If traditional Chinese women practiced foot binding, what anatomical feature did the Padaung/Kayan women of Burma seek to highlight? Easy, this is a family site!
"the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. It has also been theorised that the coils originate from the desire to look more attractive by exaggerating sexual dimorphism, as women have more slender necks than men. It has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to a dragon, an important figure in Kayan folklore. The coils might be meant to protect from tiger bites, perhaps literally, but probably symbolically. Kayan women, when asked, acknowledge these ideas, and often say that their purpose for wearing the rings is cultural identity (one"
"feminine characteristics in women. For centuries in Imperial China, smaller feet were considered to be a more aristocratic characteristic in women. The practice of foot binding was intended to enhance this characteristic, though it made walking difficult and painful. In a few parts of Africa and Asia, neck rings are worn in order to elongate the neck. In these cultures, a long neck characterizes feminine beauty. The Padaung of Burma and Tutsi women of Burundi, for instance, practice this form of body modification. What is considered as the ""ideal feminine"" is defined by each individual culture based on what that"
"nevertheless noted the dainty walk of Chinese women who took very small steps), perhaps an indication that it was not a widespread or extreme practice at that time. The practice however was encouraged by the Mongol rulers on their Chinese subjects. The practice became increasingly common among the gentry families, later spreading to the general population, as commoners and theatre actors alike adopted footbinding. By the Ming period, the practice was no longer the preserve of the gentry, but it was considered a status symbol. As foot binding restricted female movement, one side effect of its rising popularity was the"
"to voice their opinions and desires. Wives in the wealthy countryside have demanded construction of mansions for neolocal residences. Foot binding is the process in which the arch of a woman's feet is broken and the toes are wrapped up against the foot to create a smaller looking foot with an acute arch. These ""fists of flesh"" were seen as attractive and arousing for men and the practice was passed down as a prerequisite to marriage from mother to daughter across generations. The process of foot binding was painful and often confined women to their rooms. Few lower class women"
"Foot binding Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to the feet of young girls to modify the shape and size of their feet. It was practised in China from the Song dynasty until the early 20th century, and bound feet were considered a status symbol as well as a mark of beauty. Foot binding limited the mobility of women, and resulted in lifelong disabilities for most of its subjects, although some women with bound feet working outdoors have also been reported. Feet altered by binding were called lotus feet. The practice possibly originated among upper class court"
"feet, and among upper class Han Chinese women, the figure was almost 100%. Bound feet became a mark of beauty and was also a prerequisite for finding a husband. It also became an avenue for poorer women to marry into money in some areas; for example, in late 19th century Guangdong, it was customary to bind the feet of the eldest daughter of a lower-class family who was intended to be brought up as a lady. Her younger sisters would grow up to be bond-servants or domestic slaves and be able to work in the fields, but the eldest daughter"
"afford to spare them the necessity of work (which would require the ability to be mobile and spend the day on their feet). Because of this belief, parents hoping to ensure a good marriage for their daughters would begin binding their feet from about the age of seven years to achieve the ideal appearance. The tinier the feet, the better the social rank of a future husband. This practice did not end until the early years of the 20th century. China has had many customs tied to girls and their roles as future wives and mothers. According to one custom,"
