The Cost of Beauty “One must suffer in order to be beautiful,” is an idea that has been imposed on women throughout history, resulting in their decision to undergo extremely painful procedures that, at that time lead to them fulfilling their societies ideal form of beauty. Foot binding is one of the many ancient forms of beauty practices that involved an infliction of an excruciating amount of pain upon individuals. Foot binding was practiced in the Chinese culture for around one thousand years. It is a term that refers to an artificial route in stunting the normal growth in women’s feet also, rendering them into an unnatural shape. The effects of this inhumane practice were not worth the beauty …show more content…
that supposedly resulted from it. Women valued the satisfaction of looking appealing to men more than their own health. Foot binding originated in South China during the Sung Dynasty (10th century), later spreading to the rest of the country. It is believed that this trend came into fashion through the desire of imitating the emperor's favorite concubine dancer Yao Niang. Yao Niang bounded her feet into a hoof-like shape and danced on a lotus. Of course, other concubines wanted to be in the emperor's favor as well, thus they followed the practice of foot binding in hopes of earning similar approval. Foot binding was restored in the early 17th century during the Qing Dynasty. Societal pressure gave girls the impression that they must take part in this practice in order to receive the eligibility of marriage. Women believed if their feet were not bound men would not find them attractive. This is true, however, men sought this form of mutilation for their own selfish and sexual appeal as well. Foot binding caused women to walk in a certain motion that hit their perineum muscle which is the small area between anus and vagina. The exercising on the perineum muscle results in the vagina becoming tighter. Men also craved women with small feet due to the limitations caused by footbinding causing men to be more dominant. Women were able to walk three or four miles at most therefore men did not worry about where their wives went and what they were doing, it restricted much of what a woman was able to do. Foot binding was a common practice initially in the higher social class due to the fact that richer women weren't involved in extremely intense physical labor which required their feet. However, rich families began looking for women with bound feet to marry their sons and so girls that were part of lower social classes began binding their feet as they desired financial stability, leading to ninety percent of China’s women binding their feet for the sake of getting married. Even though many women took part in this practice it was a very complicated decision. Poorer families had to decide whether binding their child's feet would be worth losing their labor which, based on the statistics we can see that many families agreed that it was in hopes of their child's marriage giving them some type of financial profit. By the end of the 19th century this practice began to fade away due to the influence of another culture. Westerners began moving into China, also taking a strong stance against foot binding with the goal of abolishing the practice. (Schiavenza, The Peculiar History of Foot Binding in China). Foot binding was an extremely long and gory process, filled with an abnormal amount of pain required to fit an ideal perception of beauty. This horrific process began when girls were between the ages of four and six, lasting for up to ten years. Due to the softness of the bones in their feet, the shaping involved in the process was easier at this age. If the process began too early, chances of the girl being crippled for life were higher; if it began too late, the girl’s foot would be too large and much more complicated to shape. The first step of this procedure required the girl's feet to be soaked in either hot water or animal blood mixed with herbs to soften them and remove any dead flesh. After a few hours, any remaining dead skin was to be scrubbed off. Next, the toenails were to be cut and alum was to be sprinkled between the toes to prevent perspiration. The following step included the bandages which were 2 inches wide by 10 feet long. The bandages were soaked in hot water to enable shrinkage as it dried. The binder then wrapped the girls feet in a figure-eight pattern after, breaking and folding the four small toes back. The big toe and the ball of the foot were left intact because it was more effective in bringing the heel towards the front of the foot. The bandages were sewn together from several different points to prevent the girls from ripping off the bandages. The feet were rewrapped as often as possible, to be washed and given a manicure as an approach to avoid infection although, infections were a promising side effect. During this process the bone in the arch of the foot would also break, this inflicted some of the various pains young girls encountered throughout Foot Binding. (Schiavenza, The Peculiar History of Foot Binding in China). Attached to the practice of footbinding came numerous risks which took a toll upon individuals mentally, and physically both while undergoing the process and even after.
