I totally agree with your analysis.

I agree with your analysis too... I gave up high heels about a year ago and spent last semester in only flat shoes ALL the time. I can't tell you how much more energy and enthusiasm I had at the end of the day just by changing my shoes!

"...high heels really do hurt to walk in.  Yes, pretty much all the time.  Most women are used to it and mild pain may not even register consciously.  Sometimes the pain is quite significant, but women wear them anyway."

Thank you for this! I actually never knew whether it was just me that found them universally, or if I just needed to wear high heels more often to make it stop hurting. I'm glad to know that deciding not to acquire that skill was a good choice for me. (Which is not to say that people who do wear heels a lot are making a bad choice - I think y'all have some kind of super-power to be able to do that. It's just not for me.)

When I was a teenager I tried on lots of heels... it was the same issue 10 years ago too: most of the women's dress shoes had heels. None of them were comfortable and a lot of them didn't like to stay on my feet, not to mention that walking was near impossible. Then I learned from one of my friends (paraphrasing a bit) "pain is beauty." That was about the same time I gave up wearing makeup (6 months after I started) and resigned myself to the fact that every time I had to wear "nice" shoes, I will have an impossible time of finding cheap, no heel shoes. Oh, and I wear a 10 1/2, which they don't make in the cheap shoe stores. They go straight from 10 to 11, and I've never been able to figure out why.

This is why I wear "men's" clothing and "men's" shoe. They're comfortable, durable, and have pockets that actually hold things like my phone and wallet. I have never fully understand why the vast majority of "women's" cloths and shoes are so overpriced, flimsy and impractical to wear. All for beauty, I guess?

I absolutely agree with this analysis as well.  I gave up high heels four years ago and what a fantastic choice that was.  Life is too short and my body/health is too important for... well... a lot of beauty/class-related crap.

What about the sexual implications of having women's buttocks raised, & being made more vulnerable (i.e., unable to run away from an attacker)? Personally, I find even pumps to be too much of a heel. 

And would it kill shoe companies to make dress shoes for women that don't have heels, don't have narrow toes, and aren't sandals?

I've bought my last few pairs of dress shoes out of the men's department. And it is a battle! They keep taking the shoes I'm trying on away and replacing them with shoes they consider more appropriate.

I have noticed that heels have also become increasingly high and unwearable in the last decade. A 3" heel used to be high. Now that is considered a mid heel, and high is at least 4". I rarely see women wearing the shoes displayed at the front of stores except for models, young women going to nightclubs or parties, and those in the fashion business. I am not entirely sure this is about class difference, as the women I know who work in high paid corporate jobs or as doctors/lawyers/bankers also wear relatively practical low-mid heels. So perhaps this is more of a "women of leisure" versus "women who work -- at home or in an office" distinction. 

I agree with your analysis, and it made me remember something from my youth that proves the point.  (ok, I don't like to think of the 80's as bring *that* far back.)
When I was in high school and right after,  we reinforced these stereotypes about shoes.  There was a store in the mall called Baker's.  No self-respecting girl would buy her heels there.  Oh, look, they're still around:  http://www.bakersshoes.com/c3-731-Dress-Pumps.aspx
We girls referred to this place as the "Ho Shoe Store", because the shoes were considered trashy crap, only suited for prostitutes.  (Now I just realize the shoes are painful and ugly for anyone...)  Even if it was prom and you had a dress that called for fancy shoes, you didn't get them at Baker's.  You went to a "normal" store like Penney's -or Macy's if you were rich- and got "reasonably tall" pumps.  
Fortunately, education and experience means I don't think like that anymore, but your analysis really points out how automatic it was, and how we policed each other in thinking that way.  Sad.

I got the ones on the left by Googling “stripper shoes” and the ones on the right are courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Actually, the "stripper shoes" are pretty much what's fashionable this season. Just browse around ASOS or Zappos to see shoes like this or this. It's all platform heels and those ridiculous sneakers with a hidden wedge.

Personally, I'm seeing a far different trend as far as shoes go.  It is possible that it's my location (the desert, so flat "dress sandals" are appropriate more often than they're not), but I have not seen any type of increase in number of heels available in relation to flats, and actually probably fewer heels since boots and ballet flats have become so popular in recent years.  What I have seen is a more drastic difference between heels and flats.  In high school I had a few pairs of 2 and 3 inch heels.  They DIDN'T hurt, but were impractical for running up and down flights of linoleum stairwells all day.  I wear heels nowadays about as often as I did in high school (like 10 times a year) because despite having more appropriate locations to wear heels, all of my heels are 4 or 5 inches, which would have been considered "stripper heels" back in the day.  I'm perfectly comfortable in a pair of 2 or 3 inch heels, but the only ones available seem to be wide, matronly work pumps.  So the option between wearing flat shoes and heels is actually more accepted, but the ability to actually comfortably make that choice is limited.

