Perhaps more worrying though is the growing trend of women receiving foot surgery

in order to go on wearing heels. The surgery involves collagen injections in the pads
of the feet and having your toes surgically shortened. Podiatrist Ali Sadrieh who
founded the Beverly Hills Aesthetic Foot Surgery in Studio city California, states,
It's unrealistic to tell women not to wear high heels.
Ali has trademarked three unique cosmetic foot procedures called Cinderella
procedure a treatment, which is used to prevent bunions by narrowing the feet.
Secondly there is the Perfect 10! Aesthetic Toe Shortening which trims toes to
prevent them from hanging over sandals. Lastly there is also the Fat-Tuck Pad
Augmentation, which takes fat from the patients abdomen and then is injected into
the balls of the feet to alleviate pain and pressure on the feet. Ali Sadrieh goes on to
explain that; I came up with procedures that allow the women to function, painfree, in the real world.

W h i l e t h e r e a r e f e w e x t a n t r e c o r d s t o indicate who wore

heels during the Egyptian period, it has been assumed that the
aristocracy wore them to set them apart from the lower classes.
in the middle of the second millennium BC, Egyptians began to
frequently uses sandals, Retention w a s o b t a i n e d g e n e r a l l y b y
the Egyptians by a T or V thong passing through the
sole among the priestly sandals which have come down to us is
a wooden pair elevated on delicate piers In addition Egyptian butchers
used elevated shoes for much more practical purposes, in order to keep
their feet clean of any blood while slaughtering animals. However
murals have been found dating back to 3500 BC, which depict an
early version of what is thought to be high heels, being worn by the
aristocracy. Both men and women wore them and it is thought they were
used for ceremonial purposes

The purpose of this dissertation is to determine which sections of society wore high
heels and, more importantly, why. Secondly, it will be examined whether status,
gender and sexuality played a significant role.
Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth century will provide the geographical
focus, with reference to Napoleonic France. Recent studies on France in this period
demonstrate the influence of gender and status, as well as sexuality, in areas of
fashion and the consumption of luxury goods. For example, during the European
renaissance, the high heel became a status symbol worn by both male and females

from the higher social statuses. It has been suggested that wearing high heels as a
fashion statement was pioneered by Catherine de Medici a Franco/Italian
noblewomen. Catherine de Medici is believed to have worn them to impress the
French court when she wed the Duke of Orleans, the future king. Contemporary
accounts state that she wore heels to boost her tiny stature and to
improve her somewhat plain looks. Catherine de Medici would often wear heels
around the two-inch mark and the accessory was soon popularized amongst men
and women at court. By the end of the sixteenth century high heels became so
synonymous with the aristocracy that a person of class was said to be well heeled.
Catherine de Medici has been credited with associating the heel with power at court
and with the upper echelons of society.

Two hundred years later King Louis XIV of France decreed that only nobility
could w e a r h e e l s .
Seventeenthcentury portraits of King Louis XIV depict the
v a r i o u s intricate heels worn by the king and they were often decorated
with miniature battle s c e n e s . T h e y c a m e t o b e k n o w n a s L o u i s
h e e l s , a n d w e r e i n t h e r e g i o n o f fi v e inches tall. Louiss decree
les talons rouge prohibited anyone but the nobility to wear r e d s h o e s ,
which furthermore could be no higher then his own.
T h e h e e l w a s s o readily adopted by seventeenth-century men
and by Medicis successor, that two hundred years later consequently
gave way to cultural foot fetishism
Additionally, famed novelist Restif de Bretonne threw erotic emphasis on the finely
arched foot and delicately curved heel.
According to David Kunzle like the corset, high heels sculpted the body to make it
appear more aristocratic, pure, refined, and desirable.
The Puritans in the New World also noted the desirably aesthetic
anderotic nature of the high heel. Bernard Murstein also points out that theMassach
usetts Colony even passed a law banning women from wearing high heels to
ensnare a man or they would be tried as a witch

