If the craftsmanship and decoration of high heels are becoming more and more exquisite and gorgeous, reflecting women's active aesthetic pursuit; then the combination of shallow high heels, open-toe high heels and shorter and shorter women's clothing has even more profound significance. In the history of European women's fashion, swaying high heels and thick long skirts have created a beautiful image of a lady in people's minds.

Men are even proud to have wives who wear elaborate clothes and high heels. In fact, clothing, including high heels, are invisible shackles that men put on women. After the 20th century, women began to awaken to themselves, their clothes became shorter and shorter, and high heels slowly emerged from women's feet.

"In 1916, the men who returned from the war were surprised to find the changes in women. The skirts were no longer long and lengthy, and the beautiful high heels were exposed. They were simple and professional." The legs covered by the long skirt and the feet wrapped by high heels began to be further exposed and displayed.

Gradually, women are no longer satisfied with the exposure of shoes, and the feet as an integral part of the body are slowly emerging from high heels: open-toed high heels set off a trend of high heels; decades later, low vamps and narrow shoes The so-called "stiletto" shallow high-heeled shoes have become obsessed with and sought after by the world. Women’s feet, originally wrapped in shoe uppers, are finally “liberated”.

As mentioned above, in the 1960s, the "silkette" and the "miniskirt" were combined and became a golden partner, exposing women's bodies from feet to legs to more and more sunlight. Because "the exposure of a large area of ​​the legs means that women have greater demand for high heels...women will not be stupid enough to wear flat shoes to completely expose the shortcomings of the legs to the eyes of men."

It can be seen that high heels are closely related to the nakedness of women's bodies, and even contribute to all this to a certain extent. The nudity of the body is so obvious that we have to regard it as an external manifestation of the self-liberation of the female body. From the perspective of gender socialization, the differences between men and women are not only reflected in physical characteristics, but also in social characteristics. The respective social characteristics of the two sexes are actually the so-called gender.

The construction of social gender is a product of social structure and is closely related to social roles. The so-called social role refers to "a set of rights, obligations, norms and behavior patterns that are consistent with people's certain social status and identity. It is people's behavioral expectations for people with specific identities." This tells us that everything people think and do should be consistent with society's positioning and requirements for him. Otherwise, it may lead to the failure of individual role-playing, or be defined as inappropriate and contrary to social norms. Obviously, there are differences in society's positioning of men and women.

The birth and existence of patriarchal society objectively formulated the rules of action for the entire society. Mill, a representative figure of liberal feminism, believes that the subjugated status of women is a product of the barbaric era of human history and the result of one group of people oppressing another group of people, rather than a natural order. This not only explains why a patriarchal society was born, but also explains the stratified status of women in the social structure.

In other words, it illustrates the unequal social status of women in gender role playing. In this social setting, body exposure has been considered inappropriate for a long time, especially incompatible with society's normative requirements for women. High heels that expose the toes and body are considered impolite and even shameful. The normative requirements placed on women and their bodies by the patriarchal society restrict women's ability to control their own bodies.

However, women have taken a subversive step in the process of accepting the rules of action in a patriarchal society and undergoing gender socialization. The female body is no longer heavily wrapped, and the covered body (foot) is exposed more and more in high heels. The thin and pointed high heels complement the ever-shortening skirt. This major and obvious change may not only be at play in fashion, but also in women's increased control over their own bodies - which can be described as a challenge to traditional rules.

In this challenge, women increasingly rely on high heels to show off their bodies. Women's awareness of autonomy has been enhanced, and they have also expressed their criticism of the rules set by the patriarchal society and the social inequality implicit therein. This is an awakening of female self-awareness and a daily resistance to the rules of male-dominated society.

As a female living utensil, whether it is to show the beauty of one's body in appearance, or to potentially resist the patriarchal society by exposing the body, high heels are full of women's long pursuit of self-subjectivity. Although high heels were once a product of the discipline of women's bodies, and true equality between men and women has not yet been fully realized, the development and changes of high heels have shown women's continuous progress and are a history of empirical significance for women on the road to equality.

All in all, in the context of a patriarchal society, high heels increasingly display women's awareness of subjectivity, a kind of subjective control of their own bodies. When discussing human subjectivity, women's subjectivity is often ignored, and society generally uses men as the referent of subjectivity. Because "men are absolute subjects, while women only exist as men's opposites and appendages, and are men's objects and others. Therefore, for women to move towards true liberation, getting rid of the object status as the other and gaining subject identity is a key question".

The development history of high heels among women is a manifestation of women's continuous construction of subject consciousness and determination of subject status. This is reflected first in the opposition of feminists to women wearing high heels. In the mid-20th century, the "Sitilato", a shallow stiletto high-heeled shoe combined with a "miniskirt", was very popular for a while. However, with the strong momentum of the feminist movement, the slogan of "liberating women's captive feet" made " "Stilato" fell out of favor.

In the view of feminists, such high heels imply women's subordinate status and society's stereotypes about gender relations. It is a product made by men. When women are subjected to male violence, it will slow down the speed of women's escape, and this is how suppression arises.

High heels, like footbinding and tight lace corsets, are an improper way to shape women. Soon after, more and more square-toed low-heeled shoes appeared, and the "silk toe" was gradually replaced. The changes in high-heeled shoes during this period very significantly show that women have become aware of their subordinate status and are committed to getting rid of the identity of the other in the traditional sense. They are no longer controlled by the only male subjectivity, and the female subject consciousness is gradually rising. Women's subjective consciousness is also reflected in their active acceptance of high heels.

