About High heels

High-heels today
Today, high-heels are typically worn in public only by women, who may wear them on many occasions, including work, formal occasions, and during leisure activities. High-heels have seen significant controversy in the medical field lately, with many podiatrists seeing patients whose severe foot problems have been caused almost exclusively by high-heel wear.

Today's high-heels, regardless of the heel's shape, are generally limited to women's footwear. Some men's footwear, such as cowboy boots and shoes with a Cuban heel are considered by some to be a high-heel, even though neither tops 3" in the heel. What height constitutes a "high-heel" has long been a point of contention between those who wear very high-heels and those who wear lower heels. Generally speaking, a "low heel" is considered less than 1", while 1" to 2.5" heels are considered "mid heels," and anything over 2.5" is considered a "high heel". Less popular are shoes with higher heels, such as those above 4"; though in the UK during the early 1960s, the late 1970s, late 1980s and again during the late 1990s up to 2002, this was the most popular height amongst young women and fashion conscious older women. Extremely high-heeled shoes, such as those higher than 5", are effectively worn only for display, and typically for the enjoyment of shoe fetishists and/or the wearer.

There are many reasons why women desire to wear heels, including:
the change in angle of the foot with respect to the lower leg becomes elongated, and accentuates the appearance of calves
they change a woman's posture, pushing her chest out more and arching her back. This is known as the "animal mating" position.
they make the woman appear taller
they cause the wearer's legs to look longer
they change the wearer's stride and posture, thrusting the buttocks outward and causing the hips to sway more as the wearer walks; often considered sexually alluring to men.
some styles can reveal more of the wearer's feet, which some find sexually exciting (see shoe dangling)
Stiletto heels appear to some as either a phallic symbol or a weapon of castration.
However, many women shun high-heeled shoes because:
they can become painful or damaging for some women's feet.
they can shorten the wearer's stride
they can render the wearer unable to run

As a result of these conflicting factors, women who wear high heels have a love/hate relationship with their shoes. Some women seem obsessed with high-heels, owning many pairs. Imelda Marcos, for example, was famous for her vast collection. Second-wave feminism considered high-heeled shoes a male tool of oppression meant to constrain a woman's movement (and, by metaphorical extension, social advancement) as much as possible. However, third-wave feminism advocates women wearing high heels for pleasure and, more importantly, social and capitalistic empowerment.

Throughout the last sixty years, high-heels have fallen in and out of favor several times, most notably in the late 90s, when lower heels and even flats predominated. Lower heels were preferred during the late 60s and early 70s, as well, but higher heels returned in the late 80s and early 90s. The shape of the heel has vacillated back and forth between block (70s), tapered (90s), and stiletto (50s, 80s, and post-2000).

From Wiki.

A part of thefanlistings and infatuat3d.