Foot binding a.k.a. Lotus Feet was an ancient inhumane practice in China that was banned completely in the early 20th century. Foot binding had been practiced for thousands of years amongst the upper class females. During the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911), the toes of the young girls were snapped and bound tightly with a piece of cloth to prevent growth. The ideal size of the feet is 3 inches in length. Often times, the result can be excruciatingly painful and leaving the girls permanently crippled for life.

For more detailed info of foot binding, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding [en.wikipedia.org] (Warning, some of the images in the links may be disturbing)

The pictures below shows the one of the last few surviving feet bound women in China:











http://sp.youthwant.com.tw/b807071409a9/22/54/22003854_4.jpg [sp.youthwant.com.tw] NSFW



http://sp.youthwant.com.tw/b807071409a9/22/54/22003854_5.jpg [sp.youthwant.com.tw] NSFW

yea my freind showed me a book on that stuff. i really cant see how someone would break their foot to look good. then agin im sure that they would say somthing on the same line about anerexia/bolima (god i know i spelled that wrong)

I watched a program on this a while back. Its a pretty nasty practice but suffering pain to obtain beauty is probably a global practice and isn't exactly wiped out from Western cultures. Acid skin peel anyone?

I saw/read about it in the Shoe Museum. *cough* It's a "class" thing. If you have enough money that you can keep your women completely immobile, that's saying something... Humans are strange creatures, disfiguring themselves (or each other) for one weird cultural reason or another.