Chinese Footbinding
"...this
is a non-devotee instance where the dominant culture actually defined
'disabled' as desirable and sexually attractive."
There have been some
intriguing posts recently on the social phenomenon of foot binding in
China in the 19th century and earlier. The discussion centred
on the eroticism of physical disability on a national scale. For a
thousand years women with intentionally tiny and deformed feet were
considered highly erotic. These deformities were created by tightly
bandaging the feet from an early age. Many girls became so deformed
and disabled that they had to be carried everywhere. The origins
of foot binding are unclear although evidence suggests it started as
far back as the Sung dynasty in AD 960-1280. It was
eventually banned in 1911. Here is a little information gathered from
postings on Yahoo Groups as well as a collection of books
for those interested in reading more on the subject.
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