Preference for high heels correlated with female self-perceived attractiveness; were most preferred in interaction with an attractive male, & least preferred in interaction with an unattractive male

Wearing high heels as female mating strategy. Pavol Prokop, Jana Švancárová. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 152, 1 January 2020, 109558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109558

Highlights
•    Preference for high heels correlated with female self-perceived attractiveness.
•    Shorter body height correlated with preferences for high heels.
•    High heels were most preferred in interaction with an attractive male.
•    High heels were least preferred in interaction with an unattractive male.
•    High heels are female sexual signals.

Abstract: Females use various behavioural tactics in order to attract the attention of a desirable mate. Wearing high heels enhances female physical attractiveness for the opposite sex, thus their use seems to be a powerful sexual signal. We investigated female preferences for high heels both in everyday life as well as in a hypothetical mating scenario. Slovak females reported a low frequency of wearing high heels (45% once per month, 38% never) in everyday life. Females with a lower body height and high self-perceived attractiveness reported more frequent use of high heels than others. Sociosexuality and involvement in a romantic relationship did not predict the wearing of high heels. When females imagined an interaction with an attractive male, preferences for high heels steeply increased compared with a scenario with an unattractive male. Females with a low body height use high heels in all probability to visually elongate their leg length in order to increase their physical attractiveness. High heels seem to be a form of sexual signalling by females in intersexual interactions.