Chinese Foot Binding The ancient and painful practice of Chinese foot binding existed for almost 900 years. It began in the 10th century and ended in the 19th century (Foreman). Foot binding is the practice of breaking and wrapping young girl’s feet in order to create a small, lotus shape. It permanently deformed women’s feet in such a way that doing daily activities or actions was difficult. Chinese foot binding was an unnecessary and painful process that kept women subservient to men. The exact origin of foot binding in China is unknown, but the most common belief is that it originated in the 10th century by a court dancer named Yao Niang. She would bind her feet in the shape of a new moon and then dance on her toes inside of a six foot
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Because the women couldn’t climb stairs without help, houses were made to be one story. Streets were made to be very narrow so that foot bond women could lean against the buildings for support when walking. Many large cities developed because the men of a village didn’t want to leave their wives who couldn’t travel more than a couple miles. So instead of going off and exploring new lands, they stayed in the village. The populations of these villages became so large and the size of the village expanded so much that they eventually became large cities (McManus). Men and the government used the women’s need of assistance and lack of independence to limit their power and rights. Because foot bond women could only travel a few miles they weren’t able to run away from an abusive husband or family and husbands didn’t have to worry about their wife sneaking off and having an affair. They could control their wives, where they went, and who they meet. Their dependence on assistance to do everyday things made them appear weak and unequal to men. Because of this belief; voting rights for women were taken away, they weren’t allowed to own property, and educating women was looked down on. Despite these restrictions, mothers kept binding their daughter’s feet because it was their daughters only hope of getting a good husband, or marrying into a higher class family
Because the women couldn’t climb stairs without help, houses were made to be one story. Streets were made to be very narrow so that foot bond women could lean against the buildings for support when walking. Many large cities developed because the men of a village didn’t want to leave their wives who couldn’t travel more than a couple miles. So instead of going off and exploring new lands, they stayed in the village. The populations of these villages became so large and the size of the village expanded so much that they eventually became large cities (McManus). Men and the government used the women’s need of assistance and lack of independence to limit their power and rights. Because foot bond women could only travel a few miles they weren’t able to run away from an abusive husband or family and husbands didn’t have to worry about their wife sneaking off and having an affair. They could control their wives, where they went, and who they meet. Their dependence on assistance to do everyday things made them appear weak and unequal to men. Because of this belief; voting rights for women were taken away, they weren’t allowed to own property, and educating women was looked down on. Despite these restrictions, mothers kept binding their daughter’s feet because it was their daughters only hope of getting a good husband, or marrying into a higher class family