False Consciousness, Heels, and a Little Shoe Porn...

So I've been thinking about false consciousness and about what sorts of false consciousness I buy into. One of the most obvious ones was my love of heels. I've been a flats girl for most of my life, but over the summer, I bought a pair of 4-inch platform shoes with an ankle strap and what a change they've made in my life. When I wear them, I feel much more confident and powerful.
However, the fact remains that heels cause long-term back problems, foot pain and even hip problems... not to mention the blisters or the fact that every time I walk over uneven pavement or cobblestone, I run the risk of breaking an ankle- or worse.
The idea that heels are good for women is perpetuated by both the fashion industry and the media. Fashion magazines are bombarded with ads and editorials singing the praises of heels. Heels- despite their dangers- are said to be good for women. They make us stand taller, they make our legs look longer, they make us sexier, more confident, more authoritative... at least according to the ads and editorials. But that is not the only source of the false consciousness...
Movies and television shows (such as Sex and the City, home to Carrie Bradshaw who is like, the patron saint of heels) almost always portray "strong, independent" women wearing heels. Even Betty Suarez, of Ugly Betty, has started wearing heels.
Girls are taught from a young age that heels are the right footwear choice for women. Toys like Barbie, whose feet can wear heels and heels only, foster the desire to don pumps and as girls grow up, the institutions promoting high heel wearing only become more numerous.

This post has gotten kind of long, so to sum everything up: Heels are promoted as being a good thing for women, making us stronger, more powerful and sexier. One could say that heels have become the mark of an independent woman. This idea is promoted to women from a very young age through various institutions- the toy industry, the fashion industry, media, etc. However, heels are actually bad for you, so the consciousness that heels improve women is a false consciousness.

Even knowing this, I would still kill for this season's Pradas...