The physical pain began almost immediately from the point where the individual had their bones broken and feet bounded. For about a year the pain was so unbearable the girls were not able to walk, they had a decreased appetite and even change of color in the entire body. Some girls experienced so much pain they would risk getting caught and secretly unbind their feet for awhile. Usually when someone was caught unbinding their feet their parents would just bind it tighter making it tougher to disengage. After the feet are reshaped there was a critical time in which unbinding an individual's foot would also inflict a similar amount of pain in which can be equally as painful as the practice of foot binding (Rupp, Excerpts from When I was a girl in China). Bed pots were also a desire in the course of this stage. A bed pot is a donut shaped pot without the whole at the bottom, used for urinating, considering the fact that walking was too painful. Although walking was only near impossible for the first year women would never be able to walk as much as they normally would be in their life and this is the reason why most houses were only one or two floors at most (Ross, 5). According to Cummings, Ling, and Stone, a study was done revealing that 56% of Chinese women ages 70 and older experience bound-foot deformities which hindered their ability to squat, get up without assistance and increased their likeliness to fall compared to women with normal feet (1677). Also, women with bound feet had 5.1% lower hip density and 4.7% less spine density compared to women with normal feet. As a result these women were at higher risks for spinal and hip fractures. As I mentioned earlier infections were common but, also a gruesome physical effect. Infections were the result of ingrown toenails which were most
commonly created by improper manicures. Rotting flesh was also a conflict women faced due to the lack of blood circulation they would get from tightly bound feet. Rotting flesh consisted of blood, pus and a horrible odor that would ensue a woman around for the remainder of her life once the feet would completely die which, took about three years. Some cases of rotting flesh were so severe toes fell off. Although this may sound pretty serious, infections revealed a more critical in which the result is death. Septicaemia was a possibility which both rotting flesh and infections shared. Septicaemia is a form of blood poisoning which is caused by bacteria and pus forming organisms in the blood (Farlander, Chinese Foot Binding). The benefits of foot binding are far and few considering the fact that women endured a great deal of pain to be rewarded with their society's ideal perception of being acceptable. This gave them false hope leading them to feel as though they were free or liberated from their personal impurities. Chinese women at that time were forced to believe the benefits of foot binding were along the lines of being valued as beautiful but more importantly a requirement needed to be eligible for marriage which was extremely important. This is made apparent by Farlander who stated “failure to marry was equated to having no life.” Status was also a benefit of foot binding being that it represented wealth. This illustrated a picture that lead people to the conclusion that one's family was rich and the need to walk was unnecessary because they didn't have to work. Wealth was the goal sought by women belonging to lower socioeconomic statuses and their families. This was obtained by attracting men of a higher social class and in return increasing their status in society as well as their financial stability. Women endured a significant amount of pain only to empower men.
I will be explaining the role of women in society in Bound Feet and Western Dress. The Chinese have traditions that are generations old and are very serious in their culture. These Chinese traditions have been deeply established. In Bound feet and Western Dress, a dispute between Chinese traditions and Westernization of Chinese women begin to emerge. The women in traditional China were treated unequally and were basically looked upon as property for their husband. The women were taken in by the husband’s family and had to always obey their husband and also had to take orders from the husband’s family as well.
Soccer are footwear which are worn for playing soccer. They play an integral part in a player’s performance. Modern day soccer cleats are far from the basic soccer cleats of the past. They involve different types of science and technology.
In her article "The body as attire," Dorothy Ko (1997) reviewed the history about foot binding in seventeenth-century China, and expressed a creative viewpoint. Foot binding began in Song Dynasty, and was just popular in upper social society. With the gradually popularization of foot binding, in the end of Song Dynasty, it became generally popular. In Qing Dynasty, foot binding was endowed deeper meaning that was termed into a tool to against Manchu rule. The author, Dorothy Ko, studied from another aspect which was women themselves to understand and explained her shifting meaning of foot binding. Dorothy Ko contends that “Chinese Elite males in the seventeenth century regarded foot binding in three ways: as an expression of Chinese wen civility,
Traditions in Chinese culture are long-rooted and are taken very seriously from generation to generation. However, there must always be room for modern change in order for society to grow and strive across the globe. In Bound Feet and Western Dress the conflict between Chinese traditions and modern change arises. With this conflict it is important to discuss the different meanings of liberation for men and women and they way in which Chang Yu-I was able to obtain liberation throughout her life.