From a retail perspective, consider for a moment the Ideal Customer that window displays are meant to attract: probably someone with an Imedla-ish approach to footwear, impulsively buying something to match a single outfit or wear for a particular occasion. Even stores that also sell comfortable and casual shoes have a huge market incentive to appeal to consumers with the means and desire to fill closets with shoes that aren't meant to be worn frequently.

 When we're buying the functional, all-purpose shoes that get the other 99% of foot time, we're more willing to shop around for the best fit and the best bargain, and leave the store with a single pair (rather than a stack of boxes). So I can see how each square meter of retail space dedicated to high heels could be more profitable than those displaying flats and casual shoes.

Still, I think Lisa is dead-on about the class dynamics of frivolous goods and dressing-up. There's a strong racial component as well; as a black guy, I can barely get 10 feet out of the house in fairly ordinary formalwear without being called a "pimp" (worse yet, it's often meant as a compliment).

What about the fact that you can go creative, and therefore interesting, with the high heel party shoes in a way that you can't with office wear? Surely most stores want to display their most artistic and prettiest creations in the shop window?
 Office shoes are boring (or classic if you prefer) by necessity- you want something comfortable, preferably black and that will match as many outfits as possible (and coincidentally work outfits tend to be variations on a theme- nothing massively adventurous). But these don't make for an attention grabbing display- which is what you want to get people in the store. These shoes are also necessary for any wardrobe but you don't need many pairs. I have one classic pair that take up about 85% of my shoe time. So once I've got my pair, I'm not bothered to buy another one for ages. However I have many more heels which I only wear for going out. This is because those outfits are much more varied requiring more variety in matching shoes. A wedding vs clubbing, or a little black date-night dress vs a sparkly sequinned colorful dress... Very different footwear needs so more spindly shoes by necessity! I buy these shoes for their ability to make a specific outfit/look work. My daily shoes need to fit in- these need to stand out so I want more outrageous shoes and I want variety to chose from even if I don't go out regularly. So the split of attention stores give to shoe-types reflects my shopping habits and needs pretty accurately. Because of that I don't think it's always status-driven... sometimes, but not always. 

What I notice about the "trashy" vs "classy" shoes is that the trashy shoes are likely much easier and more comfortable to wear. If we were going to call them "stripper shoes" or "hooker shoes," I'd point out that the heel flares out to a thicker base at the bottom and the platform means the foot isn't arched as much. They are probably much easier to walk or dance in than those highly arched shoes on the right with the very skinny heel that is hard to balance in (and much more apt to slide and turn your ankle).

This is a very intriguing post but I don't think it's totally on target.

It's your argument in the end that undermines the argument you began with.  Designer shoes are both expensive and distinctive.  It's not just the high heels that make them distinctive!  Therefore, you can signal your status by buying designer shoes, whether they are comfortable or not.  Just like you can signal your status by buying expensive jewelry or a designer purse... neither of these have to be very impractical to signal status.

Yet, I think it's clear the high heels are a status signal, and it's not just increased height that's the signal.  My impression is that heels are more of a *sex* / *vitality* signal.  I like "vitality" because that points to why they might need to be uncomfortable.  Or perhaps a woman's willingness to put up with uncomfortable shoes so as to appear sexy is a signal of what else she might be willing to put up with in service of sexuality.  

However, I don't think we should discard that they're sex signals in a way that is totally unrelated to the fact that they're uncomfortable.  Consider for example the corset.  The corset attempts to produce a sexier waist/hip ratio  -- it's also as I understand very uncomfortable/unhealthy but my impression that is unrelated to its sexiness.  (It's sexiness is just its amplification of a secondary sex characteristic... like a push-up bra is sexy.)  The interesting sociology is perhaps the pattern of disregard for the comfort of women in the evolution of sex signals.

I used to wear moderate heals, until I realized it was also a way to make our legs more "sexy". I noticed one day how much pride I felt when men looked at my legs. At the same time, I hated them for looking and so I realized I felt uncomfortable exposing my legs. I stopped wearing the heals, stopped wearing short skirts, stopped viewing my body as an object to be ogled at.  Now I focus on my inner virtues, my strengths, my dreams. I feel much more dignified and I can love myself much more than when only my physical appearance was important.

