“most of her toes would be fractured and her feet bound tightly with linen strips to impede their growth. The ideal was to create a 3-inch ‘lotus foot’ by limiting growth to just a few inches. The binding forced a girl's toes down toward the soles of her feet to form a concave shape” (DeHoff).
While small feet are considered attractive in the Chinese culture, foot binding ultimately was a symbol of wealth, and left the woman’s feet permanently deformed.
First off, having one’s feet bound in China was a sign of the upper class. By binding the woman’s feet, the bones would become deformed into a severe arch, making the bones very brittle and easily broken. This caused the upper class women much pain. While the pain was a major factor, an equally pressing issue was that the feet could easily become infected from the constant breaking of bones. Women with bound feet could not walk for long distances without needing assistance. Those of the working class could not bind their feet because they needed to do manual labor to earn income for themselves and their families. This meant that those who needed to work for a living could not perform strenuous work with bound feet, so this became a symbol of the wealthy in China (DeHoff).
Ultimately, foot binding resulted in a woman’s feet becoming permanently deformed. The practice of foot binding started in the 10th century and ended in the early 20th century around the year 1911. The initial deformities included severe arches, brittle and easily broken foot bones, and most likely lead to infection. These initial deformities contributed to less freedom in mobility in respect to the fact that walking long distances was not possible; dancing and running, which are normal child activities, was also hindered. Those who suffered from foot binding found that, later on in life, they were more likely to have suffered falls than non-foot bound women. Also, the bone density in their hips was much less that that of a normal woman. It was also frequent for previously foot-bound women to suffer from osteoporosis. It was also noted that those with bound feet needed more assistance as the got older; it was difficult for women of bound feet to go into a squatting position, which hinders normal toilet using abilities (DeHoff). According to a study conducted by the University of California at San Francisco, "As the practice waned, some girls' feet were released after initial binding, leaving less severe deformities” (Lim).
And finally, although the primitive practice of foot binding “was banned nearly a century ago by the Chinese government, […] the practice took years to die out, and a few of its victims -- most far older than seventy -- can still be found today” (DeHoff). Most standards of beauty come with a cost, but at what point does the cost jeopardize the health of beauty-seeker? It is definitely clear that while foot binding was a standard for the wealthy to show off their status that deformities prove to have detrimental effects on the lives and health of the beauty-seeker.
Works Cited
DeHoff, Elizabeth. “Traditions of Foot Binding in China.” About.com: Shoes.
7 March 2008. Roosevelt University Writing Lab. 12 January 2009
Foot-Binding Custom Causes Disabilities In Chinese Women. 4 November
1997. Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. 13 January 2009
Lim, Louisa. “Painful Memories for China's Footbinding Survivors.” NPR.org.
19 March 2007. Roosevelt University Writing Lab. 13 January 2009
Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
