High heels have several functions.
They are dangerous to walk in, impractical for anything whatsoever, and damage the body.
Women embrace them because internalized oppression. Like many things women do.
Those are not 6" heels. Those are 6" platforms with an 11" heel. Or close to it. But they are eye-catching.
Agreed. An interesting trend in men’s dressy shoes starting maybe 5 years ago was very exaggerated length toe-boxes. Some of which got mildly pointy, and some of which got mildly upturned.
I’m sorta the opposite of a fashionista. I don’t know now whether the trend has run its course or still has staying power. I do know I still see them on well-dressed men, albeit more commonly the late 20s - early 30s set. Here’s some pix of what I mean. Purely fashion, not function. Men’s long toe dress shoes - Google Image Search
I doubt most people get much better after they get out of high school.
In this day and age that’s some bizarre behavior getting called out on social media for not wearing heels to prom. who are those people? Sound like the offspring of social X-rays schooled in uppityness.
Jeebus – look at this pair (of ridiculous men’s shoes)!
I wonder if they’re watertight? They’d make great model canoes or kayaks, because that’s exactly what they look like – the pointed and upturned bow would make a very hydrodynamically efficient little watercraft. Or you could add a little electric motor and radio control and have yourself a pair of little R/C motorboats in the shape of canoes that you and a friend could race! 
OK, back to the topic of women’s high heels. Hugh Laurie’s Dr. House character got some flak here for his remarks, but I respectfully submit that there’s an element of truth there, and I also tend to concur with @Ulfreida’s points just above.
I think most reasonable people believe that everyone should be entitled to wear whatever they want, within reasonable social norms. I certainly don’t criticize women for liking and wearing heels, though I’m one of those rare males who doesn’t particularly appreciate them. What I criticize are the social pressures that make those abominations necessary.
On the subject of gender disparity and men being much less likely to be noticed or criticized for what they wear, it’s the nature of our culture and its traditionally imposed gender roles, which places women in the position of needing to be noticed and men in the position of spectators and critics. Men as a general rule tend not to wear things for the specific purpose of being noticed because in our conventionally defined social roles they don’t have to.
Much as women may claim that they enjoy high heels as a fashion statement – which I’m sure many do, in just the same way that a man might enjoy wearing a really good suit – the fact remains that they’re just damned unnatural. No human is built to walk in those things. I would put them in the same category as the tight laced corsets that were a regrettably necessary part of women’s fashion up until about the early part of the last century. I don’t fault women for wearing heels because it’s pretty much a fashion imperative, but I do think it’s an unfortunate one that may eventually go the way of the laced corset.
I don’t doubt that a woman who doesn’t wear heels where it’s socially “expected” will be criticized by some, but perhaps one should consider which is more defensible: criticizing a fashion that’s so unnatural and intrinsically uncomfortable that it’s actually anatomically damaging, or criticizing an individual who rejects such fashion.
Hah, earlier in the thread I thought about suits. I’ve heard plenty of people bitch about having to wear a suit (and especially a tie) but personally never found it onerous and, in fact, appreciate a good opportunity to put one on. Assuming it’s well-fitted, I don’t know why people complain about them. Sadly, my current lifestyle doesn’t give me many opportunities unless I just want to cosplay Barney Stinson while shopping at Costco.
That said, I don’t suggest that the two (suits and heels) are actually equivalent. Just the closest I get as a male.
A tie may be more similar?
I had to wear a suit to work for many years, and once i found some pant suits that fit, i never minded the suit. It’s a perfectly comfortable article of clothing.
Well, not outdoors in the summer heat. But indoors in AC, and outdoors when it’s cool, i like a nice wool suit.
I think flats are becoming more normalized the same way pantyhose are going out of style. The last event I attended I wore a simple dress with no hose and Rothys flats. My husband’s family is very fancy. Nobody gave me any crap for it (and they would - cutting remarks are hardly uncommon.)
I’m not saying high heel manufacturers are going out of business any time soon, but I think it’s become more acceptable for women to flout this convention than it used to be.
Affluent suburban teenagers. The majority are very nice, but it only takes few kids of the very privileged to cause a lot of trouble.
My girlfriend in high school was a couple of inches shorter than I was, but when she wore heels she was about my height. I never even thought about it, she looked great at any altitude.
Well, after we broke up and she got engaged to my best friend (3" taller), she told everyone “Thank god I can stop wearing flats all the time!”
I wish she’d said something sooner!
If it was my perceived insecurity that was the problem.
I’d say most people get better, but the key word is much here.