It was sad to read that the Chinese Dynasty was not the same for both men and women. This was so because of the Han Dynasty where is was believed that “the boy leads the boy and the girl follows the boy”. One of the most sad and disturbing reads in Chapter 8 was with the description of Foot Binding.

Foot binding allowed for the wrapping or binding the feet of young girls. The purpose of this was to allow the girls feet to remain small so to look more feminine. Many mothers allowed this painful ritual for their daughters. The thought was that it allowed the young girls to remain petite. The procedure would often break the girls feet and cause induced deformation. Small but deformed feet were preferred because of their perceived beauty. As a father of five daughters I can not see doing this to any of my daughters today. It is a true wonder as to how much we have developed as a civilized society; from hunting and gathering to establishing societies to developing religions and rituals. The thought of some of the past customs is truly appalling.
TEAM #GirlDad
ReplyDelete