The other day I got into an "interesting" discussion about high heels. I was just recovering from a flu that had kept me bedridden for two full days, had had a glass of wine, and pronounced a view that I still stand by, but that I might have worded slightly differently, had I been more aware of the fact that everyone within earshot was female.
What I said was that the main purpose high heels was to tilt the hips in such a way as to suggest enhanced fertility. Five pairs of female eyes, looking at me like I am from an alien planet (and everyone knows what you do with aliens - you either kill them outright, or you lock them up in goverment facilities and stick them with probes and stuff). How could I say such a thing?! Obviously, we only wear high heels to look good, and by extension to feel good, they seemed to be saying. And that's our decision, and none of your business.
Some quick backpedalling on my part: I am not suggesting that everyone does this on purpose or consciously, I explain, it is just that this is the subliminal message to men, and it is better to be aware of that message. It is a bit like the origin of certain words: you are not always aware of where a word comes from, but it can be good to know this, because a word's roots can still influence what that word means to other people.
I can just hear certain people protesting that they can use words any way they like, irrespective of their roots, and of course that happens all the time, which is why different words mean different things to different people. To a certain extent, it is a natural, healthy process. But that differences in perceived meaning should not be so big as to become a major obstacle to communication: that would defeat the point of having words. And the point or main purpose of footwear, even in this day and age, is still to protect the feet, which means you cannot but wonder at the wisdom of wearing high heels on a regular basis (I'm sure doctors, osteopaths and podologists could argue the case against do so much more convincingly them me, so I will leave that to them). All other purposes - status, fashion, establishing your identity within a group, attracting a potential mate, etc. - come second, as far as I am concerned.
I know I am fighting a lost cause. 100 years ago, high heels, lipstick, eye shadow and such was still quite special; nowadays many women in Western societies use them on a daily basis, just to get a job (and keep it), or to fit in the neighbourhood. But you can always hope that sanity will win out in the long run ...
What I said was that the main purpose high heels was to tilt the hips in such a way as to suggest enhanced fertility. Five pairs of female eyes, looking at me like I am from an alien planet (and everyone knows what you do with aliens - you either kill them outright, or you lock them up in goverment facilities and stick them with probes and stuff). How could I say such a thing?! Obviously, we only wear high heels to look good, and by extension to feel good, they seemed to be saying. And that's our decision, and none of your business.
Some quick backpedalling on my part: I am not suggesting that everyone does this on purpose or consciously, I explain, it is just that this is the subliminal message to men, and it is better to be aware of that message. It is a bit like the origin of certain words: you are not always aware of where a word comes from, but it can be good to know this, because a word's roots can still influence what that word means to other people.
I can just hear certain people protesting that they can use words any way they like, irrespective of their roots, and of course that happens all the time, which is why different words mean different things to different people. To a certain extent, it is a natural, healthy process. But that differences in perceived meaning should not be so big as to become a major obstacle to communication: that would defeat the point of having words. And the point or main purpose of footwear, even in this day and age, is still to protect the feet, which means you cannot but wonder at the wisdom of wearing high heels on a regular basis (I'm sure doctors, osteopaths and podologists could argue the case against do so much more convincingly them me, so I will leave that to them). All other purposes - status, fashion, establishing your identity within a group, attracting a potential mate, etc. - come second, as far as I am concerned.
I know I am fighting a lost cause. 100 years ago, high heels, lipstick, eye shadow and such was still quite special; nowadays many women in Western societies use them on a daily basis, just to get a job (and keep it), or to fit in the neighbourhood. But you can always hope that sanity will win out in the long run ...
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