Footbinding Practices in Chinese Culture

Foot binding in Chinese culture is a practice that is said to date back to the time of Emperor Li Yu (Troy, "The History of Foot Binding in China"). He created a six-foot tall golden lotus adorned with pearls and jewels, asking his concubine to bind her feet into the shape of a lotus and dance of its points. This slowly became a widespread practice among the royal court and then the whole of China. This practice is an example of corporeal and physical representations of women in both historical and modern Asia. They are subject to processes of othering and fetishization as a result of the process of foot binding. This blog post aims to first introduce the history and culture of foot binding, its effects on Chinese women, the effects of European missionaries on the practice, and its fetishization.

T H E   H I S T O R Y   O F   F O O T B I N D I N G

By the early Qing Dynasty in the 17th century, the process of foot binding became widespread throughout China- every girl who wished to marry had her feet bound. By the 19th century almost 50 percent of all Chinese women and an estimated 100 percent of upper class Han Chinese woman had their feet bound. The highest ranked and most desirable brides had a 'golden lotus' which is a three-inch foot. A silver lotus was a four-inch foot, while five-inches or more were considered to be the least desired. 

(Wikimedia)

The foot binding process usually began around the ages 4-9 years old, although some began at the age of 3. Typically female relatives such as mothers or grandmothers were in charge of binding a girl's feet. Foot binding mainly consisted of breaking all the toes except the big ones, holding them tightly against the sole, and straining the arch and breaking the foot into a triangle shape. This excruciatingly painful process is then followed by sealing the feet in place using silk bandages over the toes and around the foot, tightening the bandages to fold the broken foot. 

The foot had to be unbound, washed, and checked for injury regularly. Toe nails were carefully trimmed and soles of the foot were beaten to soften the joins and broken bones for more flexibility. Whenever it grew too large, it was broken again. The binding would have to be tight so that the toes could not move. The bound feet eventually became numb. 

The aim was to achieve a 'Golden Lotus', the smaller the feet the more attractive. A bound foot became a mark of elegance and aristocracy.

(Troy, "The History of Foot Binding in China")

E F F E C T S   O N   C H I N E S E   W O M E N

Bound feet were seen to be 'normal' in Chinese society while unbound feet were deemed 'freakish'. A young girl in poverty could marry an upperclassmen if her feet were small enough- bound feet were of more importance to men than social status.
Since bound feet made it difficult for women to walk, they could never go too far from home or have much contact with others. This made them more conservative and willing to obey their husbands. This lack of mobility also ensured that they could not have any affairs, escape abusive families and husbands, or work. Education for Chinese women was not of any importance as the practice of foot binding became widespread. Chinese architecture relied on one-story homes because it was difficult for women to climb stairs with bound feet.

(McManus, "How Foot Binding Worked")

For more information, an animated story on the practice of footbinding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHwAdcf1zaw






(Pinterest)


E F F E C T S   O F   E U R O P E A N   M I S S I O N A R I E S

In the 19th century and towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, Western countries had successfully colonized China. This colonization along with the arrival of Christian missionaries pushed against the foot binding practice. They opened shelters for affected women and worked with Chinese intellectuals who studied abroad in Europe or North America to abolish the practice. Soon, foot binding went from being a symbol of desirability to an unfashionable practice. Those with bound feet found themselves abandoned by their husbands. Some people would cut off the bindings of women, thus humiliating them as women never exposed their feet to anyone. Foot binding remained a relatively popular practice until the 21st century where the last shoe factory making lotus shaped shoes was shut down.

While foot binding was an activity that affected Chinese women, its abolishment was a result of intervention from Chinese men and Western missionaries. The practice was deemed 'senseless and barbaric' by western gazes and ideologies. Chinese pastor Reverend Ye noted, "No women other than those in China bind their feet. This shows that when God made men, there was no divergence in the shape of male and female feet." Such views influenced by Christianity took the lead in the critique of foot binding. 

Many sought to reform China's 'backwards' traditions and foot binding was positioned as the 'other' of modernity. Anti-foot binding associations such as The Natural Foot Society disrupted the perception of bound feet as culturally significant and sexually erotic. Through this termination of practices such as foot binding, the Chinese nation was able to transition into modernity.

("Footbinding")

(McManus, "How Foot Binding Worked")

F E T I S H I Z A T I O N

Angela Zito discusses the fetishization of foot binding by Western missionaries to allow for explanation of their gravitation towards what is strange, while preserving its alienness. It returns to corporeal materiality and the subjection of the human body as a locus of desire to the influence of certain material objects. The fetishization has been taken up by feminist thinkers.
Christian women in the 19th century in China were empowered both personally and publicly by their fetishization of foot binding. Their anti-foot binding ideologies domesticated the difficult and brought it near, given them a sense of accomplishment by implementing their 'correct' Western ideals to 'reform' Chinese culture.

P E R S O N A L   A U T O B I O G R A P H Y

Coming from the Middle East, there are still some corporeal and incorporeal ideologies present in society that 'other' women and oppress them. A woman must dress modestly, wear a hijab or veil, and be conservative in order to be seen as desirable for marriage. Some Muslim states such as Saudi Arabia go as far as implementing laws that restrict women's clothing and limit them to wearing abayas and hijabs. Rules as strict as these are not enforced on men, thus oppressing women and subordinating them against men.
Other social constructs place great importance on a woman's reputation in society. Being complacent, obedient, conservative, quiet, pious and 'pure' are all traits of a woman who is 'desirable' or respectful. Any one outside of the realm of this description could be considered rebellious and difficult. These representations limit women's growth and individuality in society, forcing her to conform with the status quo in order to be accepted in society.
However, some ideologies have recently shifted. Women have begun to have their voices heard. For example, the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia was lifted in 2018, and the male guardianship law was lifted in June 2019 under the reign of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his son the Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.
Women have also changed the identity of the abaya and hijab, wearing colors other than black, leaving them unbuttoned to show Western fashionable clothing underneath, with more relaxed rules in the region regarding female modesty.

(Middle East Eye)

Works Cited

“Footbinding.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/body-fashions/footbinding.

McManus, Melanie Radzicki. “How Foot Binding Worked.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 28 Mar. 2013, people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/foot-binding2.htm.

Oakes, Troy. “The History of Foot Binding in China.” Vision Times, 30 Dec. 2017, www.visiontimes.com/2017/12/29/the-history-of-foot-binding-in-china.html.

Rejali, Saman. “From Tradition to Modernity: Footbinding and Its End (1839-1911) – the History of the Anti-Footbinding Movement and the Histories of Bound-Feet Women in China.” Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies at U of T Mississauga, jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/prandium/article/view/21844.

Zito, Angela. “Chapter 2 Bound To Be Represented Theorizing / Fetishizing Footbinding.” Embodied Modernities, 2017, pp. 21–41., doi:10.1515/9780824862329-003.