"the size or shape of the feet. This was especially the case with the toes, as small toes were especially desirable. Older women were more likely to break hips and other bones in falls, since they could not balance securely on their feet, and were less able to rise to their feet from a sitting position. Other issues that might arise from foot binding included paralysis and muscular atrophy. Before footbinding was practiced in China, admiration for small feet already existed as demonstrated by the Tang dynasty tale of Ye Xian written around 850 by Duan Chengshi. This tale of"
"to be contributing to the nation's economy like men did. In her installation series, ""Trauma"", Hung Liu portrays a bound-foot woman. Foot binding was practiced among Chinese women from the Song dynasty up until the early 20th century. Women would wrap their feet tightly in order to keep them small, which was characterized as a feminine beauty at the time. In Liu's installation pieces, she repeatedly shows an emotionless woman with her naked feet. As a result of the foot binding cultural, these women had deformed feet. Feng Jiali is famous for her oil painting of explicit images of female"
"they should develop new mental and physical qualities fitting for the new era. The ending of the practice is seen as a significant event in the process of female emancipation in China. Some scholars such as Laurel Bossen and Hill Gates reject the theories that bound feet in China were considered more beautiful, or that it was a means of male control over women, a sign of class status, or a chance for women to marry well. They argued that foot binding was important in work, and can be seen as a way by mothers to tie their daughters down,"
"among women whose work involved domestic crafts and those in urban areas; it was also more common in northern China where it was widely practiced by women of all social classes, but less so in parts of southern China such as Guangdong and Guangxi where it was largely a practice of women in the provincial capitals or among the gentry. Manchu women, as well as Mongol and Chinese women in the Eight Banners, did not bind their feet, and the most a Manchu woman might do was to wrap the feet tightly to give them a slender appearance. The Manchus,"
"political environment and education. The foot-binding costume had long been established in China which was an act to display the beauty and social status of women by binding their feet into an extremely small shoe with good decorations and ornaments. Liang Qichao proposed the abolishment of this act due to concern the health of female being a supportive wives and caring mothers. He also proposed to reduce the number of female dependents in family and encouraged women to receive the rights of education and enter the workforce to be economic independent from men and finally help the nation to reach"
"foot binding at the same time. Foot-binding was the tradition of binding a young daughter's feet by wrapping cloth around their feet tightly and forcing them to walk until their bones broke and were easier to mold and change, then tightening the bindings as time progressed. The ideal foot (called Golden Lotus) was 3 Chinese inches (about 10 cm or 4 inches in Western measurements) in length. To understand this, the book draws the parallel: ""Men in China feel about women's feet as men in west do about a woman's legs."" They write letters to one another on a fan"
"of brass push the ""women's shoulders and ribs down"" throughout several years giving the effect as if the necks had been stretched, thus described as sporting ""unnaturally long, giraffe-like necks."" Women in Myanmar Historically, women in Myanmar (also known as Burma) have had a unique social status and esteemed women in Burmese society. According to the research done by Mya Sein, Burmese women ""for centuries – even before recorded history"" owned a ""high measure of independence"" and had retained their ""legal and economic rights"" despite the influences of Buddhism and Hinduism. Burma once had a matriarchal system that includes the"
"to the Byamaso civil society organization. Kayan people (Myanmar) The Kayan are a sub-group of Red Karen (Karenni people), Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma). The Kayan consists of the following groups: Kayan Lahwi (also called Padaung, ), Kayan Ka Khaung (Gekho), Kayan Lahta, Kayan Ka Ngan. Kayan Gebar, Kayan Kakhi and, sometimes, Bwe people (Kayaw). Padaung (Yan Pa Doung) is a Shan term for the Kayan Lahwi (the group in which women wear the brass neck coils). The Kayan residents in Mae Hong Son Province in Northern Thailand refer to themselves as Kayan and object to being called Padaung."
