Prompt Cast
The History and Impact of Foot Binding in China
TLDR Foot binding in China was a thousand-year-old practice that involved deforming women's feet to attract men. It had a significant impact on women's lives, leading to isolation, cultural bonding, and even fetishism, but was eventually eradicated through education campaigns and societal changes.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
For about a thousand years, three billion women in China practiced foot binding, a custom that involved binding their feet to make them small and pointy.
04:01
Foot binding in China was a purposeful deformation of the female foot to attract men, starting in 970 AD, and involved wrapping the feet in bandages and later binding them to make them look like high heels, preventing women from doing manual labor and making it difficult to walk.
07:58
Foot binding in China was deeply ingrained in the culture and continued even after it was outlawed in 1912, but it was eventually eradicated through education campaigns and the influence of Western missionaries and Social Darwinists.
11:42
The process of foot binding in China involved soaking the feet in hot water and animal blood, scraping away dead skin, clipping toenails, and then bending the foot using bandages to break the toes and bring the heel closer to the ball of the foot, resulting in a highly arched foot.
15:20
Foot binding in China involved tightly wrapping the feet of young girls, causing excruciating pain, and continuing the process for several years until the feet were deformed into lotus petals or new moons, which was considered highly attractive and erotic.
18:58
Foot binding in China had a significant impact on the daily lives of women, as they were unable to travel, which affected the architecture and led to China's isolation from the rest of the world, while also creating a sense of pride and cultural bonding among women with bound feet.
22:44
Foot binding in China also had a fetishistic aspect, with sex manuals and erotic embroidery on wedding shoes, but it eventually ended due to the Chinese communists' push for women to work and the fact that food was given based on how much work was done.
26:20
If you want to learn more about footbinding and see pictures, you can search for it on HouseToForks.com, and also, there are some ads for Airbnb and Smile Actives.
30:00
The hosts give a shoutout to Brown Water Coffee and mention that they should have their website up and running soon.
Categories:
Society & Culture
