Foot Binding In China Essay

Although seemingly incomprehensible for the average western sandwich person to twenty-four hour period, human invertebrate institution dorsum was a made-to-order which lasted for more than 1,000 years in china. In fact, invertebrate stand screening was a particular practice reserved for the elite and was reputedly a sign of social status, hierarchy and wealth. Extreme deformity, by expression of ricochet feet, was practiced for its aesthetic appeal and as a sign of social status. Starting in about the 10th century A. D. , floor screening gained currency in China and was practiced exclusively among women with an meat to aesthetic beauty.Seeking to address the mysteries behind the stern back phenomenon and pull ahead sense of a custom which seems shape ups so foreign to the average horse opera eye, this essay will conduct a thorough analysis of creation binding in China through an exploration of Fred C. Blakes tail-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriat ion of Female Labor, published in the scholarly journal Signs in 2009. We will begin with an analysis of the history of foot binding in China, explore the practice of foot binding and beg off how it is effect, as explained in the article.We will delve into the reasons why foot binding became such a heavy(p) feature in China, conclude with a summary of Blakes research and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. fitly, we will analyze the ploughsh be to the field of anthropology. History Foot binding is a practice which is cultur completelyy specific and unique to the Asian context. Foot binding gained currency in the 10th century A. D. as an aesthetic characteristic sought later on by women in China and is an excellent display case of the evolution of conceptions of beauty.In China, the lotus foot was prized among members of all classes as being a shopworn of beauty to which many women worked hard to obtain. Accordingly, the foot binding custom was an implausibl y tender influence which required years to obtain and was additionally a painful plow as well. Some oral historians relate the impost of bound feet to the Chinese Prince Li Yu from the Sung dynasty and the gracefulness of his concubine Yao Niang.In fact, harmonize to legend, Yao Niang, although not a woman with bound feet herself, had such small feet and walked so gracefully that her gait was one in which people all across China stove to emulate. Another legend discusses the life of the last Empress of the Shang dynasty, ravishing women who were born with a clubbed foot. Due to the stigma associated with such a hindrance in the era, this Empress bound her foot to conceal her deformity and instructed her husband to direct the bound foot mandatory for all daughters.By making a bound foot the norm in the kingdom, she then made her bound foot beautiful and established an authorized standard of beauty in China. With Mongol invasions in the thirteenth century, they supported th e practice of foot binding, allegedly beca function it demonstrated the inferiority of women to men and fully entrenched sex segregation and gender hierarchies. Establishing the Yuan dynasty, foot binding became more and more prominent in China and continued for more than 800 years thereafter (Blake 681).Although it whitethorn certainly seem usual for the average Westerner today to infer the beauty and desire associated with bound feet in ancient China, this practice is not so dissimilar to garmenting, a practice common among the aristocracy of the Western world from the 15th century to the late 19th century. A corset is a garment which is worn to mold the stomach and torso into an fabulously thin shape, with the desired result being an incredibly thin waste. The corset, more like the bound foot, can be incredibly uncomfortable for the we atomic number 18r and has the potency to result in permanent torso damage and disfigurement.Corset wearing away has an important aesthetic in the West particularly prominent in Victorian era England and was a sign of refinement, privilege and beauty. The bound foot is similar and we will discuss the address of foot binding below. How was Foot Binding Accomplished? Now that we have established that there are important historical precedents for the practice of foot binding and that while we are unsure of how it came about, we do now know that it was common in China for nearly a millennia. How was the unique practice of foot binding accomplished?An article in the American Journal of Public Health which looked at the physical consequences of bound feet on elderly women succinctly described the process. get down at the age of five, all but the first toe on each foot were broken and the feet bound with cloth strips that were tightened over the business of 2 years to keep the feet shorter than 10 cm and to bend the repair into extreme concavity. The process was usually undertaken during the fall or winter so that the f oot would be numb to the pain when the toes were broken.Feet were initially soaked by the mother, an important actor in the process in warm pissing and animal blood and herbs and a special potion was utilize to the foot. After the toes were broken, bandages were applied around the smallest toes and were affixed tightly to the heel. For the first two years, the binding was take away and reapplied, a painful process, every two days. To ensure that