"by encouraging footbinding among their womenfolk. The practice was also carried out only by women on girls, and it served to emphasize the distinction between male and female, an emphasis that began from an early age. Anthropologist Fred Blake argued that the practice of footbinding was a form of discipline undertaken by women themselves, and perpetuated by women on their daughters, so as to inform their daughters of their role and position in society, and to support and participate in the neo-Confucian way of being civilized. Foot binding is often seen by feminists as an oppressive practice against women who"
"with walking, women were limited to household activities. Women with bound feet had considerable difficulty carrying out simple tasks (such as standing up from a chair without assistance) and a lower functional reach than women with normal feet. Foot binding encouraged the sexual objectification of women, since it fulfilled men's sexual desires and fantasies. It reinforced the ideology that women were useful only in sexualized, sedentary roles to satisfy men's desires. Foot binding was such an established part of Chinese culture that the Emperor K'ang Hsi was unable to suppress the practice in 1650. Widespread anti-foot binding sentiment began during"
"Confucian ideals of civility and culture in the form of correct attire or bodily adornment, and that footbinding was seen as a necessary part of being feminine as well as being civilized. Footbinding was often classified in Chinese encyclopedia as clothing or a form of bodily embellishment rather than mutilation; one from 1591 for example placed footbinding in a section on ""Female Adornments"" that included hairdos, powders, and ear-piercings. According to Ko, the perception of footbinding as a civilised practice may be evinced from a Ming dynasty account that mentioned a proposal to ""entice [the barbarians] to civilize their customs"""
"patrilocality, patrilineality, village exogamy, an agrarian economy, and divisions of labour based on gender. Women had no legal rights to property, other than in relation to their dowries, and were mainly restricted to work that could be conducted within the home, such as weaving. This was facilitated by the common practise of foot-binding, which prevented women from standing or walking. In poor families, women's feet might not be bound or, even if they were, the woman would work in the family's fields. Though the Qing attempted to end the practice (Manchu women were forbidden from binding their feet), doing so"
"the Zhiqiang Shoe Factory in Harbin, closed. Foot binding was practiced in various forms and its prevalence varied in different regions. A less severe form in Sichuan, called ""cucumber foot"" (""huanggua jiao"") due to its slender shape, folded the four toes under but did not distort the heel and taper the ankle. Some working women in Jiangsu made a pretense of binding while keeping their feet natural. Not all women were always bound—some women once bound remained bound all through their lives, but some were only briefly bound, and some were bound only until their marriage. Footbinding was most common"
"mother and father"". It is however argued that such injunction applies less to women, rather it is meant to emphasize the sacred link between sons and their parents. Furthermore, it is argued that Confucianism institutionalized the family system in which women are called upon to sacrifice themselves for the good of the family, a system that fostered such practice. Confucian instructions on the moral behaviour of women would include examples of women who were prepared to die or suffer mutilation to show their commitment to the Confucian ethos. Historian Dorothy Ko proposed that footbinding may be an expression of the"
"Foot binding was a practice fashionable in Ming and Qing dynasty China. Young girls' feet, usually at age six but often earlier, were wrapped in tight bandages so they could not grow normally, would break and become deformed as they reached adulthood. The feet would remain small and dysfunctional, prone to infection, paralysis, and muscular atrophy. While such feet were considered by some to be beautiful, others considered the practice to be archaic and barbaric. In concert with community leaders, the Colonial Government launched an anti-foot binding campaign in 1901. The practice was formally banned in 1915, with violators subject"
"the late 19th century, and gained in popularity until the practice was outlawed in 1912. In 1997, the feet of 38 percent of Beijing women over 80 years of age and 18 percent of women aged 70–79 were deformed by foot binding. The purpose of women's education was to reinforce their subordinate status and ensure that they obeyed rules made by men. Women were taught social norms which restricted their rights and behavior. Only middle-class and wealthier women would receive an education, indicating a family's superiority. Women were educated at home by teachers who followed social norms. In the Eastern"
"Society near Canton to combat the practice, and anti-footbinding societies sprang up across the country, with membership for the movement claimed to reach 300,000. The anti-footbinding movement however stressed pragmatic and patriotic reasons rather than feminist ones, arguing that abolition of footbinding would lead to better health and more efficient labour. Reformers such as Liang Qichao, influenced by Social Darwinism, also argued that it weakened the nation, since enfeebled women supposedly produced weak sons. At the turn of the 20th century, early feminists, such as Qiu Jin, called for the end of foot-binding. Many members of anti-footbinding groups pledged to"
