Foot binding is an Illegal practice in Modern China as it is a painful beauty practice which limits the "victim's" mobility. And so this is why it was SERIOUSLY banned in the 1950s after the Communist came to power. They SERIOUSLY forbade the practice because it had been previously abolished few times in the past with no success.
But then I guess parents finally stopped crushing their daughters feet when they realized a full stomach was more important than a prized 3-inch golden lotuses. Huh? how does a full stomach relate to foot binding? Well you see when China was going through it's Economy Reform, people's lives were put on hold so they could 'build" the country. Both professional working class and lower income class ALL had to go work really hard on farms and factories, or else, no food! But when you have such tiny feet which limits you from doing such hard labor, then you're in BIG trouble!
So what is the punishment if caught? I don't know really, I guess they get fined, but I don't know by how much.
For a quick history and more info on foot binding in China, please read this great npr article.
6 comments:
I sometimes wonder if wearing high heels is not a form of modern day feet binding. And yes, like most females, about 85% of the shoes I own are high heels.
That's true, except high heels are only temporary and aren't illegal :) I only started wearing heels more often after living and seeing so many women wear them in China.
I can't wear anything with a heal since I broke my foot 9 years ago. I couldn't image being crippled for a beauty standard.
I think the history of beauty practices across the globe is very interesting. So glad to be born in this day and age! I hope you recover from the injury eventually.
What I notice is that almost every fetish related to beauty is designed to make a woman suffer in some way. Footbinding, female circumcision, tiny waists, thinness-none of these things are natural.
I agree, I also think it's us women who are bringing these pain upon ourselves.
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