In ancient china they used to bind childrens feet so they would be tiny when the girl grew up?

Question

how and why did this originate?

Answer 1

It seems horribly cruel in our modern world, but it was actually considered to be a "beauty treatment," in it's time. It begain in the tenth century and was finally outlawed in 1911 by the new Chinese republic. The bound feet were supposed to represent a three inch lotus flower, which is one of the most beautiful flowers in the Chinese culture. There is some corrolation between the look of the lotus flower and a womans sexual core. Freud actually tied this practice into his ideas on fetishism. Many women in rural areas were still having their feet bound into the 1930s so there are still a small number of women living this way. The last factory to produce the special lotus shoes ceased production in 1998. There have been various research studies done by the University of California into the health and well being of the women who are living with bound feet, and found that many older women have fallen and have a great deal of difficulty going to the bathroom on their own, as their deformed feet cannot hold their body weight in the squat position. Wow, it makes me feel really blessed to be not a Chinese woman of that era or belief. I just cringe looking at pictures of these women, it has to be incredibly painful. Hope this gives you some good information. Have a good night!

Answer 2

Hi there. Good evening. I saw a program on this a while back. I think it was on that show, TABOO. Anyways, I believe the practice originated over a hundred years ago. The chinese woman thought that woman with small feet had prestige. The men liked the women with a tiny foot and shoe. It was a status thing. Women tied up their feet in cloth from the time they were walking. It kept the foot bound to form a sorta point. The women also cut off their toes to fit into smaller shoes, again a vanity thing. The feet may look cute in a tiny shoe, but I am sure you want to be far away from that foot when the bandages come off. I t is excruciating pain that really had no aesthetic purpose. I hope this answered the question.

Answer 3

Foot binding was a custom practiced in some parts of medieval China on young females for many centuries and finally discontinued in the early 20th century. Some, such as Sigmund Freud, consider the practice fetishistic, as it was done for aesthetic reasons, much as many women today wear high heels, despite the discomfort. Young girls' feet, usually at age 6 but often earlier, were wrapped in tight bandages so they could not grow normally, would break and become deformed as they reached adulthood. The feet would remain small and dysfunctional, prone to infection, paralysis, and muscular atrophy. It should be noted that this was initially only a common practice in the wealthiest parts of China, particularly in north China. However, by the late Qing Dynasty, footbinding had become popular among women of all social levels, including the poor.

Answer 4

it was only the girls, not the boys. the chinese think tiny feet are beautiful. The smaller the woman's foot the more beautiful. American culture values big knockers, the chinese had a thing for small feet . . . .i think it's called the lotus foot or something like that????? Hey, whatever floats yer boat right?

Answer 5

Not just children, female children. It was felt that a girl with small feet was more desirable to men.

Answer 6

back then, having small tiny feet are considered beautiful. he smaller the feet the more attractive you are. having said that, parents who want to mary off their children to a good and wealthy family will try to amke their children's feet as small as possible.

Answer 7

it's a long and painful process. they'd tie the girl's foot and gradually tighten it in certain periods till it would reach a certain degree. it was actually a fad that determined beauty but actually it's a sick tradition made so that when the girl got married, which wasn't usually her choice, it would be hard for her to escape from her husband because she cannot run.

Answer 8

All the answers you got were right, so I won't bother repeating everything they have already said.
But maybe it was also to keep the girl from running away if her fiance was ugly. I mean, they usually never met the guy till the day they got married. And to keep them from running away from home too most likely.
My guess is as good as any.

Answer 9

b/c they thought that little feet would be more attractive to men. go figure. all women got out of it was gangrene and toes falling off.