Sixteenth century Europe: An introduction to the high heel as a symbol of power

and status
The Baroque era began around 1600 in Rome and Italy before spreading to the rest
of Europe. It was a period of artistic style used to imply eccentricity, abnormality
and extravagance. It introduced a colorful, passionate and extravagant mirage of

new art form. Changes in footwear appeared too, where once the
rounded shape of the previous period had dominated, the square toe came into
vogue and lasted throughout the entire century. one of the main pieces of garment
which allowed the people of the sixteenth century to exhibit their wealth, was the
elevated shoe. One particular style
of theelevated shoe that became popular around the time of the Renaissance was t
hechopine, due to a renowned interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture.
Venetian chopines. the chopine was a popular
accouterment amongst Venetian women and functioned both as a practical and
symbolic function: the thick-soled, raised shoe was designed to protect the foot
from irregularly paved and wet or muddy streets. But the enhancement of the
wearer's stature also played a role. A pair of Chopines from Venice measuring
nearly 20 inches. Elizabeth Semmelhack the museums senior curator states
excessively high chopines in Italy offered the opportunity for more fabric to be
displayed but it also offered the opportunity for servants to be displayed: women
wearing excessively high chopines could not manage to walk without the assistance
of at least two servants. In fact, the reason why men still offer women their arm
today dates back to when women wore chopines and needed that little extra help to
be able to go forward In 1430 the Venetian Major Council prohibited chopines
more than three and a half inches in height and declared that any women who
broke the law would be issued afine. Despite religious clerics condemning chopines
as an affront to God and a danger to the wearer and their souls, chopines continued
to be worn. The main reason for the public censure of the chopine was due to the
impropriety surrounding them, as they were the preferred choice of footwear by
Venetian prostitutes.
However many respectable women still continued to wear chopines albeit moremod
est versions compared to the erotically charged versions of their counterparts

Men were the first to start wearing high heels in the early sixteenth century. It was a
practice donned by the European aristocracy in the 1600s as a sign of status. The
reasoning behind this choice of footwear was that only someone who didnt have to
partake in manual labor could travel around in such impractical footwear. (plus
bogatii aveau acces si bani pentru a-si permite noutatea)
The high heel was worn for centuries throughout the near east as a form of riding
footwear. The heel was originally worn for practical purposes only and allowed
soldiers to secure their stance when engaging in combat, allowing them to shoot
with a bow and arrow more effectively. Persia now known as modern day Iran was in
affect the birthplace of the first model of the sixteenth century heel.
In 1559 Persias Shah Abbas I, sent a diplomatic mission to Europe, calling on the
courts of Russia, Germany and Spain. This led to a demand for all things Persian in

Western Europe. The aristocrats at court eagerly adopted Persian style heels in an
attempt to give their image a masculine edge. However this trend soon filtered
down to the lower echelons of society, like with all fashions adopted by the elite. A
response to this was for the aristocracy to increase the height of the heel.
in the 1630s you had women cutting their hair, adding epaulettes to their outfits
they would smoke pipes; they would wear hats that were very masculine. And this is
why women adopted the heel it was in an effort to masculinize their outfits.
It should be noted however that women, even those born into the aristocracy were
still seen as lesser people, and this was another reason why the height of the heel
was increased. In order to maintain this distinction between male and female, the
heel was divided into two types, fat and skinny. Men wore the fat heel and an
example can be seen in figure 7, and the latter for women.

one of the best ways that status can be conveyed is through

impracticality,adding that oneofthe waysin which thearistocracy
flauntedtheirstatusandwealthwasthroughthemeansofimpractical
anduncomfortableclothingTowardstheendofthesixteenthcentury
a new invention unfolded, the high heel. Like its predecessor the
chopine,thehighheelwashighlyimpracticalandcouldnotbeusedfor
leisurelypursuits;itswearersfoundthattheheelwouldsinkintothe
groundaswalkwaysandroadswerenotpavedatthetime.
Torectifytheproblemtheshoewasplacedintoaflatsoledmule
creatinganovershoe.Althoughunfortunatelythisnewinventiondidnt
domuchtohelpthewearerastheovershoeproveddifficulttowalkin,
despitepreventingthewearerfromsinkinginthemud.Howeverthis
wasquicklycorrectedbyplacingaflatsoleonthebottomoftheheel

thuscreatinganewstylecalledtheslapshoe.Perhapssurprisinglymen
werethefirsttoadoptthisveryfemininestyleofshoe,butbythe1630s
bothmenandwomenaredepictedwearingthem.

Sexualitate
Many anthropologists have suggested that wearing high heels is a behavior
consistent withhuman concerns about attracting opposite-sexed mating partners .
insa chiar asa era si in sec 16 sau e acum in 20, 21???

