. The bandage would be placed against the instep and wrapped over the toes, holding them against the sole. The bandage was then wrapped back around the heel, pulling the heel and toes together. The bandages were sewn together with heavy thread so that they wouldn’t unravel, and so the girl would not try to loosen them. The severe pain of bound feet lasted for about a year, but the pain did not disappear until the child’s bones quit growing. The feet would be washed and rebound every three days and every two weeks they would change shoes, with each new pair being two tenths smaller than the pair before. The ideal foot was three inches long but this was a rare accomplishment. There were also many physical effects from binding feet other than the breaking of your toes and forcing them under your foot. One was a groove line down the center of the back caused by tension of the back muscles. Another, caused by making the lower body of the women tense, was the skin tightening. Also the outside swelling of the abdomen was present, a forward curve of the lumbar vertebrae, and the buttocks became larger. The binding process also caused a small part of the foot to lose flesh by rotting away. This caused a putrid smell from the blood, puss and perspiration. It is said that alum was used to absorb the puss and swelling. As young as four years old, the Chinese girls were forced to bind their feet. None of them asked why they had to endure this torture. Footbinding was formally outlawed in 1911 but the practice still continued into the 20th century. Anti-footbinding reformers decided to start a movement. The first step they took was to carry out a campaign, which explained that the rest of the world did not make their women bind their feet. Secondly, they had the campaign explain the advantages of natural feet and disadvantages of bound feet. Third they formed natural –foot societies whose members pledged against ...
