect as heels while making you comfortable.

Bibliography

Brownmiller, Susan. Femininity. New York: Linden/Simon & Schuster, 1984. Print.

"High Heel." How Products Are Made. 2000. Retrieved June 17, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2896900061.html

Mid Brain. "Scientists Discover Why We Wear High Heels." The Beauty Brains. 22 Jan. 2008. Web. 18 June 2010. .

"Pressure Under High Heels." Hypertextbook.com. Ed. Glenn Elert. 27 Aug. 2008. Web. 18 June 2010. .

Stilwell, Dianne. "Scientists Calculate How High Heels Can Go." EurekAlert! – Science News. 19 Mar. 2004. Web. 17 June 2010. .