Chinese Foot Binding Beauty? Or A Fashion Statement Gone Wrong

Origin of Foot Binding In the early 10th century, Emperor Li Yu of the Southern Tang dynasty in China order one of his slave girls to bind her feet in silk ribbons and dance on a platform littered with golden lotus flowers. At first, foot binding was something practiced only by those within the royal court but soon women of all social classes were eager to have dainty, "beautiful" and desirable feet.

How The Feet Were Bounded Young girls would get the feet bounded around the ages between four to six The girls feet were soaked into special potion. Their mother’s or grandmother’s would take long lengths of cloth and bind the feet so that the toes would bend under and the bones in the foot would break. Process took about ten years Infection would follow Then the terrible smell

This picture was taken in 1918

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Examples of Shoes

Foot Binding Facts Foot binding was seen as a sign of beauty and attractiveness. Men in China in that era would not marry a woman who did not have bound feet. Once a girl was of marriageable age, prospective mother-in-laws lifted up the woman's dress and discovered "clown feet," she would not allow her son to speak to that woman again. The mother in law discovering that would be the most embarrassing thing that can happen to you. The foot binding process was done to make sure the foot never grew past four inches.

More Facts Foot binding kept women weak, out of power, and dominated by her husband. The process was done so early the girls had no ruling. The girls were uneducated and thought that foot binding was necessary. Women were an object to men. In 1911 after the revolution of Sun Yat-Sen, foot binding officially ended . Some families still continued.

To Be Beautiful, Is Painful Or Is It? Throughout history in all cultures a common ultimate goal is to achieve beauty. We pierce and tattoo our bodies. Wear high heels and tight boosters. Denature ourselves with plastic surgery.

Works Cited Http://www.sfmuseeum.org/chin/feetbinding.htlm http://users.rcn.com/frances.interport/feetbinding.html http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p2142.htm