Chapter 8 I was disappointed and revolted


Chapter 8
I was disappointed to read  about the change of women’s position in Chinese society between the Tang dynasty and the Song dynasty. In the Tang dynasty elite Chinese women had more ability to participate in social life than before. This was partly under the influence of steppe nomads, whose women had relative freedom. However in the song dynasty, patriarchy reasserted control over women. Its essence was the foot binding of elite women. This caused painful fractures and deformities (Staryer 331) .




I feel revolted on reading about how Chinese women were mistreated, especially the painful and deforming practices of foot binding. I was thinking about the physical abuse , and emotional abuse those women needed to carry for their whole lives.  


My heart is with those women who suffered so much from this practiced do to the cultural view that small feet were more feminine and beautiful.


Ms Farrell described her as 'a feisty old lady'



Also I will mention something that  is spinning in my head (and is not in the book)  about how poorly Chinese women were treated just because of the fact of having been born female. Some paid with their lives through female infanticide which continues to this day.


Female infanticide - Wikipedia










References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_infanticide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanticide

https://china-underground.com/2012/10/09/21-old-and-scary-pictures-of-lotus-feet/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5425801/Last-foot-binding-survivors-captured-beautiful-photos.html

Comments

  1. Oliver Q.June 6, 2020 at 7:19 PM

    Hi,

    These are so sad to hear, but you're right... its been happening for so long and much of these so called traditions or assumptions need to stop. This is happening in many other cultures through history with having females being said to be inferior, but people especially stubborn or insensitive males don't understand what women have to go through not just for themselves but their families. They have the gift and power to give life, which men cannot, so we as men should never discourage or put down a women. I grew up treating women with respect. My parents raised me up to be a gentlemen and gave me that mindset of "kill them with kindness" mentality to whomever because hatred consumes and turns us into a different person. Thank you for sharing this as its still eye opening to hear that equality is still not "equal".

    ReplyDelete
  2. ThistoryJune 7, 2020 at 5:03 PM

    Hello Claudia. I understand your disagreement. It is very hard to know what we have had to go through. Fortunately today, although we still need to fight, we are better than in the past. The photo you shared made me think a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LeslieJune 7, 2020 at 8:09 PM

    Hi,

    I think it's interesting that the steppe warrior's women enjoyed so much more freedom than those women in settled Chinese society. I guess it makes sense since women have always enjoyed greater gender equality in nomadic societies, but when I think of the steppe nomads I tend to think of very warlike qualities. I associate those qualities less with gender equality than I should maybe.

    ReplyDelete

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