Lotus Foot
Desiree Krauss
A look at the binding process in China.
“Lotus foot” was
the name given to the bound feet of Chinese women in the nineteenth century. While we modern women recoil in disgust over the idea of this deformity, binding the feet was the Eastern equivalent to European corsetry; both are extreme forms of body modification considered to be highly erotic.
The origin of this practise is a bit unclear, but it is agreed that foot-binding began in the eleventh century. In one instance, it is said that there was an Empress with a foot deformity that the court attempted to follow. In another instance, it is said that during the reign of an Emperor in the Sung Dynasty, the court dancers, who moved so delicately upon the petals of lotuses had such tiny, dainty feet that resembled a golden lotus. The dainty feet became a highly eroticised symbol of femininity and grace.
Mothers began binding their daughters’ feet with a few feet of bandage around age five or six to prevent growth. The ideal foot size was about four inches (like the inconceivable size of 16"-18" in corsetted waist sizes). The four lesser toes were broken and curled under the ball of the foot as far as they could reach towards the heel. The big toe served as an anchor for balance in walking. These tiny feet were then encased in silken lotus shoes, often beautifully embroidered and embellished.
Over time, the bandage was tightened and the arch formed a very high curve. The shrunken foot formed a fleshy cleft between the ball and the heel, which could have been considered a “second vagina”. Various sexual guides specify countless techniques involving the sexual use of the bound foot. Draw your own kinky conclusions.
Simple daily routines were painfully difficult; it was less common for rural girls to have their feet bound since they were needed to work, but in higher economic and social classes, the lotus foot prevailed at close to 100% percent. The natural foot, often referred to as “lotus boat” or “duckfoot” was a social stigma and an obstacle to marriage. For a poor family to bind the feet of their young daughter or daughters would be a major sacrifice, but it improved the chances of marrying them into a higher social class.
If you’ve ever read Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth, a classic peek into Chinese culture, it mentions footbinding in several instances – how ugly O-lan’s large feet were, the delicate bound feet of Wang Lung’s mistress (whom I believe is actually named Lotus), and the process of Wang Lung’s daughter’s feet being bound so that she may be able to marry well.
Foot binding was outlawed by the government in the 20th century, although it remote parts of China, they may have continued binding girls’ feet up until the late 1940’s. It is very possible that some Chinese women in their 70’s and 80’s may still have that deformed foot.
For further reading, check out Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition, which contains plenty of pictures of the tiny lotus slippers and accounts of the women who wore them.
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