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Example research essay topic: Mother In Law Foot Binding - 1,872 words

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... o longer subordinate to men. Kang Youwzi, a late Qing reformer was correct in his belief that women's emancipation must go through three stages of social evolutions. First there would be disorder, then increasing peace with equality, and finally complete peace and equality. It took the chaos of the nationalist revolution, and once they took power women had increasing peace and equality.

When the communists finally took over they achieved total equality. Once women finally had total equality foot binding was able to come to an end and women were able to live a life free of that physical torture. The Social Implications of Foot binding "Women from time immemorial and throughout the world showed a willingness to maim themselves to achieve male-defined standards of beauty and win love and admiration. " Such a painful and crippling custom cannot totally be an effect of the whims of fashion. There are many reasons as to why families would torture their young daughters with foot binding, but they are mostly speculation and it is difficult to understand how any reason could make foot binding an agreeable idea. The possible reasons include the sexual attraction of the bound foot, the shapely figure that the limping women took on from tottering on her feet, and the supposedly seductive walk that resulted from the deformed feet. However, sexiness is not the only reason.

It also differentiated men from women, upheld conservative Chinese beliefs, kept women weak, and was thought to be a mark of gentility. Lin Yutang, a contemporary scholar and author, believes the foot was bound for sexual purposes. The bound foot harnessed a great deal of sexual power. The foot was mysterious. Its furtive nature aroused curiosity amongst men. The Chinese female was concealed from men for most of her youth, hidden in the house.

The hidden feet followed this idea of the concealed female. The foot was always wrapped, and even when women slept they wore slippers. Sexual positions were often based upon the manipulation of the bound foot. It also had the erotic enticement of sadomasochism, bondage and domination. A woman was weak because of her bound feet and could therefore be at the mercy of her lover, which was sexually exciting to many men. Furthermore, some men had odor fetishes, and enjoyed the smell of the feet.

It was common to use the foot in foreplay. Many men took pleasure in kissing, sucking, and chewing the foot. They would place it on their bodies, or even eat from it. Men would also use the crevice of the foot to stimulate their genitals.

There were also many drinking games in which the men would try to drink from a cup placed in the shoe. A large part of the experience of prostitution was the drinking game. One such game involves tossing seeds or beans into the prostitute's shoe. Each guest had a turn to throw the seed into the shoe from a foot and half away. The prostitute would then have the men who missed drink from a cup in her other shoe. Men found this extremely enticing.

Besides for the sexiness of the foot itself, foot binding also resulted in a seductive walk and enticing body shape. A woman with bound feet had to walk with her weight on her heals her chest thrust outward, and her pelvis sticking backward. This led to a swaying walk, and that the muscles in the buttock and thigh became more developed creating a more curvaceous body. It was also thought to tighten the skin around the vagina; supposedly making the man feel like the woman was a virgin every time they made love. It was also said that women with bound feet were more attractive because they stepped lightly and carefully. It created a feeling of love and pity from men because of the weak and feminine posture that it created.

A woman with bound feet could also, supposedly, move around more easily in bed. However, foot binding was tenacious in Chinese culture because it fit the traditional expectations of women. Foot binding was "an integral part of a man's society which taught women to obey a strict and comprehensive moral code hallowed by time and tradition. " The Book of Rights, a Confucian classic, states that women must obey her father and elder brothers in her youth, her husband after marriage and her son after the death of her husband. The Confucian ideal for a woman was to be confined and subjugated by men. This ancient tenet stated, "A woman should never be heard outside her own home. " Foot binding kept a woman weak and easily dominated by her husband.

She could not be mentally independent because foot binding restricted her physically. It also reflected well on her husband; if he could afford to keep a wife who was so helpless, he must be successful. Men wanted to marry virtuous ladies, as defined by the conservative changes of the Sung dynasty. This meant that she would be intellectually inferior as well as prepared to perform household tasks. She also must be passive and accept his every whim and desire.

She should also have stoical endurance and have her reading restricted. Foot binding was also a sign of a virtuous woman. If a woman's feet were bound it almost guaranteed her virtue because then she was unable to leave her quarters without substantial help. This way a man knew that they would have a chaste wife, who would not cheat on them and would still be a virgin when she married, this was a vital part of the Chinese moral standard. A folk song from the Home Province recalls this with the chorus: "bound feet, bound feet, past the gate, can't retreat. " Women were also eager to please men so that they would marry well. Foot binding did not necessarily come about from men, but may have come about from women hoping to ensure marriage.

