I recently managed to watch the last half of a documentary on Chinese Foot Binding. This documentary, I have to admit left me somewhat enlightened but disturbed at the same time and piqued my interest in the subject... hence is the focus of my writings today.

The ancient custom of foot binding was first recorded around 950AD, at the beginning of the Song Dynasty and it lasted till 1911, when it was banned by the New Chinese Republic. How did this ancient custom start? Well, apparently, during the Song dynasty, an imperial concubine was required to dance with her feet bound, thus creating the starting point of a new "trend". It was deemed "trendy" for a woman to have her feet bound... it kind of makes you wonder "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING"?? But then, a brief glance as humankind's history will reveal that the human race has adopted some really strange trends. In the 70s, it was the hippie phase (uncontrollable big, BIG hair, bell bottoms, psychedelic everything, disco). In the 80s, it was break dancing and even stranger clothes (remember Cyndi Lauper and Madonna with their lacey corsets, gloves, punk hairdos??). In the 90s, it was body piercing, tattoos and techno. Humans have a long time history of adopting trends, thus, one can understand how even the strangest of strange can be adopted. All it takes is someone prominent to do it and BANG, others will follow and try to take it to new heights.

Side view. Source: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/bndfeet2.jpg

It is not known how small were the feet of the initiator of this custom, however, by the 12th century, the practice was widespread throughout China and heaps more severe. Girls' feet were bound so tightly that they were unable to walk or dance. Picture this, the average age for a girl to have her feet bound was 3... some started as late as 7 (as their families wanted to take advantage of their ability to work). Regardless of age, it was a painful experience. All toes, aside from the first big one were broken. Her four broken toes were then forced inward, toward the sole. The heel and toe were then drawn forcibly together, breaking the arch in the process. Can you imagine walking around with 8 broken toes? Feet became more and more compressed, thus women couldn't walk around, they hobbled or they had to lean against a wall or another person for support. A good pair of bound feet, a "golden lotus" would measure no more than 3 inches! Crikey!! Compare 3 inches to my size 6 feet!!

This highly coveted "golden lotus" style was on the extreme side you have to understand. Not all of them adopted the "golden lotus". There were other less extreme variations to bound feet... in these cases, the feet were bound in a less contorted manner that "merely" kept the toes compressed thereby limiting the growth of the foot, without breaking any bones. Regardless of style adopted, the practice of foot binding was more commonly practiced that not.

As the lass grew older, her feet would naturally grow but would be restraint by the binds... hence, she grows up with deformed feet. I have to admit that I have known about this ancient custom but I have never ever seen pictures of unbound feet before... not till I watched that documentary on telly. A search on the Internet revealed some pictures... however pictures of unbound feet are rare. It is no wonder that there are few pictures of unbound feet as they look astronomically hideous!! Concealing feet is what made foot binding acceptable, men never saw their wife's feet bare (special shoes were made for sleeping). When the practice became visible to outsiders it was not longer considered a viable practice. The bones in the feet never heal and pain is a constant companion to these women. Over time, they do get used to the pain but nonetheless, it is always there and they will never know a "pain free" day ('tis no wonder opium was so popular with the Chinese!!).

Close up of a pair of unbound feet. Source: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/bndfeet2.gif

It was thought that the custom of foot binding was limited to upper class ladies, the ones who live a life of leisure. However, this was not the case.

Lady of Leisure Source: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/bndfeet3.jpg

The custom engulfed all women, from all walks of life. A female was not of "marriageable" material unless her feet were bound. Whilst the upper class of women had maids to do their every bidding, those who weren't so lucky were forced to go about their daily chores and work. In the documentary, one lady, with bound feet said that her husband died when her four children were still young, thus bound feet or not, she became the sole bread winner of the family. When the Chinese Revolution started, she, like many others were forced to do manual labour.. no special treatment was given to her. In fact, having bound feet became a disgrace to society. They had to suffer once again for apparantly, having the binds removed from bound feet was as painful as having them binded in the first place. She was treated as if she had normal feet. It didn't matter to the Chinese government that she had bound feet. If you wanted to eat, you had to work. She dug trenches, fetched pails upon pails of water from a river to an allocated spot... suffered pain in order to earn food for her family. Can you imagine walking on 3 inch feet whilst balancing two full pails of water on your shoulders?

Source: http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/images/bndfeet1.gif

So, the million dollar question here is why did these women bind their feet for over a thousand years and only stopped when it was prohibited by the government? A women with bound feet has better marriage prospects than those without. Why is this you might ask? Firstly, if you would recall how foot binding first started... with the imperial concubine. This set the standard for feminine beauty as all classes strove to imitate the style of the elite, in this case, it began with what was showcased in the imperial courts.Thus, a woman with bound feet was looked upon as being more "attractive".

Secondly, in a society where chastity is a highly prized commodity, having a wife with her feet bound made basic common sense. A female was less likely to perform infidelity if her feet were bound... how could they? They were physically incapable of moving about freely and unchaperoned... women with bound feet were more or less trapped in domestic seclusion. The male could then feel "safer" about his wife's fidelity. Also, this inability to walk long distances, ensured that a man would be marrying a virgin as she couldn't leave home.

Thirdly, having bound feet helped "build character". You see, not complaining about the pain and inconvenience caused by bound feet marks a person with strong character, class and dignity... one could look upon this as a test of sorts.

Fourthly, having a female in the family with her feet bound was a mark of class. In certain peasant societies, women didn't have their feet bound because their families just couldn't afford the luxury of helpless women. A family who did have a female(s) with bound feet was looked upon as "rich". As mentioned above, this ancient custom was not limited to the upper class but encompassed all classes, even the lower class. Families who could afford to, did... they were considered the "lucky" ones.

Fifthly, by imposing this sort of physical restrictions of women, men were able to reinforce their dominant position in life. Women with bound feet had to stay at home, unable to work or have any sort of public life. How cruel!! This is a method of social control over generations of women, keeping them from seeing independence and liberation!! Can you even begin to fathom the domestic abuse that would most certainly have happened during that era?

Then, we have the male association with bound feet. Not only did males use bound feet as a way to exercise their control over females ... it became a sexual fetish and conducive to better intercourse.!! Yes, you read that right. Bound feet became a sexual fetish. So, not only did bound feet have an aesthetic appeal, it was a wide spread belief that the process of foot binding produced a highly-muscled vagina, which in turn, lead to better intercouse. Also, it has been documented that the various shapes of bound feet became a sexual aid of sorts. Extensive sexual guides specify countless special techniques involving the use of bound feet for sex... of which, I can't even think of one!

Thankfully, this custom is now obsolete. However, the concept of "pain for beauty" still persists. Females all over the world still go through great physical pains in order to make themselves attractive to another. In the heart of Borneo, the Dayaks still stretch their ear lobes with massive weights as to them, its a matter of beauty. These ear lobes can hang down till ones waist! Certain tribes in Africa insert a round plate of sorts into their lips, in order to stretch them. Yet other tribes in Africa insert rings around their necks, in order to lengthen them... the more rings one has around one's neck, the more attractive that person is. Women in developed countries succumb to plastic surgery i.e. make this bigger, make that smaller etc. This can involve a lot of pain as well. Body piercing is becoming more popular with each passing day.

Whilst foot binding isn't practiced in today's time, some of the underlying reasoning for why it existed in the first place still persists in today's modern world. Some things never change...

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