Fedorak (2008:92) defines body image in the way we think our body looks. It is also significantly influenced by how other people think of our image. According to Pitts-Taylor (2008:199) the reasons behind foot binding varies in different cultures. It is significantly influenced by personal preference, fashion, literature and psychological behaviours. It is usually a women’s attire and they are willing to suffer for the sake of beauty.
According to Comer (2016) foot binding is the process of applying painfully tight binding to the feet of tender young girls to prevent further growth. This practice originated among the upper-class court dancers during the Imperial China. It gradually spread and became common but the lowest classes. Foot binding became popular as means of displaying status, women from wealthy families who were not required to work who could also afford feet bound. This was adopted as a symbol of beauty in the Chinese culture.
The Binding Process
According to Pitts-Taylor (2008:204-5) females began foot binding when they were 5-7 years old to ensure that the bones would still be flexible and heal quickly. The Chinese believed this was when children become conscious and aware of their bodies.
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The various contradictions used to represent reason, morality and logic. While in contradiction evoked anger, pain and transgression. The role of foot binding as a cultural symbol for relationship between nature and culture. The foot is the only part of the body that must touch the ground, it is perceived as polluted and impure to the extent that it symbolises death. In foot binding women overcame their degraded humanness. Foot binding represented the making and remaking of nature. The natural foot was made into an artifice as well as into the culture valued