The Mystery Behind High Heels

Ever heard of the lady who lives in her shoes? I know plenty of women who splurge hundreds of dollars a week to reside in a pair of designer heels. Some consider their footwear a form of investment while others spend a portion of their lives funding shoe retail businesses for the purpose of keeping in trend with the recent fashion epoch.

In today´s reality, shoes carry the label of a material possession – and seemingly designate an individual´s social identity.

Consider Melissa for instance, a 27-year-old head honcho of an advertising firm, who is constantly regarded as the female reincarnation of Hitler among her peers. She´s officious, ambitious and in control of her life. As a matter of fact, you can effortlessly unlace her empowering personality by her collection of killer heels.

First and foremost, her lavish pair of heels screams ´high maintenance´ – which tilts she´s authoritative and has an extremely high pain threshold. She certainly has no fear of heights, and is always primed for a wrestle (please note: heels equate to deadly weapons).

And exactly what´s the cut off point – 3-inch or 4-inch heels? A close pal of mine once said, "My chances of getting lucky have multiplied by X, and X being the length of her heels!" I laughed myself to tears.

I never knew that my choice of footwear could unveil my character traits, the color of my lingerie, the parties I go to, the restaurants I dine at, my stupendous list of credit cards (not that I have any) or - the kind of men I date?

Now, I was always taught to never judge a book by its cover – and most simply – to never judge a woman by her taste in shoes! Stereotypes are nonsensical, but more often than not, are ´grime built around seeds of truth´. So in this case, what do my casual flat slide-ons choke about my personality – that I am some nature-loving unperturbed, shoddy bohemian? I don´t think so. There are days when I feel like embracing my womanhood. Heels are not considered just another accessory, but a statement of independence, confidence, a form of stability, a mark of flaunted femininity, sexual empowerment and most definitely, joy! And REAL WOMEN are willing to endorse the super heels, even at the expense of their physical comfort.

High heels are not to be stigmatized as a mobile creation of the ever-present patriarchal society. As quoted in ´In Style Magazine´, "High heels belong to the traditional feminine realm, but do not subordinate. They instead radiate dominance – a woman's dominance. Patricia Field for instance, the famed stylist from the loving pop culture smash, "The Sex and the City" said that she favored stilettos in the series to ´symbolize the characters' sexual power, as well as their independence."

So no longer are women oppressed to wearing heels to cater to the ´male gaze´; we, mortals want to feel loved, appreciated and looked upto – and what better way to do it, than in heels!

If there are plausible concerns to ponder, it´s the mounting health drawbacks that befit the wearers, such as muscle impairment, knee arthritis and back problems. Hard to digest, but imagine your entire body weight balanced on a heel the size of a pencil!

Do give your feet a break every now and then. Pamper them. Nourish them, so every time you head pass a shoe boutique – you know you´re worth it!

So what´s your take on high-heeled footwear? If you´re a female – your candid opinions and qualms are explicable. If you´re a male – I would appreciate a strut in heels downtown before you enlighten me with your thoughts. With delight, I´d be keen on listening.