# Whore Heels, Why Do Women Wear Them? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291 "2011-12-24T17:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/141 "2011-12-27T03:07:30Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I think the title says a lot about the OP and also fits right in with the general culture of misogyny around here. That said, I have been enjoying this- read the responses of women regarding why they wear high heels, and then picture yourself calling her a whore afterwards. > > “I wear them because they make me feel good about myself, and confidence makes a woman sexy.” > > Whore! > > “I wear them because my husband likes them and I like to wear things that please him to make him feel special.” > > Whore! > > 😃 The OP is a woman. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/142 "2011-12-27T03:29:45Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > The OP is a woman. Women can be misogynists. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/143 "2011-12-27T03:35:05Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Women can be misogynists. Definitely true. But when the **Goon** comes along and vomits “SEE THIS IS INDICATIVE OF THE MISOGYNIST CULTURE ON THE DOPE” it makes me giggle like a [del]school girl[/del] gender-neutral stereotype known for giggling. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/144 "2011-12-27T03:38:37Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Women can be misogynists. Posts by **Lucretia** and **The Lovely Margo Lane** refer to the OP as a man. I thought it was worth pointing out that isn’t so. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/145 "2011-12-27T03:39:07Z")
I wear 4" heels a lot because they keep my weight on my toes rather than my heels, which in turn prevents my severe pronation, which in turn prevents lots of knee and ankle pain. I can run in heels just fine, by the way. I prefer round toe and will not wear pointy toed shoes. Yes, I also like the way heels look, but for me it is the difference between dancing all night in heels or dancing 15 minutes in flatter shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/146 "2011-12-27T03:42:09Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Definitely true. But when the **Goon** comes along and vomits “SEE THIS IS INDICATIVE OF THE MISOGYNIST CULTURE ON THE DOPE” it makes me giggle like a [del]school girl[/del] gender-neutral stereotype known for giggling. Why are my posts vomit, and your posts are just fine? Am I not as entitled to my opinion as you are to yours? Or am I entitled to them, as long as I don’t post them? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/147 "2011-12-27T03:43:09Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I wear 4" heels a lot because they keep my weight on my toes rather than my heels, which in turn prevents my severe pronation, which in turn prevents lots of knee and ankle pain. I can run in heels just fine, by the way. I prefer round toe and will not wear pointy toed shoes. Yes, I also like the way heels look, but for me it is the difference between dancing all night in heels or dancing 15 minutes in flatter shoes. Whore! See, kinda funny. Shows how silly the OP is. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/148 "2011-12-27T03:45:16Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Why are my posts vomit, and your posts are just fine? Am I not as entitled to my opinion as you are to yours? Or am I entitled to them, as long as I don’t post them? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/149 "2011-12-27T03:50:11Z")
“The OP is a woman”. Sigh… Then, **BT** , the best I can say is, “too each his own”, and then apologize for not taking your femininity into consideration. We males still just have a long way to go, don’t we? :calls drugstore - female answers: “May I speak to the pharmacist, please?” “Speaking”. See what I mean? But back to the “Whore Heels” thing: I don’t care _whatcha_ call 'em, ladies who wear them with the aforementioned accoutrements, are sexy as all get-out, and what’s wrong with that? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLnMFqItQXs) And if you _insist_ it’s only the ladies of the night who wear them, then here ya’ go… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6IuDbrjSH1g/hqdefault.jpg "Sweet Cream Ladies Forward March -The Box Tops -1969") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IuDbrjSH1g) Love y’all Q ---
**Author:** ![ProbablyProcrastinating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@ProbablyProcrastinating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ProbablyProcrastinating)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/150 "2011-12-27T04:19:23Z")
I love the links posted to the cute shoes. Inspiration! Those Nine Wests are amazing and I’m so wanting them right now… I think heels make the legs look longer, which is a nice illusion for a man to enjoy. They also make me taller, which means I can look more people straight in the eye. Win-win! ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/151 "2011-12-27T04:42:52Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I wear 4" heels a lot because they keep my weight on my toes rather than my heels, which in turn prevents my severe pronation, which in turn prevents lots of knee and ankle pain. I can run in heels just fine, by the way. I prefer round toe and will not wear pointy toed shoes. Yes, I also like the way heels look, but for me it is the difference between dancing all night in heels or dancing 15 minutes in flatter shoes. Pronation? This thread has been great. I didn’t know that the terms “Whore Heels”, or “Hooker Heels” etc. were actually based in history. I figured it was a 20th century thing, but it’s not. > [@](#): > > Shoes in general have typically served as markers of gender, class, race, and ethnicity–and both the foot and the shoe have been imbued with powerful phallic and fertility symbols as evidenced in the contemporary practice of tying shoes to a newlywed couple’s car. I always wondered why we did that. > [@](#): > > In the early 1700s, France’s King Louis XIV (The Sun King) would often wear intricate heels decorated with miniature battle scenes. Called “Louis heels,” they were often as tall as five inches. The king decreed that only nobility could wear heels that were colored red (les talons rogue) and that no one’s heels could be higher than his own.. Okay guys, you get to wear them too! 🙂 > [@](#): > > America opened its first heel factory in 1888 [Link](http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/036heels.html) > [@](#): > > High heels first became a fashion phenomenon when taken up by 15th-century Venetian courtesans. In more recent times, they have appeared in a mind-boggling array of shapes and sizes. We chart their evolution from the turn of the 20th century to today Lots of good pics in this [link](http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2008/oct/28/high-heels-fashion-history#/?picture=339063529&index=0). ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/152 "2011-12-27T05:02:54Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > Pronation? Pronation is when your feet roll inward when you put your weight on them. It misaligns all the rest of the leg (on my body) and makes my knees pound kind of sideways and my ankles get stressed to the sides as well, and it all hurts a lot. Also, at 5’2" I like how much taller I am in 4" heels. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/153 "2011-12-28T02:48:55Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Is that why “niggers” wear sneakers? Or “chinks” wear sandals? What kind of shoes do “kikes” wear–expensive ones, no doubt? And as you have seen here, “cunts” wear all \*kinds \*of shoes. You seem to have typists Tourette’s. I was merely observing that women and cross-dressers wore high heels because they liked them. (I reject the “whore/slut” theory) You would think I had personally come over to your house and crapped in your Cheerios by your response, which if it doesn’t violate all sorts of SDMB rules, ought to. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/154 "2011-12-28T04:56:48Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > You seem to have typists Tourette’s. I was merely observing that women and cross-dressers wore high heels because they liked them. (I reject the “whore/slut” theory) You would think I had personally come over to your house and crapped in your Cheerios by your response, which if it doesn’t violate all sorts of SDMB rules, ought to. You did crap in **Eve’s** Cheerios. Tranny is an offensive term for transexual/transgendered people. Then you confused cross-dressers/transvestites with transexual/transgendered people. They are different from each other, and both are different from drag. Transgendered/transexual people have differently gendered minds and bodies. Cross-dressers/transvestites are usually straight men who women’s clothing because it fucking gets them off. Drag are usually gay men who dress like women to get laughs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/155 "2011-12-28T06:59:03Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > You did crap in **Eve’s** Cheerios. Tranny is an offensive term for transexual/transgendered people. Then you confused cross-dressers/transvestites with transexual/transgendered people. They are different from each other, and both are different from drag. Transgendered/transexual people have differently gendered minds and bodies. Cross-dressers/transvestites are usually straight men who women’s clothing because it fucking gets them off. Drag are usually gay men who dress like women to get laughs. All that is very confusing, so I will work on figuring it out. No one ever told me “tranny” was offensive before, regardless of the many types. And I’ve lived my whole life in the SF Bay and know a number of each. I regret offending: Transexuals and transgendered, cross-dressers, transvestites and those in various states of drag. That doesn’t excuse the typist’s tourettes. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/156 "2011-12-28T11:25:29Z")
Women wear heels because they want to, and the OP is a dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/157 "2011-12-28T16:01:25Z")
Perhaps you need to take a look at the poll numbers then. It seems that there are a whole lot of, as you say “dumbasses” here. But I’m glad you showed up to share your kind words with me, it reminded me to revisit this thread. I’ve been thinking about some of the comments here, combined with the poll numbers. It’s fascinating to me how some women invest so much of themselves into their outward appearance…to the point of becoming nasty if you question why they would wear or do something in the name of fashion. Did you know that some women [have surgery on their feet](http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Cosmetic/story?id=2184671&page=1) to make wearing high heels more comfortable? I didn’t. Something about that horrifies me. I was watching a movie night before last called [How to Make an American Quilt](http://www.amazon.com/Make-American-Quilt-Winona-Ryder/dp/0783230486/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1325086631&sr=1-1-catcorr) and there is a short scene where [Lois Smith](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0809135/) walks barefoot into a wading pond in her backyard. Before this thread I probably would have never noticed that her feet looked like [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunion). All in all, from the poll numbers and comments - I’d conclude that most women wear “fuck me heels” because they believe they are attractive to the opposite sex. That would go for many things women wear though, not just foot damaging shoe wear. I wonder if men wear uncomfortable ties because they make them feel sexy? 😛 Speaking of feeling sexy… I’ve never felt sexy because of a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes. I’ve felt sexy after a long day of hot and sweaty labor, I suppose it’s the feeling of healthy body strength? Endorphin release from exercise? I feel sexy after getting all the sand and lotion off me after a beach trip, there is something about being super clean after all that salt water. I feel sexy when I’m all clean and warm in bed on a snowy bitterly cold night… For some of us, sexy just doesn’t have anything to do with fashion. Anyway, thanks to everyone who participated! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/158 "2011-12-28T17:49:21Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > Perhaps you need to take a look at the poll numbers then. It seems that there are a whole lot of, as you say “dumbasses” here. Those votes were from men. The votes for “Other” were by women. > [@](#): > > All in all, from the poll numbers and comments - I’d conclude that most women wear “fuck me heels” because they believe they are attractive to the opposite sex. The men flatter themselves that this is the case. The women here have been trying to tell you otherwise. But I guess you’re going to believe what you’d made up your mind to believe. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/159 "2011-12-28T18:10:50Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The men flatter themselves that this is the case. The women here have been trying to tell you otherwise. But I guess you’re going to believe what you’d made up your mind to believe. Listen, ya silly dame, why don’t you just go ahead and let a nice man tell you what you _really_ think? Go buy yourself some pretty shoes so your ass looks good when you’re baking later, hon. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291/160 "2011-12-28T18:10:56Z")
Oh wow, you can tell the sex of the voters? Is that something charter members get? > [@](#): > > The men flatter themselves that this is the case. The women here have been trying to tell you otherwise. But I guess you’re going to believe what you’d made up your mind to believe. I think it’s truly more a case where women are in denial about why. For example: If fashion is all about making women “hot”, it’s a stretch to imagine that all those women are getting “hot” purely for themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whore-heels-why-do-women-wear-them/607291.md?page=9)