These are the core obsessions that drive our newsroom—defining topics of seismic importance to the global economy. Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. Men, of course, have no such obligation. But in the end, they backed down. According to the Bata Shoe Museum, the shape and height of the heel at left indicates that it belonged to a wealthy young boy in 17th century Europe. King Louis XIV loved a good silk-covered heel, and wore them in red, which indicated social rank even in a pre-Louboutin age. In recent decades, the high heel has been relegated to the men most secure with their sexuality: rockstars and cowboys.

Shoes that are high heeled were worn by men during the late sixteenth century to early eighteenth century. Back then in Europe, the high heels were a unisex fashion craze but they eventually dropped out. Men started putting on high heeled shoes because of the Persian military. This is because they make galloping simple compared to flat wears. Heeled shoes are something men could use to grip onto a stirrup in order to remain stable when riding during bad weather.

High-heeled shoes were first worn in the 10th century as a way to help the Persian cavalry keep their shoes in their stirrups. Since then, men's heels have gone through varied cultural meanings: symbolizing high social stature, military prowess, refined fashionable taste, and the height of 'cool'. Persian soldiers were the first to discover that heeled shoes helped their feet stay in their stirrups and gave them the stability they needed to shoot their bows and arrows. This dish, excavated from Nishapur, Iran, shows a soldier from the time of the Samanid Empire in an early version of a heeled riding boot.