 I don't think that high heels hurt. I resent being told that I am merely used
to the pain and no longer noticing it. Granted, I tend toward a three inch heel
rather than a 4 inch, but you are relying on inaccurate generalizations to make
your argument. I even have some high heels, my Earthies for example, that are so
comfortable and supportive that I choose them over flats for a 16 hour day of
walking outside on concrete.

According to Tyra Banks, the bigger and flatter your foot, the easier it is to wear high heels which goes a long way to showing why tall models seem to have an easier time navigating the runway with six inch heels strapped to their feet. Not to say that that's the case for all women with big, flat feet. I'm stuck with relatively small feet with a high arch and I usually fly out of my high heels, which is not to say that I don't soldier on and wear them, I do.

it equates to Chinese foot binding.

I don't wear high heels. And if I had lots of money I really wouldn't care what anyone thought. I would still refuse to wear high heels. I refuse to put my body through that and my feet through the pain of wearing uncomfortable shoes. I did that when I was a teenager and went clubbing. To me, wearing high heels is just as impractical and ridiculous looking as a person my age clubbing

This theory has teeth, I have experience working in an arts setting with many affluent socialites as supporters. The more money a woman has ... the crazier her shoes. The queen of this gaggle has had foot surgery due to wearing these damaging high heels and still has excruciating foot problems. 

We also have to keep in mind the current consumer culture we live in. The have nots want what the haves - well - have. It is considered a great investment in many circles to purchase a pair of high end stiletto heels and eat pasta for weeks to offset the cost. 

There is also the sexist dynamic at work here. Wobbling around on high heels makes a woman vulnerable. I am reminded of the tradition of foot binding and view these feet mangling shoes as the 21st century equivalent of the lotus shoe. 

I won't lie, I love high heels, but I have a limit. I have moved onto high wedges and platforms as I like to walk around! I have a few pairs of pumps, but they become more traditional as I age. Yes, I prefer ballet flats, engineer boots and birkenstocks, but just once in a while you have to put on a pair of pumps. But, just once in a while.

I think (as a woman who has worn Meindl mountaineering boots every day for the last 15 years (except when I am dancing tango, then I wear men's high-heeled dancing shoes) so I really don't know what i am talking about) that women frequently buy several pairs of uncomfortable flashy highheeled shoes to go with different types of fashion and occasions, while just buying one or two pairs of comfortable shoes every 5 years or so. That may be also why more space is dedicated to the high-heeled shoes.

I can really recommend the mountaineering shoes.

I think there is also some clever marketing going on here.  They may be using a marketing trick called "anchoring."  This is the trick where they get your attention with the completely impractical and completely overpriced shoe.  Then, when you try on one that is only somewhat painful and somewhat too expensive for your price range, you are more apt to think they are a "reasonable choice" since at least they are better than the other shoes that you first saw.  Ultimately, you end up spending more on a shoe than you wanted to spend and wearing shoes that are less comfortable than what you were hoping to find.  And, ultimately, you are likely to end up not being able to wear them all day and end up shopping again for that elusive comfortable but sexy shoe.  

I'm too smart for this nonsense. 

In my city, certain clubs, (the ones with the best music to dance to for the young crowd) don't let you as a woman in unless you're wearing high heels. Do they not know what it's like to dance in those things? Maybe, but they dont care, because they want high asses and straight legs (and mostly in slutty get up). What I did when I really REALLY feel like going and dancing and what not with my friends on my birthday was I carry my slippers in my bag, and when I get tired of my heels (which is really fast) I just changed. But the principle is the same, if you don't walk in the door with a dress or skirt  and heels, you don't get in. 

Also, with that, my lesbian friend who happens to dress in an Ellen DeGeneres style, wasn't let in when they saw on her ID that she was actually a woman. That's what pissed us off. 

It's pretty common knowledge that fashion is classist -- it was created to divide and label people of different class groups.  The fact that you just now discovered this is kind of laughable.

Am I the only one who doesn't really find high heels that uncomfortable?

Also, I get pissed off when I see women wearing high heels that they clearly can't walk properly in. I get that you want to be sexy, but wobbling around has the opposite effect. If you want to wear heels PLEASE practice walking (on flat ground and stairs) so you won't look like a flailing flamingo.

