Millions of Chinese women bound their feet, a status symbol that allowed them to marry into money. Footbinding was banned in 1912, but some women... Painful Memories for China's Footbinding ...

From Chinese foot binding to today's extreme constraints on children's freedom.

From corsets to foot binding, lead makeup to skin bleaching, discover how fashion and beauty through history demanded pain, reinforced inequality, and shaped today’s toxic standards.

Foot binding, a popular practice in ancient China, involved firmly binding young girls' feet to prevent them from growing, which resulted in excruciating and crippling conditions.

Generally, most such norms are benign, but some are harmful, even cruel. An example of the latter is Chinese foot binding.