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Section C
The Pain in Wearing High Heels（高跟鞋）
They are wearing high heels this year.
Are you?
Since I was a little girl, I've been trying to figure out exactly who "they" are and why the rest of us are supposed to dress just like them. The heavier I was, the more I would make fun of my sister and mother for their imitating: "Don't you have any taste of your own?"
But even I was interested in what shoes they were wearing. Everyone likes shoe-shopping. Your size isn't your fault. There's nothing you can do about it. And at least in theory, anyone can wear any shoe: That's why they come in so many sizes.
As foot specialists will tell you, shoes can be dangerous to your feet. The thinner and higher the heel, the greater the risk of foot and back problems. Standing in high heels inevitably hurts after an hour on foot. This results in aches and pains.
It gets worse. The popularity of tennis shoes has led women's feet literally to get bigger — especially wider — but the sizing of shoes hasn't changed. Most women wear shoes that fit poorly, usually ones that are too small, which adds pain to high-heel hell（痛苦）.
So why do we do it? The traditional criticism is that women are slaves to male ideas. Fashion culture controlled by models leads us to offer our toes and our check books to satisfy some men's idea of sexy（性感的）shoes. Much of the advertising of this year's return to heels as high as 6 inches focuses on the shoes and the short skirts that go with them as a statement by women of their sexiness and female charm. Apparently, wearing high heels pushes your breasts（胸脯）out by changing your center of gravity（重心）. In Florence and Milan, men were reportedly salivating（垂涎）.
In Bloomingdale's shoe department, all the salivating was done by women, myself included. Strictly as research, of course, I tried on shoes and observed other women doing the same. Almost everyone is trying on the new higher heels. We strut（高视阔步）around. We throw our heads a little, and laugh.
Feet look smaller in high heels. Most women in America have big feet. Believe it or not, 91/2 is the most popular size. It isn't just you. And it isn't just feet. High heels make a woman's leg look longer, and everyone looks better with longer legs. There is a story that holds that high heels were first brought to America by a famous New Orleans madam who discovered that she could charge twice as much when a woman wore high heels.
In fact, none of the women I talked to were buying shoes to please the men in their lives. "My husband won't even notice the shoes," a woman told me. More than one said husbands or boyfriends wouldn't like her because they'd make her too tall. Most men seem to prefer keeping the height advantage to heels, pushed-out（挺出）breasts notwithstanding（尽管）. The higher the heels get, the more men who face the tradeoff（权衡）.
No one pretends high heels are as comfortable as flats. It's what they do to your head, not your feet. That's what makes women walk differently and look differently in high heels.
I almost succumbed, but they are too costly, and how often can I wear them? Not sensible. Not practical. Definitely not right for work and kids.
But the next day in Leohmann's, on sale yet, I find a pair that are just as good. Now I just have to get invited somewhere in my high heels.
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