I buy all my high heels online. It's a guilty pleasure for me--I love them, and the more outrageous the better. No, they're not comfortable, but I don't wear them routinely. I wear them on special occasions and to go to church. Some of my heels could probably be deemed "stripper shoes", but I'm actually a very conservative dresser, so they end up being more of an accent piece. 

You've got me worried about why I love them so much... I think it's because I wear tennis shoes and boring ballet flats 6 days of the week, and it's fun to wear crazy shoes when I can. :) I am now pondering, however, if it has to do with showing off and/or looking affluent (which I'm not, really, I just spend too much money on shoes)...

There is something missing in your discussion of "classy" versus "trashy" heels.  Both styles you show have been around for ages.  However, the stripper heels are much more comfortable than one might imagine if they've never worn them.  The front platform and chunkier heel of the stripper heel provide considerably more comfort and stability than their classy counterpart. They are more of a working girl's heel; ideal for the fancy footwork required of stripping.  This all supports your theory, which makes sense. 

I just kinda wonder if I'm shopping in the same place as y'all, because in most shoe stores I go to there's usually a mixture of all styles, even up at the front.

But I have to be contrary - Not all heels hurt to wear. I alternate between flats, boots and heels (up to 4 inches) on a regular basis and I have multiple pairs of heels that so comfortable to wear and I will walk around all day in them.

I think cheap heels are actually part of this "pain" problem — what would you expect from low quality, poorly designed shoes? I was on the "Heels are ridiculous and painful" side of the argument until I started trying on and wearing more expensive and better quality heels. It has made a huge difference. I think this also plays a big part when it comes to class/affordability/style, etc.

It might take up a huge percentage of google searches, but I do think it takes up a smaller fraction of "retail space" if you're referring to brick-and-mortar retail.

The same happens with any object: search google images for "car" and the first page of results looks like the attached image. This isn't a representative sampling of actual cars on the roads. Instead it is those cars people predominantly link to.

Which are ofcourse pretty, new, expensive, sporty, luxury-cars that cost more than 99% of the actual cars you'd meet on a ordinary road.

The same is true if you search for any other ordinary everyday item: the images returned aren't typical at all. Thus I don't think the fact that this *also* happens for shoes is really indicative of anything.

People buy emotionally, not logically. Most women simply don't get very excited about a plain brown pump with a sensible heel. Same reason you see candy near the register and not carrot sticks. One is exciting, one is not. No mystery there. Now why are heels exciting? THAT is an interesting line of conversation!

Yes, for me, high heels have always been associated with glamour. The way actresses and pop stars all wear and dance in them makes normal girls aspire to that glitz and glamour. It is also linked to feminine grace and beauty. Although, like some previous comments have suggested, there is also the darker idea that they are linked to restricted female mobility, stops women from getting away or being able to move properly. They used to think women who had freedom of movement were loose and immoral women. Now it's all associated with fashion and glamour.

There seems to be a bit of an age thing too. I remember the high heels as a bit of a rite of passage, something that some girls just thought you had to learn on your way to becomming a "proper" woman, and so hegemonic not only in class, but in accepting shoes' horrible contruction in exchange for looking mature and sexually desireable. And looking at the trashy vs. Respectable shoes, there is a trend in later years with a sort of low platform compromise that seems to be mostly meant for young people and parties. Sort of allowing youth to have "less taste" than the respectable adults that the heels without platform signify.

There is a quiet revolution, helped along by JCrew and others, that flats are "in" for the working, ambitious, busy career woman. There's definitely an age factor that comes along with it - have yet to see a woman above 40 in flats in any ad/ glossy (but how many women above 40 do we ever see?? Ha. 

Taking this a bit further -- very high heels also differentiate between thin and fat women, and between young and old women.  Carrying extra weight can make high heels near impossible, and older women are more likely to have problems with their feet (especially if they wore high heels for decades).  In the heirarchy of America, being fat and/or old also makes you "lesser."  Only the rich, thin and young get the shoes of distinction.

I have... three pairs of comfy, flat, work shoes (summer, transitional, and winter).  I have dozens of pairs of preposterous heels in a huge range of shiny colours and styles; I probably have more "party shoes" than I have "party outfits" which considering how full my closet is is saying something.

Which is to say that sometimes people who wear silly shoes once in a blue moon for the sort of party you sit down at a lot *buy a new pair every time* in the same way that some people buy a new dress every time.  Because they are fun, and pretty.  And in the eternal frustrated hope that maybe this time they WON'T HURT.  So it's not entirely ludicrous for shops to focus more on trying to sell the shiny.

