Women have long assured their lovers that size doesn’t matter. Yet this week, scientists ruled that a specific number of inches are key to sexual satisfaction — just not in the way you think.
A study found that wearing a pair of two-inch heels can boost a woman’s love life by helping to tone her pelvic floor.
Researchers believe that shoes of this height tilted the pelvis just enough for the muscles to contract.
But your stilettos might not only improve your love life, but also your professional and personal relationships. For, although we’ve long complained about their being uncomfortable, there are scientifically proved benefits to wearing heels — not to mention social ones.
TANITH CAREY discusses how heels can improve your life, from your posture to getting promoted. . . inch by inch.
PERFECT POSTURE WITH ONE INCH HEELS
If you want to hold your head high, a shoe of just under one inch high may help — as The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki demonstrates here
If you want to hold your head high, a shoe of just under one inch high may help — as The Crown star Elizabeth Debicki demonstrates here.
Physiotherapist Tim Allardyce, clinical director at Surrey Physio, says: ‘Wearing a heel under one inch high can move your centre of gravity forward, encouraging you to hold yourself more upright as you try to come back from a forward position.
‘As you elevate the heel, your centre of gravity moves forward. This means that to bring your body back to a neutral centre of gravity, you may tend to arch your back slightly and lift your posture into a more upright position.’
Footwear expert Katie Owen, of shoe company Sargasso & Grey, agrees: ‘Wearing styles with a small heel is better for your feet than wearing completely flat ones.
‘A heel will take the strain off the achilles tendon [the tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone] and will actually feel more comfortable than having no heel at all.’
TWO-INCH HEELS… IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SIZZLING SUPER LIFE
Many women have found that heels make them feel more attractive and can also be used to enhance their physical health.
Researchers at Shanghai’s Fudan University, quizzed 1,263 women about the height of the heels they wore — from under one inch to more than three inches.
They discovered that people who wore heels two inches high tilted their pelvis enough to cause the muscles to contract. This kept them in better condition and was more likely to have an orgasm.
But it’s not just your sex life that can be improved with a pair of two-inch heels.
Four out of ten British women have difficulty controlling their bladders. A study published in Translational Andrology And Urology in the summer reported that heels of two inches are just right to balance a woman and strengthen her muscles.
‘Wearing shoes [like this] for more than eight hours per day was protective for the pelvic floor function of women,’ they explained.
In turn, this could support the muscles that open and close the urethra — the tube that runs from the bladder to outside of the body — helping to prevent leaks.
However, the researchers did add that it was important that the heel width of the shoes should be around three centimeters wide, in order to keep the wearer’s body centred.
…AND A SHAPELY CALLF
Two-inch high shoes, like these worn by Lily-Rose Depp, may tilt your legs at such an angle they make your calf muscles work harder — and even make them firmer.
Two-inch high shoes, like these worn by Lily-Rose Depp, may tilt your legs at such an angle they make your calf muscles work harder — and even make them firmer
‘An added benefit of heels is that they can help tone your important leg muscles,’ says Mr Kumar Kunasingam, consultant orthopaedic surgeon of the schoen-clinic.co.uk.
‘High heels do augment and build muscular calves as women become used to walking and effectively balancing themselves with the added height.
‘The toning effect can reach the calves, hamstrings and even glutes, as shoe heels effectively tilt us naturally forwards as we place them on our feet.
‘The wearer then has to work to keep upright by slightly leaning backwards to stand straight and walk forward.’
Simone Paul, a podiatrist at The Third Space Medical, believes that heels can also improve circulation. ‘Two-inch heels activate the calf muscle, which is good for circulatory flow to the feet and legs, as well as providing arch support [in the foot].’
THREE-INCH HEEL… FOR A HIGH-FLYING PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Dame Helena Morrissey is a respected businesswoman and founder of the 30% Club to increase gender balance in the boardroom. She knows how to dress for success.
While some may claim it’s anti-feminist for women to wear heels in the workplace in this day and age, Dame Helena has always been a keen advocate of them.
‘I’m not embarrassed to admit I wear high heels because I feel more powerful in them,’ explains Helena, author of new book Style And Substance.
While she says there is no exact ‘ideal’ height, her preferred heel is a bit over three inches — taking her up to an impressive 5 ft 10 in.
Scientists seem to agree. According to a University of Liverpool study, tall women are more intelligent, assertive and independent than shorter females.
Helena adds: ‘I don’t think there is a single ‘ideal’ for all women in business — the ideal is what makes a specific woman feel at her best, most authoritative, most confident, most impactful.
‘Personally, I like the extra height that heels bestow and the fact that they help me feel more confident — and improve my posture. I stand up straighter, hold my shoulders better.’
While some may claim it’s anti-feminist for women to wear heels in the workplace in this day and age, Dame Helena Morrissey has always been a keen advocate of them.