Therehavebeenfewwomenthroughouthistorywhohavemadesuchan
impactuponsocietyandbreakawayfromthesocietalnormsandviews
confinedtowomen,inregardstofashion.CatherinedeMedicihowever
hasbeencreditedwithintroducingtheformalinventionofthehighheel
intomainstreamfashion.In 1553 Catherine de Medici married the Duke of
Orleans, second son of the king of France at the tender age of fourteen to form a
political alliance between France and Italy. Catherine de Medici was one of the first
to use the high heel as a sexual object.

There are a number of theoretical theories to explain and

interpret wearing heels, such as symbolic and feminist
amongst others. Howeverplacingthisintohistoricalcontextgoes
withoutsayingthatwearingheelsinthesixteenthcenturywasacultural
traitfollowingnoparticularunderlyingevolutionarypredisposition,but
reflectingculturalascriptionofgenderandstatus.Butitwasmenwho
firstdebutedtheheelwithwomenshortlyfollowingsuit.wearingheels
couldbeatypeofculturallydefinedgendermarkingoftheinferior
statusofwomeninapatriarchalsociety.
SixteenthcenturyEuropesawunprecedentedchangesinsocial,economic,religiousandpolitical
aspects.Thisinevitablyhadanimpactonthewaysocietychosetoadornthemselves,andthe

mannerinwhichtheydidsowasareflectionofthis.
Reviewing all the historical information on the high heel it is clear that not only was this
accoutrementwornpurelytosignifyonessocialstatuswhenitfirstbecamefashionableatFrench
court,butwasworntoexhibitasenseofmasculinity.Asearlierdiscussed,womenadoptedthe
elevatedshoearoundthe1630sinanattempttomasculinizetheiroutfits,perhapshopingtobe
seenasmansequal.Howeverifthiswasthedesireofthearistocraticwomen,ithadlittleaffect
sincetwotypesofheelwereinventedtomaintainthedistinctionbetweenmanandwomen.Men
usedtheelevatedshoetosolidifytheirmasculinityandexerttheirpoweroversocietyandmore
importantly over women. Whilst examining paintings depicting women of different social
standingswearingchopines,itcanbedeterminedthattheywereusedtolimitactivityofthe
wearer.Thuskeepingwomeninasubordinatepositionwithinsociety.
SeventeenthcenturyEurope
InadditiontotherapidsocialandeconomicchangesinEngland,Francebegantoemergeasoneofthe
greatest powersinEurope. Withtheir expansionofroyal absolutism,Francebecame amajorpower
withinEurope.Asaresultfashionbegantoreflectthepoliticalandreligiouschanges,asdidtheever
growingdividebetweensocialdivisions.ItwasinFrancethatfootwearbecameanessentialaccoutrement
inthefirstpartoftheseventeenthcentury.
TheLouisfeaturedacurvedheel,inwhichthesoleoftheshoerisesupandunderthearchandback
down again towards the front of the heel. Louis XIV of France was the sixteenth century
equivalent to todays Imelda Marcos, the latter of which owned three thousand pairs
of shoes. Louis XIV stood at a diminutive 5ft 4 inches and increased his stature with
4-inch heels, decorated with depictions of battle scenes. His white shoes, with the heel

coveredinredleatherwereafeaturereservedonlyfortheFrencharistocracy. Inthe1670sLouisXIVissuedan

