The connection between high heels and women is more based on the gender social relationship between men and women. This historical construction not only reflects society’s view of the female body from the perspective of patriarchal culture, but also reflects the subordination of women to men, which is a neglect of female subjectivity.

In a patriarchal society, the society gradually constructs women as a group that should wear high heels. With the cooperation of high heels, the female body is more in line with the positioning of the male order. High heels have also become a tool for society to discipline women's bodies to some extent.

"Human beings have disciplined and punished their bodies to control and use their bodies to the maximum extent. This kind of discipline and punishment not only needs to be implemented through various existing social mechanisms, but also requires people to consciously control their bodies and Restrictions on dress and behavior.”

From the time when high heels first came into contact with women, to when women generally voluntarily pursue high heels, women have always consciously restrained their bodies and clothing, which is a form of physical discipline imposed by men on women. High heels were first associated with women in ancient Rome. At that time, sex trafficking was a legal social practice, and potential clients could identify a woman as a prostitute by the high heels she wore on her feet.

The first close contact between high heels and women occurred in women at the bottom of society. If we look at it from a modern perspective, high heels not only mark a profession, but also mark a lower social class to some extent, and the holders of profession and class are women.

In the late 15th century, the Turks invented a type of thick-soled shoes called chopine, which can be regarded as an important milestone in the history of women's fashion. Zhuopin shoes have been popular among ladies for more than two centuries. The materials and craftsmanship of the shoes are extremely exquisite, and more importantly, the soles are so high that they require the support of a servant to walk (usually 7-8 inches, up to 30 inches).

The height of the sole obviously greatly limits women's normal walking, but the swaying appearance shows women's fashion and attractiveness. Men, as role makers and appreciators, do not wear such high heels. The more women rock high heels, the more society considers it attractive and fashionable. Like corsets and heavy skirts, trousers are a tool used by men to discipline women. As most people know, using clothing to restrain women is a common tactic of men around the world. Some believe platform shoes were the beginning of linking women's rights to male dominance. In the old Venice, husbands hoped that their wives would stagger and have difficulty moving after wearing high heels, which would effectively reduce the chance of their wives having an affair with other men.

Some scholars also believe that Chinese concubines and Turkish palace slaves wore very high shoes, possibly not just for aesthetic reasons, but to prevent them from escaping from the palace. Women's high heels are not only a product of men's restraint on women, but also have significant sexual connotations, marking women's sexual characteristics and representing the temptation to men.

In the mid-19th century, high heels became associated with the female sex industry. Pornographic publishers took advantage of the emerging photography technology of the time by photographing nude female models wearing modern high-heeled shoes. Therefore, Semmelhack, author of "Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe" (Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe) believes that pornography has led to high heels being regarded as a kind of female decoration that can arouse people's sexual desire.

In Europe and the United States, there was initially a negative attitude toward the sexiness of feet and a desire to ban women from wearing high heels. Because in their view, high heels on women's feet have witchcraft properties. High heels are a tool for women to use magic to seduce men, with the purpose of making men fall in love with them.

In the mid-20th century, fashion designers such as Dior invented a shallow stiletto high heel called the Stiletto that became very popular. The ultra-thin heels and narrow toes are not only charming and elegant, but were also cleverly combined with boots in the early 1960s. Together with the ultra-short "miniskirt", the women's bare legs and charming high heels complement each other even more. It can be seen that from the perspective of male subjects in a patriarchal society, whether it is the positive role of shoes or people's negative views, high heels have always become the spokesperson for women's sex appeal. People criticize women wearing high heels for tempting men, and at the same time enjoy this temptation. The appreciators are men, and so are the critics.

The attractiveness of a female body displayed in high heels is always defined from a male perspective. As Bourdieu said, "Male desire is the desire for possession and eroticized domination; female desire is the desire for male domination and eroticized submission, or strictly speaking, it is the eroticized recognition of domination." .

In the male order, women can only obey and be recognized, and high heels are her way of expression. The sexual connotation and male vision of high heels began to subtly change in the late 1860s, and shoes became more closely integrated with femininity. Although subsequent socioeconomic and political conditions would affect the height of shoes, high heels never left the female community.

In the Victorian era in England, big feet were a woe to women and were always associated with spinsters who lacked femininity; while tall, small feet were what people loved. High heels just make women's feet look small and delicate. The unpopular spinsters kept men away from them due to their lack of female appeal, so women began to increase their attractiveness by attaching high heels to their bodies.

At the same time, the curved and tall feet in high heels are a typical symbol of female beauty, and also symbolize the outstanding aristocratic class and European identity. Africans and Americans do not have tall feet. ①The higher the heel and the taller the foot, the more noble and elegant a woman will be. Therefore, high heels attract men at the same time on the two levels of physical sexiness and mental elegance.

On the other hand, the female body wearing high heels is charming, elegant and tasteful. Small and straight female feet not only highlight the beauty of women's curves, but also help women to join the upper class society in terms of image and temperament (even if only in imagination). The definition of all this is not only due to Europe's advanced economy and civilization, but also due to the special connotation given to high heels by a male-dominated society. In fact, the more obvious the femininity is, the more obvious the distinction between women and men will be. This distinction is the product of patriarchal social construction. By looking back at history, we can see that the relationship between men and women hidden in high heels has always been unequal.

High heels have become a kind of distinction, separating men from women. Men lead to a higher social status, while women stay or even decline in status. In fact, critics have long pointed out that wearing high heels has a damaging effect on women's bodies. The burden on the waist increases, the muscle tissue of the legs will be damaged, and excessive force is placed on the toes and forefoot, causing women to feel as if they are walking on the tip of a knife.

But why do women still continue to be enthusiastic about high heels, as if they are unaware of the physical pain? The reason is that "male society incorporates the relationship of dominance into a biological nature and legitimizes this relationship, and this This biological nature is itself a naturalized social structure." In a male-dominated social order, women are subject to a kind of symbolic violence, which is "gentle, imperceptible and invisible violence to its victims" and is "implemented through purely symbolic means."

Women gain many beautiful imaginations in high heels and are praised and appreciated by men. Those sexy or elegant femininity are the result of social definition. In this construction, women gain satisfaction and place themselves in a specific social position. By using high heels to symbolize women, men are able to easily and subtly control women's bodies and make them behave in accordance with the male's order of dominance. This logic of domination is “a distinguishing attribute, a sign or imprint.” So under the influence of high heels, the female body is quietly disciplined.