Throughout civilizations, we have outdone ourselves in the definition of beauty and the means to create a beautiful us. For example, in some cultures, the use of multiple neck rings are worn to create the illusion of an elongated neck by deforming the formation of the shoulder blades. But no, today I won’t be sharing the neck ring custom from the Kayan community (that resides in Borneo), instead I’ll be posting pictures of lotus shoes taken at Malacca, that are still manufactured today, merely to be sold as decorative pieces.
Foot binding is a custom that originated from China. Bound feet or some would call it ‘lily feet’ were performed among little girls.
It has long been banned and for many good reasons. It is a gruesome process that only one can imagine and it is said that many have sacrificed their lives for the priced lily feet. If you are interested in knowing more about foot binding, I would recommend you to read Lisa See’s “Snow Flower and a Secret Fan” to get a blast to the past for a spine-chilling account on foot binding. Be warned.
But yes, the lotus shoe shop that I went to is a family business that takes pride in the dainty shoes that they make. Each pair is carefully crafted by hand and sold as a curio. The designs on the silk cloth are intricate and beautiful and I would be attracted to women who have good taste in the shoes that they wear, but mind you, I still cannot comprehend the sexual fetish behind small (deformed) feet.
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