Extras

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Visually Stimulating Material

            Tiny Lotus shoes for women                                     Bound Feet

            with bound feet fill a stall                                        Giclee Print

Extra Reading Material

Aching for Beauty : Footbinding in China by Wang Ping

Every Step a Lotus: Shoes for Bound Feet by Dorothy Ko

The Golden Lotus: The Life of a Bound-Feet Peasant Mother in the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Richard T. Li

The Good Women of China : Hidden Voices by XinRan Hue

Activities

Compare Your Feet

Measure your feet.  How much bigger are they than the women who had bound feet?  Now go around to five people you know and ask them to compare feet.  Measure and try each others shoes on.  See how different your feet are from someone else.  Did you find anyone with the exact same measurements that you have?

What is Beauty?

Chinese men found women with small feet to be beautiful.  What is your idea of beauty?  Would you cause yourself physical pain for that idea of beauty?  Think of those questions and ask five to ten people the same questions.  You will probably be surprised by what they say.

Cultural Beauty

Chinese foot binding is only one cultures idea of beauty and status.  Research some other cultures and find out what they endure to be beautiful.  How are they different?  How are they the same?  Do you find these customs to be outrageous?  Then explore what we as Americans do for beauty.  Are we any different than they are?