edict,forbiddinganyoneotherthenthoseinhiscourttowearredheels.Thesoleandheelofashoewas
dyedred,asitwasanimportantcolourforthemonarchyduetosumptuarylawsandthehighcostofdye,
italsocarriedwithitmaritalovertones.EventhoughtheFrenchmonarchyhadbeenwearingredheels
sincetheearly1600s,theywereespeciallydeartoLouisXIV.HistorianPhilipManselpointsoutthatthe
paintedheelsshowedthatnoblesdidnotdirtytheirshoeshecontinuesthattheyalsodemonstratedthat
theirwearers,werealwaysreadytocrushtheenemiesofthestateattheirfeet.LouisXIVdeclaredthat
onlythosearistocratsgrantedaccesstohiscourtbeallowedtowearshoeswithredheels,intheprocess
LouisXIVturnedthisfashiontrendintoasignifierofpoliticalprivilege.InFrancehowever theredsole
andtheheelhadanunequivocalmeaningofstatusandpower,andwasavisibleindicatorofsocialstatus.
OnthecontraryredsolesinEnglandhadanentirelydifferentmeaningandwereseenasthemarkofa
dandy,aslavetoFrenchfashion.
Likethesecondhalfofthesixteenthcentury,thetypeofheelwornbymenandwomenofthearistocracy
wereverydifferentinstyle:mensheelsfeaturedasquaretoecapandathicksquaredblockheel,whereas
womensheelsbecamehigherwiththetoecapdelicatelytaperingtoasoftpoint.Thesquaretoedsolid
heelforthemanrepresentedsocioeconomicauthority.Forwomen,highheelsexpressedstatusbutalso
madethefootappeardainty.theshapeoftheheelsuggestedfeminineidealsintheseventeenthcentury.In
theengraving,onlythepointoftheshoecanbeseenpokingoutbeneaththeladysdress.Theseventeenth
centurysawtheheelforwomenbecomenarrowerastosuggestanarrowfoot.Thisshapealsoreflected
thecurrentsartorialtrends,whichbecamepopularinsecondhalfoftheseventeenthcentury.
Footbindingwasatitsheightduringtheseventeenthcentury,andhadanimpactonEuropeanfashion.
onedayattheFrenchcourt,duringaceremony,severalofthequeensmaidsofhonorfaintedawayfrom
painoccasionedbytightlyboundfeet.Itwasalsoatthistimethatthesedanchairarrivedmakingit

possibleforwomenofthebeaumondetowalkaslittleaspossible. Thispairofseventeenthcenturyheels
closelyresemblestheshapeofthelotusfootinthepracticeoffootbindinginChinesetradition.

The mule Towards the end of the seventeenth century another type of shoe came into the public
spectrum,themule.Onceoriginallyreservedfortheboudoir,themulebecameyetanothersymbolof
statusandgrandeur,fashionplatesmakeitclearthatthemulewasthefootwearofchoicetoaccompany
thatrevolutionarynewwayofdressing.Themuleoftenconsistedofaveryhighheelandwerede
rigueurwiththedeshabille.Thestylewasalsoconsideredtobeoneofthemostsexuallydesirablenew
stylesoffootwear.Itwasaristocraticwomenwhobegantodisplaythemuleinpublicasdepictedin
fashionplates.OneengravingfeaturesComtessedOlonnedisplayingapairofredhighheeledmulesin
church,shewasliterallymakingadisplayofherself,ostentatiouslyshowingoffinpublicfootwearmade
flagrantlysexybyitslinkstotheintimacyoftheboudoir.
Themulewassoonseenasaprovocativeaccoutrementasitleftthefoothalfundressedandcouldbe
easilykickedoffidealfordanglingprovocativelyfromthetoesseventeenthcenturyParisthemule
quicklyleftbehinditspastasahumblebedroomslipperandbecamethedeshabillenegligeoffootwear,
thesexistshoeintown
Theeighteenthcentury
EighteenthcenturyEuropewentthroughaperiodofsocial,politicalandintellectualadjustmentandwas
known as the period of Enlightenment iluminismul. Arguments formulated as a result of the
Enlightenment, endorsed the idea that men from all classes were uniquely endowed with rational
thought.Aswasparforthecourse,womenwereepitomizedasinherentlydeficientinrationalfaculties
andunfitforeducation,citizenship,andcontrolofproperty.Womensinbornproclivitytowardsfoolish
adornment,wasproofofthisnotionandwearinghighheelsonlyprovidedfurtherindicationofthis

