As the years have gone by it seems that heels are getting higher and higher, strangling women’s feet into submission. High heels have become a modern form of foot binding, where women’s health and comfort is sacrificed at the alter of ‘looking good’. The worst part is that it isn’t just socially acceptable but actually encouraged. High heels are often on the uniform in workplaces, they’re ubiquitous in clubs and they’re even creeping into daytime wear. Stilettos are a plague, and they’re catching up to everyone.

There are completely reasonable reasons why women wear high heels: they do give extra height and serve to lengthen and slender the leg. But why do we opt for the most painful pair of heels possible when a slight wedge is often all that is needed to get a great effect. Just to illustrate what high heels are doing to us, here are a list of reasons why men DON’T wear high heels – and why there are alternatives to stilettos that are fashionable as well as comfy.

So why don’t men wear high heels?

Because they want to actually have fun at parties

We all know the girl who sits in the corner at a party, looking rather unhappy, because her feet hurt and she doesn’t want to dance. When I see that girl all I can think is ‘sure, you looked pretty when you walked in but now you just look miserable’. Happy girls are the prettiest girls, so I’m sure a girl attracts more attention having fun on the dance floor instead of spending 10 minutes in heels looking fabulous and then the rest of the night complaining. Men don’t know how painful heels are: they don’t know and most of the time they don’t care. 

Because they’ve stopped listening to the fashion world

Most women wear high heels because it’s the done thing. Nobody wants to standout and look less dressed-up. When heels on runways are so tall that even models fall over, then maybe it’s time to stop listening to Anna Wintour. High heels are fine in fashion magazines because those models only have to wear them for a photo-shoot. When you’re actually trying to live in a pair of heels, then the story is completely different.

Because they’ve figure out how to have height increasing shoes that don’t hurt

Men are just as self-conscious about their height as women, if not more so. The difference is that their methods of adding height to themselves don’t involve strapping pointy death-traps to their feet. Throughout time men have used much sneakier methods to add height, almost all of which are completely painless. By wearing cowboy boots, dress shoes with a cuban heel and even ‘Beatles’ boots that were popular in the Sixties, men have wore height increasing shoes that don’t make you want to amputate your feet.

All in all, I agree that heels look good – but I just think that smiling looks better. I’m not advocating burning all your heels, but just consider the next time you’re getting ready for a night out whether you’ll have more fun with a smaller, more comfortable heel or even flats. If that answer is yes then put those small heels on and consider that for once, maybe men have gotten this one right.

This is a guest post by Lisa Peteres, an occasional guest-blogger and a full-time fashion enthusiastic. Currently she works for Altitude Shoes, a shoe store selling high heels and shoes that make you taller. When not blogging, Lisa likes to travel and read a lot, especially about psychology. 

Related articles

• 10 Reasons to Trash Your Favorite Pair of High Heels (dangerouslee.biz)
• High Heels Are Not an Everyday Shoe (everydayhealth.com)