The perfect three inch foot lady

In the ancient China, a girl that is consider beautiful doesn't lies in their hair, face nor body. It all lies in their foot. A girl with a 3 inch foot will be considered as perfect. That means, their foot is just slightly larger than cigarette box!

The practice started in the 9th century when an Imperial concubine had her feet bound because her Prince loved her little feet referred as the "three-inch golden lotuses". Other women started copying this "desirable" look. Foot binding was designed to literally keep women in their place. Regarded as property, they couldn't walk more than a few steps without someone to support them. This guaranteed they weren't going to get anywhere unless they were willing to crawl.

Foot binding began between the ages of four and seven. A strip of bandage ten feet long and two inches wide was wrapped tightly around the foot. The four small toes were broken and bent under the sole. The arch of the foot was bowed to make the foot shorter.The bandage was tightened each day and the foot was put into smaller and smaller shoes. In two years, the process was finished. By then, the foot was useless for walking very far.

In spite all of this, they were expected to keep up with all daily duties including house cleaning and child raising. Stools were often put in chains in the homes and kitchens so all the women could scoot from one to the next without their feet touching the floor, or they would endure a life of traveling on their knees which would cause blistering and swelling of excruciating proportions. Many women spent their "leisure" time making elaborate shoes for themselves. The ability to decorate the deformity was also seen as an expected part of the "art".

Mothers with bound feet were willing to do this to their own daughters. Poor families saw it as a possible ticket to better days for their daughters. For the wealthy it was status and proof of a girl's worth.

Several attempts had been made to outlaw it but all has been unsuccessful. The practice of foot binding finally declared illegal during the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949. This means there could be women today as young as their late 50's who are living in this very modern world with feet that will never allow them to walk far.

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