the illusion of female fragility

[rever]

The devices used for this purpose have ranged from foot binding in old
China; through tight corsets that produced on the women of Victorian
England the illusion of an hourglass waist, just waiting to break; to the
high-heeled shoes of the modern West. The Victorian illusion of female
fragility was given both a physical and a psychological dimension, through
a self-presentation which combined a thin waist, a pale skin which showed
every blush, and fainting fits which called for smelling salts. Such a woman
would appear so fragile in body and soul that any gallant man would feel
obliged to reach out and support her.
In 20th century Western fashion, the high heel is the foundation for the
elaborate disguising of female sturdiness. Consider a woman who has
dieted herself down to twiggy thinness; who stuffs herself into a skirt that is
tight about the knees or ankles, hindering her from taking long and vigorous
strides; who then perches herself on stiletto heels, to produce an overall
effect of a tall, thin, willowy masquerade walking on wobbly stilts. The
impression she has carefully created is of an adult who cannot balance
firmly on her own two feet. Like an invalid who can hardly stand up
straight, her figure cries out for help, for a sturdy man to sweep her off her
feet and carry her across a windy street, or up a hill path; or better yet, for
some gallant who will pull up beside her in a Rolls Royce and save her the
obvious difficulty of walking down the street.
Given her self-created image of helplessness, what man would be so ill-mannered, so ungallant as to ask her to carry a heavy, bulky box and step
across a gutter?
A man once got a woman to take off her high heels and her knee-tight skirt.
As she stood on her stockinged feet, as firm and stable on the ground as one
of Degas' dancers, he exclaimed:
Look at those ankles! Look at those calves! Where is the fragile,
willowy woman who was staggering in the breeze a while ago? So
that's what those high heels are about? So that's what tight-kneed
skirts are about?
At which the lady picked up her handbag and struck him, drawing blood
from his lip! Yes, women's craftiness in hiding their sturdiness and strength
is extraordinary.