Kiana MooreGroseFre 102March 21, 2014Beauty is PainThroughout history, women have had to endure horrible things to be considered beautiful. The ancient Chinese tradition of foot binding, however, takes the concept of “beauty is pain” to a whole new level. Foot binding, also known as lotus feet, is the Chinese custom of applying painfully tight ties to a young girl's feet to break all the bones in both feet and also prevent further growth in order to keep the feet three inches long. Although one might find this completely ridiculous, this procedure meant that a girl could marry a rich man and would be considered attractive. The cost of beauty also comes with a huge price tag. Losing the ability to walk is the greatest price a Chinese girl has had to pay to be accepted into Chinese culture. During the Song Dynasty period, women mutilated, bound, deformed, permanently damaged, and altered their bodies not only to be accepted into society, but also to satisfy men erotically and sexually, as well as to weaken so that men feel more powerful. It's not known exactly how the process of foot binding began or how it gained its popularity, but there are many stories to tell. Some believe that this practice began when a concubine called "Precious Thing" belonging to Prince Li Yu danced a bit like a ballerina on tiptoes. She did this inside a six-foot-tall lotus. From there, the custom is believed to have been taken up by royalty before becoming popular with commoners. The second belief originated among upper-class court dancers. Court dancers wrapped their feet in white silk to dance atop a golden lotus sculpture. The talented dancers bonded their...... middle of paper ... family, the woman had her place in the house and had no place in the outside world. Women were tied to patriarchy in state society. Women were basically enslaved and could marry any man who came along and deemed their feet small enough to be hitched. Chinese female bodies have been successfully used by men to accomplish often impossible tasks in order to idealize loyalty and integrity. All these bodily modifications did was show that women were inferior to men, that smaller feet meant higher status in society, and that exposing oneself to excruciating pain to get married meant oneself. paralyze his whole life. Banning foot binding was the best choice in Chinese culture. Today, women can do whatever they want without mutilating, deforming and permanently damaging their bodies for the acceptance of men and the acceptance of society..