According to America’s Brigham Young University, this heel height also makes a woman more careful about spending cash, too.
Researchers found that the heightened sense of balance means women in higher heels are more likely to weigh up their options and buy a product that’s better value, according to a study for the Journal Of Marketing Research.
Marketing professor Jeffrey Larson says the study shows how physical feelings can affect the decisions we make, adding: ‘If you’re someone who tends to overspend, or you’re kind of an extreme person, then maybe you ought to consider shopping in high heels.’
THREE-AND-A-HALF-INCH HEELS… FOR A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR
Lily James photographed in Toronto in 2016.
There’s something about a woman in heels that makes men more chivalrous — just ask Lily James.
The Archives Of Sexual Behaviour published a study that found that if a woman dropped her glove on the street, while wearing flat shoes it was picked up by men 60% of the time. Men returned 95% of the gloves to women who wore heels higher than 3.5 inches. High heels can make a woman vulnerable and more feminine.
Heels don’t make females totally helpless, though.
Portsmouth University researchers discovered that a woman in heels walks faster than a woman wearing flat shoes. They take 110 steps per minute and 106 steps respectively.
FOUR-INCH HEEL… FOR A PERKY DERRIERE
Who needs to spend hours doing squats in the gym when you’ve got a pair of killer heels, as Scarlett Johansson demonstrates.
In heels, the pressure on your feet rises from 30 lb/square inch to as much at 240 lb.
According to a University of Indiana study this tipping pushes the body forward, forcing the muscles of the calves and thighs to work harder to keep the wearer upright.
Who needs to spend hours doing squats in the gym when you’ve got a pair of killer heels, as Scarlett Johansson demonstrates
The heel is higher, so the bottom must be more tense to stay straight. A four-inch heel will best mimic a toned behind.
‘As soon as your toes are forced forward, your body leans forwards and your calf and buttocks start to tense up to oppose that force,’ explains podiatrist Christophe Champs, of PODO London.
‘The glutes look more toned because they are trying to hold you back.’ However, he adds: ‘It’s only a temporary effect because you are not building muscle.’
P.S. : STICK TO FLATS TO GET BEAUTIFUL FEET…
While heels may make your body look slimmer and more elegant, unfortunately prolonged wear won’t do the same for your feet.
This is because the height of your heel increases the pressure on your ball of the feet.
This forces the delicate foot bones to squeeze into a narrow space and forms claw toes.
Flat shoe wearers such as Anya Taylor Joy can also be spared the most common and unsightly problem known as hallux vagus or bunions.
This happens when the foot is forced into a triangular shoe shape by applying pressure. The big toe is pushed towards the smaller toes, and a bony lump forms at the base.
Studies have shown that about 30% of women with bunions are affected by high heels, particularly those who wear them for long periods of time at work.
Flatshoe-wearers like Anya Taylor Joy can also be spared the most common and unsightly problem known as hallux vagus or bunions.
High heels are the key to good sex!
ROSIE MILLARD – DAILY MAIL
Heels are the best. And however much fashion editors or wildly tall women such as Carla Bruni might try to suggest flats should replace them in women’s affections, we all know that’s rubbish.
When I was a child in the 1970s, I remember my headmistress ringing my mother, a doctor, begging her to write some learned tract for her to use in assembly about how platform heels may ruin the ‘organs’ of girls.
My mother laughed so hard that she couldn’t believe it. ‘They might ruin your back but that’s it,’ she said.
High heels are irresistible. They can be very painful. Particularly now. After two years of lockdown, my feet aren’t used to being in heels. I don’t care.
ROSIE MILLARD: ‘Heels make you feel desirable. The fact my new husband is almost a foot taller than me — he’s 6ft 7in — also means that if I wear flat shoes he is breathing a different atmosphere’
Yes, I will be rekindling my relationship with the chiropractor. Yes, it will be hard.
Yes, it can involve pedicures or blister plasters, laddered tights and/or metatarsal pads for your feet.
But, it’s so wonderful to put on those leg-lengthening and curve-enhancing, sexy accessories once again.
They instantly make clothes look more beautiful. The best ones can be run for the bus, I swear.
This is my experience as a marathon runner, who has worn about as many running shoes than heels.
On my wedding day, I planned to wear sensible heels (or dowdy). But then, Alison, my Best Lady, and I realized that they wouldn’t work.
‘Put these on,’ ordered Alison, holding a pair of 4in beauties. ‘They are so much sexier, don’t think about the pain.’
She was right. Heels make you feel desirable. The fact my new husband is almost a foot taller than me — he’s 6ft 7in — also means that if I wear flat shoes he is breathing a different atmosphere.
Are they the key for sexual fulfillment? They may be. In a beautiful, sometimes uncomfortable way.