Marshall Brain's Blog

This article goes in the same category with the question, "What makes cigarettes sexy?" It seems odd that putting 4-inch spikes on a woman's (not an man's) feet would trigger "sex" in the human brain. Yet that is exactly what it does:

Stiletto Heels the Ultimate Sex Appeal Item

The article surveyed 55,000 people and found things like this:

• "Women said that they viewed a pair of (56% black) patent leather stiletto heels as the essential item for seducing a potential partner."
  
  
• "Over 85% of the men responded agreed that they were mesmerised by a woman in heels."

How can this be? Yet again, it has to do with the effects of markers. The appeal of heels is that they act as a publicly visible marker for sexuality, just like cigarettes. According to the article: "The survey also revealed... that overall, heel lovers were much more adventurous in their love lives."

See also: Cell phones and sex and Smoking and sex.