"There exist several approaches that were set up by international health organizations and civil societies (for example, Tostan) aimed at eliminating the practice of FGM in implemented countries: Some scholars suggests that, when dealing with FGM, it is necessary to take lessons from history, particularly 19th-century campaign against foot-binding in China, which was successful. Breast ironing (also known as ""breast flattening"") is the practice of pounding and massaging the breasts of a pubescent girl, using hard or heated objects, in an attempt to try to make them stop developing or disappear. It is typically carried out by the girl's mother,"
"is for a woman's body image. How well a woman follows these beauty ideals can also influence her social status within her culture. Physically altering the body has been a custom in many areas of the world for a long time. For example, decorating the body with tattoos is a symbol of attractiveness and status in the Japanese culture. The art of irezumi, or covering a woman's back with tattoos, is still practiced today in Japan. In Burma, Padung girls from the age of about five years, have metal rings put around their necks. Additional rings are added to the"
"were victims of a sexist culture. It is also widely seen as a form of violence against women. Bound feet rendered women dependent on their families, particularly their men, as they became largely restricted to their homes. The early Chinese feminist Qiu Jin, who underwent the painful process of unbinding her own bound feet, attacked footbinding and other traditional practices. She argued that women, by retaining their small bound feet, made themselves subservient as it would mean women imprisoning themselves indoors. She believed that women should emancipate themselves from oppression, that girls can ensure their independence through education, and that"
"to flatten the breasts and, within traditional Chinese medicine, to preserve stomach ""qi"". Using the same characters, it is also known as a doudu or doudou. The latter form is diminutive and is particularly used for the dudous worn by Chinese children. Its various Chinese names are typically left untranslated in English. In Chinese sources, the dudou is sometimes mistranslated as a ""bellyband"", which more commonly refers to a variety of other devices including a horse's harness and a compression garment used by expectant mothers. The oddity arises from the similarity of the dudou's purpose (though not construction or appearance)"
"available to women varied depending on the time period and regional situation. The status of women was, like that of men, closely tied to the Chinese kinship system. There has long been a son preference in China, leading to high rates of female infanticide, as well as a strong tradition of restricting the freedom of movement of women, particularly upper class women, manifested through the practice of foot binding. The legal and social status of women has greatly improved in the 20th century, especially in the 1970s after the One-Child Polity and Reform and Opening-up Policy came out. Traditional marriage"
"small hole in the ear. Padaung women in Myanmar place large golden rings around their necks. From as early as five years old, girls are introduced to their first neck ring. Over the years, more rings are added. In addition to the twenty-plus pounds of rings on her neck, a woman will also wear just as many rings on her calves. At their extent, some necks modified like this can reach long. The practice has health impacts and has in recent years declined from cultural norm to tourist curiosity. Tribes related to the Paduang, as well as other cultures throughout"
"dancers during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in 10th century China, then became popular among the elite during the Song dynasty, eventually spreading to all social classes by the Qing dynasty. Foot binding was practiced in different forms, and the more severe form of binding may have been developed in the 16th century. It has been estimated that by the 19th century, 40–50% of all Chinese women may have had bound feet, and up to almost 100% among upper class Chinese women. The prevalence and practice of foot binding however varied in different parts of the country. There"
"poor and since then had become richer. The status of women in China was also low largely due to the custom of foot binding. About 45% of Chinese women had bound feet in the 19th century. For the upper classes, it was almost 100%. In 1912, the Chinese government ordered the cessation of foot-binding. Foot-binding involved alteration of the bone structure so that the feet were only about 4 inches long. The bound feet caused difficulty of movement, thus greatly limiting the activities of women. Due to the social custom that men and women should not be near each other,"
"Burmese dance Dance in Burma (now known as Myanmar by the government there) can be divided into dramatic, folk and village, and nat dances, each having distinct characteristics. Although Burmese dance has been influenced by the dance traditions of its neighbours, in particular Thailand, it retains unique qualities that distinguish it from other regional styles, including angular, fast-paced and energetic movements and emphasis on pose, not movement. The origins of Burmese Dance are traced to the Pyu, Halin, and Mon cultures in the central and lower Irrawaddy regions from at least two centuries before the Christian era. Archaeological evidence shows"