The other night, I was going through my Blog Surfer and ran across Girl About London’s post on lotus shoes. For those of you who are unfamiliar, foot binding has a varied genesis. They include one story of a favored Imperial concubine in the 9th century with tiny feet to an empress with club-like feet, whose disfigurement became fashionable. However it started, the practice of foot binding continued in China until it was outlawed in the early 20th century.
In the beginning, foot binding was most popular among the wealthy. Poor people needed their feet to do field work and other farm chores. Wealthy women aspired to three inch feet known as “Golden Lotus”. In some instances, women who could achieve such feet would be highly desirable to a prospective husband and may “marry up” in social class.
The process of foot binding was a barbaric and excruciating act. It started in children around the age of 4 -6 years old. Feet would be wrapped with all of the toes except the two big toes being broken and wrapped tightly.
The process would be repeated every two days with tighter fresh bandages. I will spare you all the gory details, but if you are interested in more information, you can click here for my source.
Here are some photo’s that I took from Girl About London’s post. They are of an aging modern day woman with bound feet. (Some photos are a bit graphic so I have not enlarged them. You may click on them for a closer look.)
There was also a fetish aspect to this practice with men desiring to have intercourse with a woman’s unwrapped bound foot. The only reason I mention this is because there are photos of some fetish shoes circulating around the Internet that look like this.
Sociologically, how much different are the lotus shoes from modern day high heels? Quite a bit actually, first we do not mutilate our feet to such an extreme, but many of us do eventually end up with bunions, hammer toes and more in the name of a fashionable youth. I for one am not exempt. At a recent doctor appointment, the doc pointed out that my feet are already developing bunions. Bunions?! I thought only old ladies like my grandmother had bunions. So does that mean that I am now bound to wearing Birkinstocks? I won’t go that far, but I do try to find shoes that fit; which isn’t easy with a size 10 1/2 shoe (US). Can you imagine what it would have been like for me in 9th century China? I would have been shipped off to a farm for sure.
I’m really interested in your input on this subject and the correlation with modern fashion. Leave me a comment and let me know.
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to SUBSCRIBE via RSS or EMAIL now so you don’t miss a thing!
6 Comments
May 15, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Those fetish shoes bother me, mainly because they remind me of the ‘pointe’ shoes worn by ballet dancers, and having done ballet as a child you have to train your feet to be able to do pointe without hurting yourself or damaging your feet. Also pointe shoes are worn with a great deal of support in the toes, which I’m not sure these shoes have. They look great in photos though.
That woman’s feet scare me!
May 15, 2008 at 1:33 pm
It is definitely the case in modern society that some of this lingers on.In the article on Wiki, it talks about the eroticism involved, the mystery. Today there are men with foot fetishes, men who love women in stillettos, the hip-swaying gait you get when tottering around in gorgeous shoes. In China it was all about submission and mystery. If you have ever read Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, the 1st part deals with the story of a young doctor who falls in love with a young woman from across the water. Her ladies hold up a sheet as a screen, with only one hole in it, where she can place the infected/sore body part that the doctor must treat. The mystery of what she looks like completely drives him nuts.
Nowadays, there is a little bit of domination and fantasy involved, due to the height of the shoes, the point of the heel. Its feeding men’s imaginations, the way foot binding and tiny shoes might have done in China. Bottom line though, we are still damaging our feet for a fashion trend. I dont think the trend is as much male related (women do love shoes!). Though I think the stilletto was invented by a man….the woman’s arch is fully curved, the ankle looks tinier, the woman has to alter her gait in order to walk in them…
I just make sure I wear flat shoes when I can, walk around in socks/barefoot in the house and I jump at my boyfriend’s offers to massage my feet. I don’t like my feet and the toes have already been affected from too narrow shoes..I think I might have to make pedicures a habit to show them a little love!
Also, as an aside, they are starting to make fashionable comfortable shoes, like Camper for instance. I just found this http://www.filly.ca/taste_and_style/wear_it_with_style/shoes/Shoes-Fashion-Finds-Function.asp
May 15, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Oh, just on an aside, those killer shoes up there look more like a take on ballet cork shoes…..that is another fantasy, walking on tippy toes, the arch fully extended.
May 16, 2008 at 4:11 am
very disturbing!!! I was taught about bound feet history at chinese school, learnt that only the wealthy female hans bound their feet and the wealthy female manchurians didn’t….it wasn’t part of their culture or somthing.
K
May 25, 2008 at 6:48 am
a bound feet post and argyle tights for the over 30 gal?…you’re my new online gal pal!
May 25, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Hey theuglyearring!
Shhh! I haven’t revealed my age here.
“…you’re my new online gal pal!”
Right back at’cha!!
I’ve added you to my blog surfer, so I can keep an eye out for your posts.
Leave a Reply