failing.Mensrejectionoffrivolityintheformoffashionandhighheelswasseenasthemconformingto
theirintrinsicallyvirtuoussense.
Inadditionthesecondhalfoftheeighteenthcenturysawasuddensurgeofinterestinthepositionof
womenandtheirrolewithinsociety.Howeverthefocusofsuchdebatewasmostlycenteredonwomens
education, although a vast proportion of these ideas came from men. Francois Fenelon a French
theologianarguedwomenwouldnotbedestinedforpublicofficeandthattheirinfluencewouldbe
throughthehomeandfamily.Thelatterviewwascommonatthispointandwhilsttherewereother
writers,maleandfemalealikewhobegantoquestiontheroleandstatusofwomen,themajoritystillfelt
that women were beneath men and were only of use at home. Issues relating to gender and dress
continuedwellintotheeighteenthcenturywiththesubjectattractingmuchdiscoursetobecenteredon
possession,andtheexerciseofreason.MaryWollstonecroft,aBritishwriter,philiopsherandastong
advocateforwomensrightsreasonedthatwomendevelopskillsindressing,notbecauseofanatural
bornloveoffashion,butbecauseitistheonlyinstrumentofpoweravailabletothem.
AsFrancewasgoingthrougharevolution,highheelsbegantofalloutoffavorallacrossEuropedueto
itsassociationswiththearistocracy.NapoleonBonapartebecametheEmperoroftheFrenchin1804and
in 1791 implemented the Code civil des Franois: high heels were banned andby the end of the
eighteenthcenturytheheightoftheheelhadbeenreducedsodramatically,thatitresemblancewascloser
toaflatshoe.(wow)Democraticandpoliticalideasofthelateeighteenthcenturysawtherapiddeclineof
thehighheel,whilstarenewedinterestinGreekandRomanantiquitiesmadethehighheelevenmore
undersirable.
womendevelopedaloveofdressingbecauseitwastheonlywayinwhichwomencouldexertanykindof
power.

Towardstheendoftheeighteenthcenturythehighheelasamarkerofstatus,power,privilegeand
aristocraticidealshadbeendemolished,alongwithfrivolousstylesoffashion.Manyreformersurged
womentostopbeingslavestofashionandproposedalternativesstylesandformsofdresswhichwas
consideredrational.Howeverattemptstodepartfromthemainstreamcausedabacklash.
concluzii
Duringtheperiodofthesixteenthandeighteenthcenturies,thehighheelwasusedasawayofkeeping
womensubordinateandawaytolimittheirleisurelypursuits. Inmanyways,chopineswerebothan
instrumentofoppressionandfemalefreedom;someconsideredthemaneffectivewaytolimitawomans
mobility.Howeverattheturnofthenineteenthcenturywomenturnedtothehobblingheel,aswomens
demandsforgreatersocialmobilityincreased.Fromthenineteenthcenturyonwardswomenhaveused
shoes,specificallythehighheel,asawayofconveyingorprojectingacertainimage.Inturnthishas
causedmuchdebatefromfeminists,somewhofeelwomenaredisempoweringthemselvesbyallowing
themselvestobeobjectifiedbymen.Therearesomefeministshoweverthatfeelthehighheelispositive
asitgiveswomenconfidenceandaddedpower,especiallyintheworkplace.
InSusanJ.Douglasslatestbook,EnlightenedSexism:TheSeductiveMessagesthatFeminismsWorkis
Done, Douglasputsforwardtheargumentthatwomenfinditperfectlyacceptabletosexuallyobjectify
themselveswithouthavingtosufferanyrepercussions,becausetheyfeeltheyarenowmansequal.To
putitsimplywomencannowwearprovocativeclotheswithoutperpetuatingpatriarchalstandardsthat
havebeensetforwomen.
Overthedecadestherehavebeenmanyfeministdebatesonwhetherthehighheelwasasymbolof
oppressionorempowerment.titlu
SarahSandsajournalistwhowritesfortheindependentstatedin2008that,highheelsaretouswhat
corsets were to late Victorian women. They are inhumanly uncomfortableyet selfimposed. Some

feministslikeherself,fallvictimtohighheels.Butsome,Secondwavefeministsfeltthattheconstricting
standardsoffemalebeautyconstructedbymen,leftwomeninasubordinatepositionwhilstsexually
objectifyingthem,thustheyrejectedthesestandards.towearhighheelshastostandoutasthebiggest
betrayalofall.Highheelsmoreoftenthannotdemean,constrainandharm.Theyalsocauseanarrayof
medicalproblemssuchas,bunions,disfiguredtoesandbackproblems.
Despitethemanyproblemshighheelscancause,theycanempowerwomen.AlexandraShulmaneditor
ofBritishVogueexplains,Irealizedthatheelsweretransformativetheynotonlygavemeextra
inches, but they raised the bar in so many different ways for my attitude, posture, confidence and
femininity. Similarly Rosie Boycott journalist and feminist feels that heels provide a sense of
empowerment and femininity, heels are undeniably feminine the extra height brings a certain
authoritywithit
Acutreactual
Formedetoc