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Anasha Roberts Foot Binding The ancient custom of foot binding was practiced in China from about the

10th century and ended in 1911 after approximately 1000 years. Foot binding began at about age 4 to 7 on young Chinese girls. The foot was soaked in hot water and massaged then it was wrapped in a way in which the child's toes were turned under and pressed against the bottom of her foot. Her largest toe was left unturned in order to give the girl a sense of balance. The child's arches of her foot were broken as the foot was pulled straight with the leg. This caused the foot to actually shrink. This process took anywhere from three years or longer to complete. The result of this process was a deformed "tiny" foot (about three inches long). Another result was extreme pain for the child, as well as infection, gangrene and for 10% of the girls who had their feet bound died. It further rendered them subservient to men and was used as a social control over women for 1000 years. There are many theories regarding the purpose of foot binding. One theory is that women who had their feet bound were less independent and more able to be controlled. In Chinese society it is said that women are ruled by their fathers, then their husbands and finally, by their sons. This was a way to ensure that women did not travel away from that control because literally the pain was too great and debilitating to allow them the freedom to be free. Another theory is that the smaller the woman's feet the more desirable she would be in marriage. One story tells of a mother who tells her daughter that the size of the foot is more important than the attractiveness of the daughter's face in the eyes of a possible husband. Families needed the security of a daughter marrying "well" to ensure the families place in society. Foot binding was a way to gain this security. A third theory is that foot binding was a way to show status. If a family had a daughter whose foot was bound then they were perceived by their neighbors to be able to have a capable and working member of their family not work. This implied success for the family.

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