Using Sexual Selection Theories to Examine Contextual Variation in Heterosexual Women\u2019s Orientation Toward High Heels

Christopher Watkins,Amanda Leitch

doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01539-3

Abstract

High heels are symbols of female sexuality and are “costly signals” if the risks of wearing them are offset by improving women’s attractiveness to men. From a functionalist perspective, the costs versus benefits of wearing heels may vary according to personal and contextual factors, such as her effectiveness at competing for mates, or at times when such motives are stronger. Here, we examined potential differences between women (self-rated attractiveness, dyadic versus solitary sexual desire, women’s age, competitive attitudes toward other women) and contextual variation (priming mating and competitive motives) in their responses to high heels. Study 1 (N = 79) and Study 2 (N = 273) revealed that self-rated attractiveness was positively related to orientation toward heeled shoes. When examining responses to two very attractive shoes (one higher heel, one lower heel) in Study 2, dyadic sexual desire, but not solitary sexual desire or intrasexual competitiveness, predicted their inclination to buy the higher-heeled shoe. In Study 3 (N = 142), young women chose high heels when primed with free choice of a designer shoe (95% CI [53.02 mm, 67.37 mm]) and preferred a heel 22 mm (0.87”) higher than older women (Study 4, N = 247). Contrary to predictions, priming mating or competitive motives did not alter women’s preference toward a higher heel (Studies 3 and 4). Our studies suggest that attractive women augment their physical appeal via heels. High heels may be a subtle indicator of dyadic sexual desire, and preferences for heels are stronger at times in the lifespan when mating competition is relatively intense.

Highlights

One form of female sartorial appearance is her choice of footwear
Follow-up correlational tests were conducted to interpret the two-way interaction (N = 116 due to missing responses by some participants to the SDI questionnaire). These analyses revealed that women’s inclination to buy the higher-heeled attractive shoe was stronger as dyadic sexual desire increased, but dyadic sexual desire was not related to their inclination to buy the lower-heeled attractive shoe
Our studies suggest that individual differences in women’s responses to heeled shoes can be examined using sexual selection theories

Summary

Introduction

One form of female sartorial appearance is her choice of footwear. People have worn heeled shoes for over 500 years, with their use extended across different socioeconomic groups in the late nineteenth century (Linder & Saltzman, 1998; see Parmentier, 2016; Semmelhack, 2008). Evidence that high heels function to augment female attractiveness would be consistent with our proposal that high heels are a costly signal (Miller, 2009; Saad, 2011, 2013), because they are preferred by women who can maximize the benefits and offset the potential costs to health (Barnish & Barnish, 2016) from wearing them (i.e., effective competitors for mates; Vaillancourt, 2013). Evidence that less attractive women have a stronger preference for high-heeled shoes would speak to the importance of self-promotion and appearance enhancement in attractiveness-based competition among women (Vaillancourt, 2013), as it would suggest that women use this form of cultural apparel to improve their appearance when competing for mates. Evidence that mating and/or competitive motives are related to preferences for greater heel height would suggest that circumstantial factors related to intersexual and intrasexual selection alter women’s orientation toward one form of cultural apparel

Participants

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Results

Discussion