Why is it hard for women to keep our feet flat when we squat down?

Question

High heels aren't part of it, because I couldn't do it when I was a child, either. i never wore heels as a child.

Answer 1

I believe for 2 reasons:
One is that wearing heals causes the achilles tendon to be shorter than if flat shoes were always worn.
The second is that in our culture squatting is not commonly done. So the achilles tendon never gets stretched enough routinely to allow flat feet when squatting.
In Asian cultures, squatting is common among men and women and they seem to be able to do it flat-footed for hours.

Answer 2

When squatting down, the supporting area under your feet diminishes and you instinctively move forward to align your center of mass with the narrow area.

In order for you to keep balance, the vertical line that crosses your center of mass has to be inside the area you use as support. In other words, half of you must remain in one side of the line, half on the other side (left and right, front and behind).

The center of mass is roughly behind your navel. Imagine the polygon formed by the your feet on the ground. If the "shadow" (projection) of your navel doesn't fall inside that polygon, you lose balance. Try it.

Answer 3

You have to overcome the hip girdle impedance, as Asian women do. Possible to late for you, as you may be too old.

Answer 4

What? So, how do you stabilize yourselves when you p...?

Interesting!