Foot binding

Beginning during Medieval times, foot binding was introduced because people at the time thought women with feet so small that they could fit into 4-inch lotus shoes were attractive. Young girls' feet would actually be bound by strips of cloth, and all but the large toes would be broken so the girl's foot could fit in the shoe. The result was a permanently concave foot that, when walked on, caused great pain. Women whose feet had been bound were more likely to suffer more injury, and had an increased chance of falling. Fortunately, foot binding was abolished at the end of the Dynastic Era, but women alive before the Chinese Revolution still have/had foot problems.