O-lan's physical appearance showed her as a very modest woman. When Wang Lung sees her, he stares at O-lan seeing that, "plain though her face was and rough the skin upon her hands the flesh of her big body was soft and untouched . . . her body was beautiful, spare, and big boned yet rounded and soft" (26). From her physical qualities, it is clear that O-lan isn't a spoiled woman who sits around all day, but a hard worker. She is described as an ugly, flat-footed, stolid-faced woman. Many times, Wang Lung secretly wishes that O-lan didn't have such big feet. During the time of this book, women's feet were bound so they would be smaller. O-lan had big feet because they were never bound. This was another aspect of Chinese life that seemed designed to make women suffer was the practice of altering the feet of girls so they could barely walk. The Chinese custom of foot binding was meant to please men esthetically and to enhance a man's status by showing he was wealthy enough for his wife or concubine not to work.
Also in China girls are made to bind there feet up at an early age so
1. Is the international market arena in which your athletic footwear company competes characterized by multicountry competition or global competition? Explain why.
Many aspects of women’s lives were determined by their families without any input from the woman herself. When a girl was around five to eight years old, many mothers wound their feet in a process called footbinding. Footbinding painfully gave them narrower and more attractive feet, making it harder to move around, but also enhancing their beauty (source 8). As
In past and present societies, women find value in their communities depending on different aspects of beauty. In Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayuri gains economic independence through the dramatic competitions between her and other geishas. The ancient Chinese tradition of foot binding prolonged a custom that subjugated women under the guise of beauty. Today's modern workplace entails a high standard of professional appearance that requires plastic surgery. In all instances, beauty plays an essential role in instilling a culture that persists and defines the intricate relationships between women and men.
“Flappers Flaunt Fads in Footwear.” The New York Times (1922): 1-2. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
This is to inform all employees that due to recent incidents, all employees are now required to wear closed toe shoes effective as of April 11th. As I am sure most of you have heard that in the past month we have had two separate incidents where both Deborah and Richard have experienced accidents in the workplace due to their choice of shoe wear. Both Deborah and Richard are fine and expected to make full recoveries and hopefully return to work by the end of the year. As a result of these incidents, all employees must wear appropriate show wear at all times while on premises. Examples of shoe wear that is not to be worn include, but are not limited to; flip flops, sandals, loafers, slippers, wedges, heels, platform shoes, crocs, and etc. Any
In Warrior Marks, Alice Walker looks at the reality that millions of African, Asian and Indian women suffer from genital mutilation. The book begins with the re-telling of a story of how she lost one eye. This wound was inflicted on her when she was three years old and for years, she felt handicapped and isolated. Her brother, who caused this accident with a BBgun, is referred to as a “warrior” and the blinding of her eye is the warrior mark. Her visual mutilation is what helped her see the subject of genital mutilation. She sees it as a terrible form of patriarchal oppression, characterized by “the feeling of being overpowered and dominated by those you are bound to respect.”
Clubfoot can be diagnosed from 18-20 weeks of gestation with the use of ultrasound, this however has an 80% accuracy, as the ultrasounds beam is not able to penetrate all the bones [5]. Dr Nanda Kumar research focuses on the 3 dimensional aspect of the foot's deformity, where the “relationship of the calcaneus to the talus is characterised by abnormal rotation in the sagittal, coronal and horizontal planes” [5]. A 3 Dimensional scanner has been designed to help determine the elasticity in tissue of the affected foot, a method of diagnostic which is much preferred as there is no need for sedation and lacks ionizing radiation from other diagnostic technologies that are available. Multiple images will be captured simultaneously then stitched
Both time periods scarred women mentally and physically. Medieval Europe used witchcraft which practically was a death threat and China used foot binding which would leave a woman mentally scarred either unable to walk or dead. Their motives were both the same, as they wanted to created a social order where men were on top and women were at the bottom. Although they were different, as women in Medieval Europe who chose not to act how society wanted them often worried about death. While women in Confucian China who didn’t act “right” often worried about failing to achieve final
1. Super Shoes is a popular retailer that sells a wide selection of shoes for women, men, and kids, casual coats, medical scrubs, and hats. Visitors on Supershoes.com will find their products from jeans to caps and compression socks to stethoscopes easy-to-find in their well-organized categories. Visitors will also appreciate that on Supershoes.com they will find high-quality merchandise from dozens of the most sought after brands including Gloves International, Dockers, Willow Brook, and McCoy Medical.