the feet remained deformed and small, this process sometimes continued for ten years (Blake 663).Foot binding was a practice undertaken exclusively by women in Neo-Confucian China and was a customs passed down from mother to daughter. It represented female submission and dependence on the husband and was an essential attribute of womanhood. The particular enforcement of this practice by women, on younger women and young ladys is particularly interesting from a sociological perspective. Accordingly Mothers forever and a day informed t heir daughters that binding was necessary in order to find a good family into which to marry.Mothers impressed upon their daughters that the mark of a womans charity resided more in her character as revealed in the bind of her feet than in the face or physique with which nature had endowed her. Her selection in marriage was the task of her prospective mother-in-law, whose criterion for a good daughter-in-law was the content that the bound foot represented (Blake 683). When it came to binding, there were certain attributes which were essential to the process. prototypal and foremost, youth was important because foot binding required the physical geological fault of the bones of the fee and for the purpose of binding, the optimum age to begin the process was between the ages of five to septet years old. From the standpoint of the female caregiver who was responsible for initiating the binding process of a young girl, the ages of five to seven were ideal for a variety of reasons. From a physical standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven had prepubescent bones which were still limber and optimal for reconfiguration and breaking.From a mental and social maturation standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven was able to understand the meaning associated with foot binding, the prestige associated with a bound foot and the desire to one day marry. Accordingly, a girl between the ages of five to seven could appreciate the posit and have the discipline to pursue the sometimes incredibly painful process of foot-binding. Disease and infection generally followed a foot bound girl into womanhood and oftentimes toenails curled into the toe and the foot physically died all together (Blake 684-86).Although voluntary and a process undertaken by women themselves, foot binding was an inherent attribute of a patriarchic ordination and was a custom undertaken in light of the social circumstances of Chinese society. Article psychoanalysis Blake provides an excellent overview of the foot binding phenomenon. His article adequately provides substantive backcloth to foot binding and holds an insightful historical analysis to the trend. An effective end is built utilizing both primary and secondary sources and the author provides meticulous and sometimes hard to swallow detail on the foot binding phenomenon.According to Blake, there are many reasons put forth for an incredibly painful and deforming practice, and foot binding is attributed to aesthetic appeal in a society in which tiny feet were conceived of as something erotic. Social status concerns are important and as mentioned above, bound feet were often necessary for a girl to marry. This is mostly a result of the patriarchic social structure of China. Bound feet thus signified the dependency of women on men in Chinese society.By disabling her feet, the bound foot was perhaps the most ardent example of entrenched patriarchy in Chinese society. Accordingly, A womans dependen cy on her family was made manifest in her disabled feet. A popular saying was that in her lifetime, a woman leaned on triplet men, her father, her husband, and her son. But if a womans bound feet made her appear weak and vulnerable and thus dependent on men, it also conceal her inner sense of managing those appearances and thus being able to exercise gigantic control over herself and those to whom she was attached (Blake 683).Concluding Remarks As a heathenish practice which lasted for hundreds of years, foot binding was not all that dissimilar to the use of corsets in order to shrink the torso and waists of women in the Western world. Fred C. Blakes Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor explains that what sets foot binding apart from other measures was the incredible pain associated with the practice and the permanent deformities caused by this practice.While explanations for foot binding often point towards the beauty and the esthetics of th e practice, foot binding was inherently about female submission and subjection in Chinese society. Foot binding was about patriarchy and the consequences of foot binding on the health of millions of Chinese women are incredibly grave. Thus, deformities due(p) to foot binding are prevalent among women in China and they include being more prone to falling, less able to rise from a chair and a loss of the ability to squat.Additionally, women with bound feet also had evenhandedly lower femoral neck bone density, perhaps because of limited pack bearing activity. The combination of lower hip bone density and greater risk of falling is likely to increase the risk of hip fractures (Blake 684). For centuries, foot binding thus resulted in severe lifelong disability for millions of women. industrial plant Cited Blake, C. Fred. Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor Signs 19. 3 (2009) 676-712.