Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Feet Can Change - Chinese Foot Binding

Have you ever wondered if abuse to your feet changes their form and function?

Ever been a slave to fashion? The Chinese practice of foot binding distorted the feet for fashion to the point that the woman was permanently disabled. Though these photos show you the terrible physical deformation that is the result Chinese foot binding, don't think that the Chinese are the only culture that has a tradition that damages feet. If your feet ever ached in terrible shoes for the sake of fashion, all you have to do to see the painful result of a cultural aesthetic ideal is to look down.

Foot pain caused by shoes is not harmless! These pictures illustrate how much feet can change if abused. The tradition of foot binding was to shorten the length of the foot thus fitting it into tiny, pointed toe shoes. The feet were distorted with tight wraps and crammed into tight shoes to the point where they were permanently disfigured. In turn, the women were completely hobbled.

As arcane as the practice of foot binding seems it is still practiced in the fashions of today in both Europe, Asia and the Americas. These pictures of the sleek new styles are examples of what is hot in Japanese fashion now. Notice the resemblance of the modern shoe to the cultural aesthetic of the past?

Shoes have a purpose and that is to protect your feet. Shoes are unique in the fact that they are absolutely necessary, yet also quite frivolous. Be careful when you buy shoes. Try to make the shoes a healthy choice that is good for you, not the other way around. Don't damage yourself in the name of fashion.

To find out how "dressy" you can go, get your feet and footwear checked at: www.footform.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe you're mistaken. I don't believe the Japanese have ever practiced footbinding, but rather the Chinese. Geisha's wore high platformed like shoes, not the shoes that were depicted in the photographs you provided. Those are the results of Chinese foot binding.

Anonymous said...

exacto.. you should get your facts straight. This is CHINESE foot binding.

Cristina Acosta said...

Thank you Anonymous for bring our mistake to our attention. We've changed the blog entry to read correctly. The foot binding example is certainly Chinese.