Bound feet attracted men, therefore a mother, in the interest of her daughters' future, would bind their feet so that they could be married to wealthy men. Women also knew that their tiny feet and beautiful slippers could bring them admiration from men, and if they could entice a powerful enough husband with their perfect feet they could attain great power as well. It also could help a girl increase her social standing if she could marry into a higher class. When a woman would meet her mother-in-law for the first time, the mother-in-law would lift up the hem of the girl's dress to see her feet and make sure they were small. The tiny feet proved that the girl could endure pain and would therefore follow orders well. However, bound feet did help a girl to escape a life of hard work because she would be incapable of doing it.

During the Ming dynasty especially, a woman had no hope of getting married with natural feet, if a woman could not be married she would be a burden on her family. A girl was considered a guest in her father's home, not a permanent fixture. If, however, her feet were tiny and attractive, she could achieve a much higher bride price and therefore be an asset rather than a burden on her family. Furthermore, in China, it was very important for women to look different than men. That is why they pierced their ears and wore blush, as well as bound their feet. As the dynasties passed men began to be more refined and effeminate.

For example, in the early twentieth-century, the style for men was to wear extremely thin shoes so they would bind their feet with silk socks to keep them slender for the shoes. Women had to work harder and harder to maintain the necessary degree of sexual dimorphism. Foot binding was a way to differentiate men from women. There is no known specific time as to when foot binding began. It lasted far longer than any fashion ever could, even in the face of legislation against it.

There is no single reason why people bound the feet of young girls. Even though it caused internal damage to the body and disabled half of the work force, foot binding was still considered a necessary sacrifice for a girl to endure. Foot binding was not just a barbaric fashion as many people say and it does not reflect an uncivilized society. Foot binding is far more complex than that. Foot binding was part of the Chinese way of life. It was embedded in their culture for centuries; "foot binding proved to be a significant and lasting development in a nation whose outlook on feminine morality became increasingly stringent. " China's history is perhaps best known for its lack of change and the tenacity of foot binding is one of the many examples of the consistency of Chinese history.

Neither Qing law, nor many other anti-foot binding struggles could eradicate the practice. It took the drastic change of communism to finally bring foot binding to its end. Unlike the fashions of today, it did not "go out of style" because it was far more than a fashion; it was a manifestation of culture. Chinese culture and beliefs supported foot binding, and because Chinese culture did not change for all of those centuries neither did foot binding. "Anti-foot binding and the granting of women's rights were indivisible. " The role of women in the society had to change before the practice would cease. As long as women were still supposed to be subordinate to men, uneducated, and objectified, they would consider foot binding necessary. If women were treated as equals and did not feel the need to attract a high bride price perhaps foot binding would have stopped sooner.

However, women were still seen as objects, not human beings, to be observed by men, and therefore being aesthetically appealing to men took precedence over health. Foot binding cannot be judged as a mere fashion or custom. It was a part of society embedded and supported by numerous aspects of Chinese life. It made a woman desirable, worthy of marriage as well as a high bride price, and appears to be upper class. Foot binding not only crippled women but also was a part of the crippling hold that society had on females. Bibliography: Bibliography 1.

Carlitz, Katherine, Desire, Danger and the Body: Stories of Women's Virtue in Late Ming China. In Engendering China: Women, Culture and thee State, (ed. Gil martin, Christina K, Her shatter, Gail, Role, Lisa, and White Tyreene), Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass, 1994. 2. Jackson, Beverley, Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition, Ten-speed Press, Berkeley California, 1997. 3.

Levy, Howard S. , The Lovers: The Complete History of the Curious Erotic Custom of Foot binding in China, Prometheus Books, New York, 1991. 4. Mo-chn, Chang, Opposition to Foot binding, in Chinese Women Through Chinese Eyes, (ed. Yu-ning, Li), M. E. Sharpe, Inc. , New York, 1992. 5. Pang-Mei, Natasha Chang, Bound Feet and Western Dress, pg. 6, Doubleday, New York, 1996. 6.

Zheng, Wang, Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, 1999.


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Research essay sample on Mother In Law Foot Binding

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