Then again the main reason I don't buy many comfortable shoes is that they are so very hard to find.  So I have to treasure them for as long as they can be made to last.

While I agree with your analysis for the most part, I also think that some women who choose to wear flashy and so-called "trashy"  heels are actually choosing to opt-out of or at least co-opt normative guidelines of class and gender expression.

This is a great post. I just taught Simmel on fashion yesterday, and I'll be sharing it with my class.

I didn't get a chance to read all of the comments so sorry if I repeat what somebody else said, but here are my two cents. When I was 17 I started getting out of my tomboy phase and into dresses & make-up. Also purchased 2 or pairs of heels. Even tho ma pointed out constantly the fact that they are quite uncomfortable to walk in, I used to go to school every day in heels, taking the subway, the bus and walk for roughly 10 minutes. Cold, warm, no matter the weather, I was wearing heels, like a big girl. At some point I got quite used to the pain actually. Eventually I grew up and started wearing heels only when necessary. Also, found myself a nice pair of 3cm heels, they fit perfectly and don't hurt one bit. So I'm calling bullshit on them, and I too curse all the shops that keep displaying heels on every inch of the store.

I will testify to having seen some very impractical footwear on public transit. 

For Pete's sake, everybody just wear what you want to wear, this is ridiculous.  I like my pink stiletto heels, cowgirl boots, flat mary janes, and athletic sneakers equally.  I don't wear the stilettos or my wedgies if my feet aren't up to it.  I don't wear flats or strictly comfortable shoes if I think they'll be too frumpy for an occasion.  There are much bigger fish to fry out there.

There's also those red bottomed high heels that rich women wear. I don't know who the designer is, but I know that red bottom heels are expensive and thus would signify a higher class level. Also, red bottom knock offs would be really easy to spot, if they exist, which I'm not sure I've ever seen. 

This is why I love winter, boots are more likely to be flat and beautiful. I feel like it is impossible to find really nice looking flat shoes. I'm young, I don't want to wear grandma shoes, but I hate heels. There is no in-between and it is f-ing frustrating. It's like you're not fully good looking unless you are in heels. 
And I noticed no one has mentioned the permanent damage that can be caused by heels.
And, if you are in heels how are u supposed to runaway/defend yourself from potential predators? Women are made to be useless, not born that way. blah

I just find it fascinating (and irritating) in general what goes in and out of style. There was a time when I couldn't find a long t-shirt to save my life - anything pleasantly fitted around my chest would show my stomach. Then almost overnight, the kinds of shirts I was begging for for years were all over the shelves.

The shoe fashion now seems to be those little peep-toe flats , which I can't wear. My feet are wide and short, meaning that any standard-size shoe wide enough has at least half an inch of gap in the back. If it doesn't lace, it won't stay on my feet (and there's something wrong with my arches, I can't wear flip-flops even without them throwing themselves off of my feet). I've had canvas shoes in the past that actually come up over my entire foot, and those are usually fine. But I haven't seen one in ages, unless it was a backless clog (same flip-flop problem)

I don't know that I'll ever understand why they have to make an abundance of only one thing at a time, instead of ALWAYS making both long and short t-shirts, both high and low toe shoes

I only wear high heels when I have to.  I much prefer ballet flats

I really enjoyed this piece as I am a huge fan of Bourdieu :)
I was wondering, if high-heels are a marker of class status can they also be a marker of femininity? A distinction of those who are "truly" feminine and those who "lack" the proper symbolic capital to pass as feminine? 
I never really thought of high-heels as a way to signify class status-Thanks!! :)

I love high heels.  I don't think of them as status shoes (I don't think), but I do view them as power shoes.  At 5'2", a heel gives me a sense of parity with other women instead of being seen as 'cute' and childish.  However, the biggest reason I think of heels as power shoes is because I feel that when a woman wears heels, somehow she is seen to be more confident and in control.  In a 'man's' world, the paradox is that fitting in with them does not lead to equal power; it is when we distinguish ourselves as being different and bold with that difference that the male world sits up and gives us the respect we had always deserved.  I'm watched this dynamic play out time and again where men working with me would completely dismiss my ideas or attempts to participate, then when I began wearing heels I was treated as just another competent employee on the worse end, and I found that some of the men would defer to my ideas and plans in the best case scenarios.

