Can't still figure out how a woman can dance (let alone walk) in heels. I heard woman get surgery on their pinkie toe in order to fit a show better? That's sad.

 High heels damage the joints of the feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back. They also cause muscles to tighten at the back of the leg. They prevent natural gait, which affects the ability of the muscles to pump blood back up the legs through the veins, which eventually causes varicose veins and swelling of the ankles. I see them as the Western equivalent of foot binding in that it is done ostensibly for fashion, but in fact handicaps women and helps to keep them in reduced social status.

 I agree with this statement those things gotta be uncomfortable

 Research and studies have shown that heels damage our bones and joints and muscles particularly the lower leg but most women, girls and females are ready to sacrifice their bodies for the sake of fashion!!

 Many women wear heels because it is fashionable but it really hurts your posture and feet. Some women wear very low heels which is better and some only wear them every once in a while and that is okay to. But those who wear them everyday are going to be sorry when they are older!

 I don't like heels much, they are for "special occasions", and they ruin postures, and my mom had friends who broke ankles, feet and toes, over a shoe with an incline, it's pretty sad. :(

 I love heels and high fashion but I have to agree with you on this one. Uneven heels can cause pelvic tilt, cheap shoes and flip flops can also cause damage. Point toed shoes can cause corns and callses, muscle craps, back pain, misalignment of the back. But boy, do I love shoes! Jimmy Choo and Minolo's.

 Yes i agree! This is proved fact that high heels not affects only feet adversly but also walking posture in a way that it can cause back aches too along with ankle & knee ache.

 Yeah definitely even though i don't normally wear them (I dont feel comfortable)I have experienced them and if u hv to wear them a long time its gonna make your feet sore.Our feet is where the nerves spots r n we have to take care of it alot.But people will do anything for fashion n that's bad.We should be the way we like not go after things that u may not be comfy but since it is the latest u would wear it.I am not that type of person.My fave type o shoe is Trainers.They r so comfy.

 I definitely have passed the phase where I can stand an uncomfortable shoe, that pain is telling me something.

 Yes it probably does do damage but i would still wear them but only rearly.

 Yes High heels are damaging, my mother doesn't let me wear them for this reason, when she was younger, she wore them all the time. She blames them for her very sore feet and weak ankles. Yes high heels can be good if they are not too high but they are not on my list of shoes to buy!

 High heels, like Earth Shoes, require practice. Without practice, the danger isn't to posture, but from falling. A small mis-step in high heels in exaggerated, what may have been a sprain, may tear a ligament. Those who wish them for eyes' sake should practice carefully and alternate or with low heel or even with Earth Shoes (heels are lower than the ball of the foot). Good-fitting high-heeled shoes are available in classic styles, for those who want the heels for long-term occasional uses.

Stiletto-heels damage floors. It's a pounds/sq.in. Problem. Cuban heels don't pose this problem. Platform soles keep feet up just a bit, originally intended to keep them dry in moist or soggy areas, but they're appreciated by the easily-chilled anywhere.

 Unfortunately, fashion seems to be more important than foot care. For years I wore 2-3 inch heels at work every day as did most of the other women. I was young and ignorant and was not aware of the damage high heels were causing to my feet. I was diagnosed with "hammer-toe" and bunions in both of my feet at only the age of 30. This condition was partially due to genetics but wearing the high heels worsened the condition. I started wearing very low heels or flats. I had one of the bunions surgerically removed eight years ago and the other one removed just last year. I believe there needs to be articles published in newspapers and magazines addressing the pitfalls of wearing high heels.

 Many women see me as weak for it, but I personally cannot stand high heels. They make my back, ankles, knees, and feet ache and swell. Both my mother and grandmother have bone issues in their feet resulting from a lifetime of high heel wearing. It is similar to foot-binding in many ways, including that it was women themselves who agreed to subject themselves to it, not the men who liked it. Footbinding, however, I feel was far more horrific as it was put upon children by their mothers, while high heel wearing is more of a teen to adult fad. Not that high heel wearing isn't encouraged by many mothers, even if inadvertantly.

 Of course they are if they are too high. There is some evidence that low heels do actually improve posture. The damage to the feet is also exacerbated by the style, in the pointy ended ones will squeeze the foot/toes together in the shoe.