Examples of Lotus ShoesI read today that there are still women alive who had their feet bound as children.
The practice of foot binding began about 910 A.D. by the dancing girls of the T'ang Dynasty and spread through all levels of society until the emancipation of women in the Chinese Revolution of 1911-12. The practice was banned in China but continued in remote rural areas for at least another generation. It was completely banned under Mao in 1949.
So there are women, my mother's age, who try to live in modern China with the effects of foot binding. It was done to create the ultimate in beauty for women. Tiny, deformed feet were considered sexually desirable. The smaller the feet and tighter the binding the more desirable the result. Feet were compressed to 3 1/2 " to 5 1/2 " in length and the resulting deformity was refered to as Lotus Feet.
The practice of foot binding began about 910 A.D. by the dancing girls of the T'ang Dynasty and spread through all levels of society until the emancipation of women in the Chinese Revolution of 1911-12. The practice was banned in China but continued in remote rural areas for at least another generation. It was completely banned under Mao in 1949.
So there are women, my mother's age, who try to live in modern China with the effects of foot binding. It was done to create the ultimate in beauty for women. Tiny, deformed feet were considered sexually desirable. The smaller the feet and tighter the binding the more desirable the result. Feet were compressed to 3 1/2 " to 5 1/2 " in length and the resulting deformity was refered to as Lotus Feet.
Women with Lotus feet were almost unable to walk but were expected to carry out their domestic duties. Many women were involved in arranged marraiges and were unable to run away because they couldn't walk without being supported by someone else. They did housework from little stools and worked on their hands and knees.
The women made beautiful embroidered silk slippers to wear on their little feet. No merchants were manufacturing the shoes. They were all made domestically. Women showed off their prowess as talented needle workers and prospective bridegroom's families were shown the shoes as part of the marraige decision. The tinier the Lotus foot slipper and the finer the stitching the more likely a bride was selected. The Lotus foot was most sexually desirable and the shoes served like sexy lingerie does today.
Vancouver has been a very Chinese city for more than 100 years and there were women living here with bound feet. I remember seeing old women walking with a very distinctive, duck walk shuffle. I thought they just had bad hips like my Granny. I haven't seen any of them for years.
The actress Rebecca Harker gave me a Lotus slipper a few years ago. She found it in New York City. It is made from cream and green silk and embroidered with peach blossoms. I keep it in a little glass casket. It is one of my treasured possesions.
The women made beautiful embroidered silk slippers to wear on their little feet. No merchants were manufacturing the shoes. They were all made domestically. Women showed off their prowess as talented needle workers and prospective bridegroom's families were shown the shoes as part of the marraige decision. The tinier the Lotus foot slipper and the finer the stitching the more likely a bride was selected. The Lotus foot was most sexually desirable and the shoes served like sexy lingerie does today.
Vancouver has been a very Chinese city for more than 100 years and there were women living here with bound feet. I remember seeing old women walking with a very distinctive, duck walk shuffle. I thought they just had bad hips like my Granny. I haven't seen any of them for years.
The actress Rebecca Harker gave me a Lotus slipper a few years ago. She found it in New York City. It is made from cream and green silk and embroidered with peach blossoms. I keep it in a little glass casket. It is one of my treasured possesions.
Read about bound feet and the slippers in
1. Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of An Erotic Tradition Beverly Jackson
Berkeley, 1991 ISBN 0 90915-957-1
2. Every Step a Lotus: Shoes for Bound Feet Dorothy Ko,
Berkeley, 2001
ISBN o-520-23284-4
No comments:
Post a Comment