  I read an article recently,   (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8770629/Wear-a-skirt-to-make-a-good-impression-in-business.html ) that talked about how women wearing business skirt suits were perceived as being more successful and more powerful; I think that heels do the same thing.  To be clear though, I am not referring to the stripper heels - those degrade the perceived level of power and success in a woman, as well as lead to an increase in objectification. As a side note about comfort, I've found that the trick to comfort in heels is in the quality, not the height (or price).  The most comfortable pair of shoes I have are a pair of 4 inch heels. I can stand up at a party, talking, dancing and mingling for hours without a twinge of pain.  I can race around a college campus as easily as if I were in tennis shoes. Since finding those shoes, I've decided that I will never wear another painful pair of shoes again.  They do cost a bit more, but I find good pairs in the 50-100 range and I save up for them.  I now have 4 good, super comfy pairs of heels that allow me to project the image that I want while not sacrificing a single bit of comfort.  (the wall of cheap but pretty torture devices that I only ever wore once or twice will go to charity as soon as I can bear to take them out of the closet).  

This hypothesis falls flat at my workplace: most of the administrative assistants/secretaries wear high heels because they sit at desks all day, while the higher status female MDs and PhDs tend to wear flats at work because they are more comfortable. In fact, there is a certain amount of money that administrative assistants/secretaries probably spend on their appearances that the higher status women don't. So, it's a matter of priorities - some women care more for their appearances because, I suppose, they feel that those are investments for them, while other women don't because they have invested in themselves elsewhere.

I spent a few years wearing what may have looked like killer heels, but they were comfortable. I swear. Chunky heel, some platform in the front, maybe some part of my teenage brain or body that killed the pain before I felt it. In fact, wearing flats killed.

After a few years n flats and low heels, I couldn't go back, but at the time I could have run a marathon.

I've decided long ago that I hate high heels. If I have to wear a dressy shoe it's a pair of black flats for me. 

If your high heels cause you pain, it's because you bought a shoe that doesn't match your arch. You can get inserts for arch support or you can go by the two finger rule. If you can fit more than two fingers between your foot and the arch of the shoe, it will give you poor support thus causing you pain. Also, wearing high heels works different muscles than the muscles that wearing flats or tennis shoes work.

Street style influences high fashion more than the other way around. Working class women aren't as bound by the social pressure to be a nice, polite, quiet, unsexy "lady"--thus, they can wear far more interesting and sexually provocative outfits. Maybe you should leave Eagle Rock and take a look at the various Latin night-clubs around LA.

I don't think this article applies to the NY/NJ region... 

There's also a racial dynamic involved in the class status of heels. As a white woman, I can choose not to wear heels without people assuming it is because of my lack of financial resources.

Is the discussion still relevant? Although I'm convinced footwear will always be used to distinguish the rich from the poor, I'm not sure heels are anymore. Also, not all strippers are poor and not all poor women are strippers. To imply that is ludicrous. You know that, I'm sure, but your article had that feel to it.

To me heels are more a question of sexism. While sitting on the bus the other day I overheard two young women talking about shoes. One said she hated heels and wanted to wear pumps but that her boyfriend wouldn't let her get a pair because they weren't feminine enough.After my brain overcame my struggle to scream at her to get away from such a terrible man, I wondered why we still feel the need to define femininity through painful ordeals like heels.

Discuss?

I find it curious that 10 or so years ago when I was working as a stripper, the club was the only place you saw 6 inch spiked platforms (that you couldn't walk in outside of the nice carpeted club!) and now those exact same shoes are everywhere. I don't think I really like what that says about women today.

Of course the impractical, supposedly sexy, ultra high heels are pushed to the front!  Everyone NEEDS practical shoes.  They are trying to PROMOTE the ones no one needs but (everyone) wants.....  
Advertising and market psychology at work day by day.....

Then why do some girls wear sky high heels to clubs? Those shoes can be pretty cheap as well. It doesn't signify any 'status' at all- just trashiness.

I gave up heels in my 20s when I realized they were ruining my feet. To me, high heels look and fee like insane torture devices.

The idea of class distinction can also be applied to sports. The reason a traditional cricket match lasts three days, is that only nobility could play. If you had to work you could not participate.

The sexiest women are the ones who have the brains not to be sucked into wearing high heels.

i,m always surprised when men getting into a discussion what a woman should wear,i believe women are very smart and that they can decide for themself what shoes they want to wear,by the way i,ve got 5pair of high heels sandals with anclestraps and i get only nice comments

It's time to burn the heels like we did with bras!
Heelfire.