FOotBinding

The Beginnings of FootBinDing

• Historical records state that footbinding started over the reign of Li Yu from 960-1279 A.D..
• The myth states that his heart was captured by a concubine, Yao Niang, a talented dancer who bound her feet to suggest the shape of a new moon and performed a "lotus dance."

What Was their Motivation?

• Footbinding was very popular. Bound feet were a status symbol, the only way for a woman to marry into money
• Footbinding allowed for social mobility and wealth

Who Bound Their FEET?

• All girls practiced footbinding, wealthy and poor, starting at a very young age.
• In William Rossi's book its states that 40 percent to 50 percent of Chinese women had bound feet and almost 100 percent of the women in upper class in the 19th century.

When was This practice Banned?

• The first attempt to ban footbinding failed in 1644.
• In 1912, they began issuing fines to women who continued to bind their feet.
• In 1949, Communists also issued their own ban on footbinding.

Women Today

• I don't think that alterations that women make today like tanning, hair dying, and shaving are the same as footbinding. Everyone had to bind their feet to be socially accepeted in society in China. Women today don't have to dye their hair or tan to be socially accepted in society.

Women today cont.

• Women are motivated to dye their hair, tan, and shave because everyone else in society does it and simply because they want to do it for themselves. Although, if you don't do these things, it does not mean you will not marry a wealthy person like footbinding. These are not the same motivations as women who binded their feet.