Additionally, the practise had a sinister oppressive purpose. Footbinding was a practice that originated to prevent women from running away from an oppressive home-life and give husbands greater control over their wives. Over time, foot-binding developed into a traditional mark of beauty, and the unbound foot became a social [[stigma]]--the sign of a peasant woman who was needed to work the fields. However idealized foot-binding has become over the years, the sentiment behind it has remained the same: a nasty symbol towards the repression of women, the mutilation they face as part of traditional beauty regimines, and a subconcious effort to keep them "in their place," at home, with the children. | Additionally, the practise had a sinister oppressive purpose. Footbinding was a practice that originated to prevent women from running away from an oppressive home-life and give husbands greater control over their wives. Over time, foot-binding developed into a traditional mark of beauty, and the unbound foot became a social [[stigma]]--the sign of a peasant woman who was needed to work the fields. However idealized foot-binding has become over the years, the sentiment behind it has remained the same: a nasty symbol towards the repression of women, the mutilation they face as part of traditional beauty regimines, and a subconcious effort to keep them "in their place," at home, with the children. |