Researcher studies the sexiness of high heels
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Study shows the higher the heel, the more likely men are to help. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)
From the researcher who showed female hitchhikers with big breasts got picked up more by men than their flatter-chested counterparts comes another revealing study: one that appears to confirm that guys think high heels are sexier than flats.
In a report published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, the University of Bretagne's Nicolas Gueguen carried out a set of experiments by putting brown-haired French women—Time mentions that past studies have shown blondes are approached more than brunettes—in a series of scenarios, wearing three different types of shoes: black flats, black shoes with a 2-inch heel, or black pumps with a 3.5-inch heel.
In the first experiment, as broken down by Time, a woman wearing the highest heel was able to get 83% of men ages 25 to 50 to help her with a gender equality survey; only 47% of the guys helped her when she wore flats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}To test how both men and women responded, four testers in the second experiment asked subjects to help them with a food survey; 82% of men helped the high-heelers, 42% the flats-wearers, while only 33% of women subjects helped out, no matter what the heel height.
To test attractiveness levels, the testers then walked in front of "marks" and dropped gloves—93% of men retrieved the glove for high-heel wearers, 62% for those in flats.
And testers sitting at a bar? It only took men about 7.49 minutes to approach those in high heels, while those in flats had to wait nearly 14 minutes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gueguen attributes the sexiness of high heels to media imagery, among other reasons, as well as how it changes a woman's gait. "High heels may exaggerate the sex-specific aspects of the female walk," a researcher said last year in the Pacific Standard.
(Some women have surgery so their high heels fit better.)
This article originally appeared on Newser: Guys Dig Women in High Heels: Science
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