Feminism's opposition to high heels has indeed contributed to the establishment of women's subject status. Empirical history shows that high heels have not completely faded out of women’s lives. After all the changes in form, high heels are still standing. Today, industrial production means there are countless high-heeled shoes in store windows. Ordinary adult women, regardless of age or region, almost everyone has one or more pairs of high heels of their own. High heels have clearly become a unique symbol of women. At the same time, the concept of gender equality in all aspects including childbirth, education, employment, etc. has formed a trend in society.

Therefore, it seems inappropriate to attribute the close relationship between women and high heels simply to men's physical discipline of women. In fact, people are increasingly accepting a new view: including sexy women's shoes, fashion is not simply provocative to men, it will also bring pleasure to the female community itself. Fashion is a form of self-presentation and a practice that constantly challenges traditional cultural connotations. People's new understanding of the meaning of high heels is based on attention to women's needs and pleasures - women's own feelings and subjectivity are given top priority.

Today, in fact, many women believe that they wear high heels for themselves and not for others. Standing and walking on high heels, their tall and straight posture makes them energetic. The high and pointed heels seem to break through the ground. The height between the body and the ground fills the gap between women and men. The majesty and strength of women are formed by This manifests itself. High heels bring them not only height, but more importantly, confidence and power (just like the men who wore high heels in the past).

It can be seen that when women wear high heels, they are no longer just to please men. From the perspective of the development of subjective consciousness, this is an important manifestation of women's pursuit of self-pleasure, attention to self-feeling, and expression of self-strength. Women are not others, they are themselves, a subject of experience and thinking. If the most fundamental starting point of feminism is the demand for women's various legitimate rights, then among these rights, women's right to manage and control their own bodies is the most natural and essential one.

As an integral part of the female body, high heels fully express the subjectivity of female choice. In today's consumer society, women are full of freedom in choosing high heels, because high heels as symbols contain various expectations and orientations of women. There are no forced institutional regulations in this choice, but only women's independent preference and situational positioning for high heels. For example, it is up to each woman to decide whether to wear high heels. Although high heels are generally popular in women's life, individuals do not necessarily consume or wear high heels. This is a woman's self-choice, which is completely different from the social regulations of historical footbinding incidents. Furthermore, the development of productivity has resulted in a wide variety of high-heeled shoes in today's consumer society.

Sociologist Turner believes that the present “is the history of the body in consumer society, the history of the body being included in consumption plans and consumption purposes, the history of making the body an object of consumption, and the history of the body being praised, appreciated and played with. history". In the current era of paying attention to and appreciating the body, women have full rights to make their bodies the object of independent consumption through high heels to meet their own goals, especially using different high heels to represent their different identities and roles. This is what was previously referred to as body technology. Of course, at this time, women will also autonomously match the social activity scene with the characteristics of high heels. Different speech, behavior and dress are suitable for different occasions in order to better play the social role assumed at that time. High heels are a prop in these scenes. Generally speaking, women’s choices of high heels are diverse and proactive. From styles to materials, from scenes to preferences, choices are all driven by subjective consciousness, and the subjectivity of their choices is fully demonstrated in a consumer society rich in goods. This is the embodiment of women’s dominant position in high-heeled shoes consumption.

All in all, the connection between high heels and the female body is self-evident. It constructs the female body and has become an integral part of the female body. From the earliest appearance of high-heeled shoes in ancient Egypt in 3500 BC to the industrial production of high-heeled shoes in the 21st century AD, the meaning and role of high-heeled shoes have undergone subtle changes in these five thousand years. In the early days, people used it as a practical tool to stay away from pollution and fetters on the ground. Later, it gradually became a popular item used by noble men and women to symbolize social status. Because impractical, uncomfortable and luxurious clothing often represents the privileged status of aristocrats, and ordinary people who often need to walk in the market are not suitable for wearing high heels in daily work.

Later, men gave up high heels in order to show off their rationality and pursue pragmatism, and high heels became exclusive to women. From being regarded as the witchcraft temptation of women to men, to expressing the charming and elegant temperament of European aristocratic women, women's slenderness, smallness, sensitivity, softness, elegance and other sexual characteristics are fully reflected through high heels. The social distinction between men and women is getting deeper and deeper in high heels, which are regarded as symbols of women - and these are all products of patriarchal social construction and discipline.

In the process of historical development, such social differences between men and women have always been covered up by natural differences. But this has not stopped people from tirelessly pursuing the essence. Although high heels originate from gender differentiation and physical discipline for women, as women's consciousness of subjectivity increases, they use high heels to inflict a blow to the patriarchal society. Women actively attach high heels to their bodies as a body technology to interact with society. High heels not only match the naked female body, which goes against the rules of patriarchal society, but also demonstrate the confidence of today's women. Today’s women no longer equate high heels with women’s oppression, as feminism did in the past, because this “ignores a series of meanings that stiletto heels can derive, such as indicating female power and the sexiness of active women.”

It can be seen that women strive to constantly pursue the liberation of their bodies through their own body practices. Only by first possessing the right to control one's own body can one talk about the fulfillment of all other rights. Therefore, as a symbol of women, high heels not only reflect the physical discipline of women in the patriarchal society, but also reflect women's active pursuit of their own value. Under the influence of these dual forces, society and women themselves are constructing women's bodies through high heels, so that high heels will not be eliminated by women for centuries. The body is technology, and the body is also a weapon. Women in high heels are constantly rising. Even if they are like stepping on the tip of a knife, they have to find their own subject identity in a disciplined society. This is what high heels mean to women in the new era.