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In an earlier post, we examined the ancient practice of Chinese footbinding and its modern manifestations within the context of shopping for prom shoes. This has become a popular post, as evidenced by a consistently high number of page visits. I will not speculate upon whether random internet explorers with feet or shoe fetishes stumble upon it while searching for other things. All I know is what my statistics tell me... and I don't think they're lying. So when I read about a new practice of institutional mutilation of a pedalian nature, I knew I had to comment on it.  Old-fashioned Cinderella procedure Recall the fairy tale, Cinderella, and its many variants. The majority of these stories involve a plot twist with a glass or golden slipper or shoe. Cinderella flees the palace ball in such haste that she loses her footware on the staircase or the path. The prince discovers its and vows to wed the girl whose foot will fit. Cinder's nasty stepsisters, bent on snagging the keys to the kingdom and egged on by the cruel stepmom, go so far as to cut off parts of their toes and heels in their attempts to force their large dogs into the tiny shoe. Well, in an instance of life imitating art... women of a certain ilk are now taking the knife to their toes in order to fit their tootsies into modern instruments of torture known as "shoes." Yes, you read it right: elective, i.e. cosmetic, plastic surgery for their feet.  Modern Cinderella Procedures Since the phenomenon was first noted in 2003, women are increasingly requesting cosmetic foot procedures -- including shortening their toes, adding collagen to their heels and even completely removing their pinky toe -- in order to better fit into vertigo-inducing 4-, 5- and even 6-inch stilettos. Others opt to lop parts off in order to fit into a smaller size. Apparently, these women do not understand the biomechanical engineering marvels that are their feet: a complex network of 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles that support over 100,000 pounds of pressure for every mile they traverse. Even small changes can undermine the foot's structural integrity and cause crippling pain, as anyone who has had a wart, a corn, a bunion or plantar fascitis knows all too well. Yet these women are willing to risk infection, nerve damage, foot deformities (from shifting collagen) and worse just to slip their perfectly normal feet into the abnormal shapes designed by Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin. And, the irony of it all is that removing a toe could completely affect a woman's balance, making her even more unstable on those super-high heels.
Obviously most podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons disavow these practices. But as always, there are any number of them on both the East and West coasts who are convinced they are simply helping women "look and feel their best" This is just another one of those moments when I simply fail to understand my fellow woman.
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Caution: this post contains photos of a graphic nature which may disturb those of a more sensitive nature (and women who wear sensible shoes)! The historical origins of the practice (torture?) of footbinding are vague, although brief references in Chinese texts of the time suggest that small feet for women were preferred as early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.). The first documented reference to the actual binding of a foot is from the court of the Southern Tang dynasty in Nanjing (618 - 900 A.D.). The text celebrates the fame of its dancing girls renowned for their tiny feet and beautiful bow shoes. The practice became the standard for feminine beauty at the imperial court, the mark of a "woman of wealth and taste," and then spread downward socially and geographically as the lower classes endeavored to imitate the style of the elite (as it is ever thus).  Young girl with bound feet Young girls between the ages of four and seven were the ideal candidates for the start of the torture/foot binding. A strip of cloth ten feet long and two inches wide was wrapped tightly around the foot. The four small toes were broken and bent under the sole. The arch of the foot was bowed to make the foot shorter. The cloth wrap was tightened over time and the foot was confined by increasingly smaller shoes. After about two years, the process (torture) had done its job. By then, the feet were useless for walking more than a few steps. The results of this torture: 
An x-ray of feet deformed by the practice of footbinding and a look from the outside
 Beautiful torture devices All of this cruelty was performed so that they could wear shoes like those to the right. As you can imagine, they spent most of their time lying around on sofas, which may sound like a cushy deal, but not when you start thinking about it. Too much lying around and lack of exercise and pretty soon your leg muscles would start to atrophy and you would just dissolve into a puddle of weak, useless flesh. The practice was banned by the Chinese Republic in 1912, but continued on the down low into the 1930's, after which it finally died out. (After all, hard-working Communist women have to be able to haul ass!)  Artifacts of imperial China and 21st Century torture But I mispeak. The actual practice of binding the foot may have died out, but the idea of shoes as instruments of torture is still thriving in 2012, particularly in the DSW dynasty. A trip to any shoe store (other than the Birkenstock outlet) during prom season -- or any time of the year, for that matter -- will provide ample evidence. Some women are still willing to contort their feet at excruciatingly strange angles and bind them into cruelly splendid modern day equivalents of the rack and the press in order to (insert your own reason here). Submitted for your perusal: 
Yeah, okay, these shoes may say something, but you can bet it's not "hey, let's take the dog for a walk around the block."
And whether it's a pair of 6 inch heels or 4 inch shoes: ouch, it makes my feet hurt just looking at them!!!
One of these photos is a realistic depiction of what a footbound woman can do.
I could have danced all night... and still have begged for... a foot massage!
Early 20th Chinese footbound girl being carried; early 21st Century footbound Lady Gaga being carried
Torture device? Take a look at that x-ray. This is your foot in crazy-high heels.
And what fiendish minds conjure these instruments of torture? The most famous designers of these cruelities also known as high-heeled shoes are men: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Salvatore Ferragamo, Noritaka Tatehana (Lady Gaga's torturer). There's your answer, ladies. They don't have to insert their precious body parts which have 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons into their own creations. The only men who wear high heels are generally pretending to be women!
As a proud mother, I have to say that my wise-beyond-her-years daughter left the store with a pair of lovely, sparkling, eye-catching shoes... with sensible heels! |
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