Footbinding!

[confucius]

(We need an exciting new topic in this category.)

Can you believe this practice lasted over 1000 years in China? (From Song to Qing)

I can't find evidence of another civilization that tortured women for so long with a tradition revolving around some demented foot fetish.

What were those guys thinking? I just don't get it, the smell alone would seem most revolting.

I have attended academic colloquiams in China where this topic is discussed and they always seem to dodge the real reason this practice lasted such a long time. They get too caught up in the whole feudal thing and don't go into the actual thinking behind footbinding.

Have fun with this topic! Let's kick it around a bit.

[Ian_Lee]

I think the foot-binding is related to two factors:

Male dominance and sex

With foot-binding, the female could not walk long distance. Such practice would eliminate the possibility of wife/concubine/daughter running away with male gardener/cook.

Moreover, there was such unscientific rumor that the pelvic part would grow with more muscle owing to the retarded growth in the feet (probably due to more sitting). Maybe the male thought that was more enjoyable during sex.

But it was the same kind of people who would conceive such silly kung fu novel like "Bound Feet 13th Sister" who could jump up to the roof top.

[confucius]

Sorry, I just don't buy either argument.

If I wanted to contain naughty trysts with gardeners and male servants then I would bind THEIR feet, not those of my concubines. Also, the practice of castration was fairly common in those days and seemed good enough for the emperor's palace.

The masochist sexual argument has been put forth before though I never heard of your perplexing pelvic theory. Yet I just can't see how a crippled woman would be more appealing than a healthy one.

You would think by the end of the Yuan dynasty they would have figured out that whatever selfish added pleasure they thought they might obtain from footbinding obviously wasn't working. Were they completely clueless? Totally insane?

The debate continues...

[holyman]

its kind of practical and also perverted/fetish/lolita interests that made these popular. besides male dominance reason, some ancient men were said to like small feet, cos they look cute, adorable and weak(needed protection from men). it was a first a tradition among richer families but spread to the commoners later on. after learning that rich people preferred girls with small feet, common parents feared their daughters couldnt marry to a wealthy husband so they will try to bind their legs whenever possible. some countryside girls escaped such fate when the family is extremely poor and/or lack of manpower, in this case the girls have to work in the fields but feet binding will render the girl useless.

ancient men, esp. scholars were said to have various way of enjoying small feet. a pair of small shoes given to or stolen by a man at that time have the same effect like stolen undergarments nowadays, cos the feet is as important as the vital part of a woman in those days. then they have games like putting wine cups in the shoes and drink from it when they have a drinking party, usually with prostitutes. imagine the bond have to be there all day long and the women rarely had chance to wash their feet... the smell of the shoes would be ~yuks~. *^*

[holyman]

But it was the same kind of people who would conceive such silly kung fu novel like "Bound Feet 13th Sister" who could jump up to the roof top.

hahahaha... thats true. in fact women who practiced martial arts have big feet. u cant bind and train at the same time.