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A chinese practice of binding the feet of female babies to prevent them from growing. This is because in Chinese culture small women are considered more desireable.

The historical [[China|Chinese]] practice of binding the feet of female children with tight bandages to prevent them from growing, small feet being considered more attractive, and an indication of high [[class]] - as women with bound feet were incapable of most physical labour, or even of walking more than a few steps unassisted.

 

The practise is said to have originated in the imitation of the small-footed [[concubine]] Yao Niang of [[Sung Dynasty]] prince Li Yu. Its adoption as a fashion by tens of millions of Chinese women over several centuries, probably represents the most widespread [[fetish]] in human history.

 

Following the 1911 revolution of [[Sun Yat-Sen]], the practise died out in all but remote rural areas, and only a small number of women with bound feet survive today.