5. The foot binding

As today we could see, sometimes body modifications are harmful to ourselves. Forgetting about piercing and tattoos, I would like to focus on other body modifications.
The foot binding, which is a Chinese tradition is very controversial. Here I found the description of the process.

First the foot was massed and broken then the foot bone with a stone. The foot became then so closely with bandages umschlungen that it was restrained not only in growth and deformed to the becoming lumpy foot, but often also partly or completely died. Women, were so adjusted - as ideal foot length applied 10 cm, which corresponds about to the shoe size 17 -, were no longer able, without leaving strange assistance the house.

In their book "„savage of swans "“(S. 17f.) tells the authoress young to Chang like the feet of their grandmother was bound:

"„The feet of my grandmother were bound, when them were straight three years old. Their nut/mother had in such a way wound first a material volume of six m around their feet that all four small toes showed toward bundles. Then it put a large stone on its feet and zerschmetterte to the My grandmother cried her nut/mother on before pain loud up and flehte to stop. Their nut/mother plugged it a cloth into the mouth, in order to bring it to the silence. My grandmother lost consciousness during the procedure several times.

It took years, until the ideal of beauty was reached. After the bones were broken, the feet had to be bound day and night firmly with cloths, until it was guaranteed that they would not grow together any longer. If one would have loosened the cloths, the feet would have immediately continued to grow. Over years my grandmother suffered constantly furchtbarste pain. But if it asked its nut/mother, it may nevertheless take the cloths of the feet, began their nut/mother to cry. She said to her daughter that without bound feet her life was ruined and that all of this happens only at her best one.

In the time at that time the family of the bridegroom examined the feet of the bride as the first. Large, i.e. normal feet brought dishonor over the family of the married man. The mother-in-law main header the seam of the long skirt of the bride high and regarded the feet of the daughter-in-law exactly. If the feet were longer than approximately ten centimeters, them let the hem of an item of clothing in a demonstrative gesture of the Verachtung fall and schnaubte furiously of it. The bride remained alone critical views of the wedding company suspended. All stared their feet and did their Verachtung loudly and in stress to hurting and way on kund.

Sometimes a nut/mother removed the stone or the cloths from compassion with her daughter, after the foot bones were broken. The daughters made bitter reproaches later for their mothers that they had not remained hard, because they hardly bore the constant and the Verachtung of the family of their man and the society. "“

It seems all perfectly thought, but it is scary. I believe that we may call these women victims. The foot binding started in 10th century, and even if it was banned in 1911, people carry on doing that. It is very harmful to a woman, her body is damaged, her bones were broken and sometimes her foot (which are the support of her body) can't hold her. She can't walk fast, but in the eyes of all Chinese society, she is beautiful. In my opinion, it is just the justification. Why people have to be the same? Are the bigger foot so ugly? We know they aren't. Know, there are more and more higher and big-foot woman. So what?

There is an interesting article about female body modifications.
And the foot binding.