Kiana MooreGroseEng 10221 March 2014Beauty is Pain Throughout history, women have had to endure horrible things to be considered beautiful. The ancient tradition of foot binding in China, however, takes the concept of “beauty is pain” to a whole new level. Foot binding, also known as lotus feet, is the Chinese custom of applying a painfully tight bandage to the feet of a young girl to break all the bones in both feet and also to prevent further growth in order to maintain the feet three inches long. Although you might think that this was completely ridiculous, having this procedure done meant that a girl will be able to get married to a rich man and will be called attractive. The cost of beauty also comes at a huge price. Losing the ability to walk is the greatest price a Chinese girl has had to pay to be accepted into Chinese culture. During the Sung Dynasty period, women mutilated, bound, deformed, permanently damaged, and altered their bodies not only to be accepted into society, but also to satisfy men erotically and sexually, as well as weaken themselves to make men feel more powerful men. No one is quite sure exactly how the foot binding process began or how it gained its popularity, but there are many great stories. Some believe the practice began when a concubine called “Precious Thing” belonging to Prince Li Yu danced on tiptoe like a ballerina. He did this inside a six-foot tall lotus. From there, the custom is believed to have been revived by royalty before becoming popular among commoners. The second belief originated among the court dancers of the upper class. Court dancers wrapped their feet in white silk to dance on a golden lotus sculpture. The talented dancers tied them......center of the card......this family, the woman belonged in the house and had no place in the outside world. Women were bound to patriarchy in state society. Women were basically enslaved to marry any man who was born and felt their feet were small enough to attack. Chinese female bodies had been successfully used by men to perform often impossible tasks, in order to idealize loyalty and integrity. All this body modification did was demonstrate that women were inferior to men, smaller feet meant a higher status in society, and undergoing excruciating pain to get married meant paralyzing oneself for life. Banning foot binding was the best choice in Chinese culture. Today, women can do whatever they want without maiming, deforming and permanently damaging their bodies for the acceptance of men and the acceptance of society..