Tosunidis 1

Fifa Tosunidis

Mr. Arnold

English 10A (6)

1 November 2010

Footbinding: A Chinese Practice

History has given society a great variety of traditions and customs. Although not all

members of society might agree to those customs, we must uphold cultural toleration and respect

those beliefs. This is the case for the Chinese practice of footbinding, where Chinese women

were obligated to bind their feet from a very young age. The painful and gruesome procedure

caused extreme pain and resulted in the deformation of the foot to make it look like a crescent

moon. Highlighting the factors of cultural relativism, Mark Cohen’s “The Real Meaning of

Cultural Relativism” discusses the philosophy of judging one’s culture in relation to his own.

Defining cultural relativism as “the willingness to look thoughtfully and tolerantly at other

cultures”, Cohen, an anthropologist, emphasizes the importance of honoring the traditions of

other cultures without affiliating our own biases. The ideas Cohen presents are causes for

discussion regarding the practice of footbinding-- the mutilation of women’s feet to appear like a

crescent moon. The details and reasons behind footbinding are seen in three supporting works:

Bound Feet and Western Dress by Pan-Mei Natasha Chang, The Great Chinese Revolution:

1800-1985 by John King Fairbank and Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chung.

Ultimately, the practice of footbinding creates controversy where we must ask ourselves wether

or not we can judge the morality of the Chinese custom that had evolved for hundreds of years.

Although western civilization would most likely find footbinding an immoral custom, if
 Tosunidis 2

practiced today, Mark Cohen would argue that we cannot judge the practice because we must

tolerate foreign traditions without personal biases.

Through various approaches, Mark Cohen tries to explain his views on cultural relativism

by offering different aspects of the subject. First off, Cohen accentuates that as cultural

relativists, we must take seven key actions in order to fulfill cultural toleration. In his list, Cohen

writes, “Put aside our own arbitrary cultural assumptions and prejudice-- take off our own

blinders--before we judge. Keep an open mind about what we might learn” (Cohen 112). In this

quote, Cohen assesses the vitality of being able to distinguish different cultures from each other

and putting aside our customs before we can discuss another culture. Even with the case of

footbinding, western society must respect the Chinese custom because we must understand that

their culture is different from ours, thus we cannot judge what they perceive as moral or

immoral. Cohen also tackles the issue of physical harm when he writes, “...behaviors that that

inflict physical harm on people, cause their deaths, leave them hungry, or expose them to

physical dangers or disease involve the clearest moral absolutes” (Cohen 127). Truly Cohen’s

argument is valid because any act that may cause physical harm to a living soul would be

considered immoral. However, in the case of footbinding, we must accept that even though

Chinese women did undergo physical pain and yes, their feet were mutilated, we must

understand the big picture-- the reward of marriage. As the supporting documents will show,

most Chinese women believed that all the pain was worth it because in the end they would get

married to a husband since men showed most appreciation to bound feet. Therefore as cultural

relativists, we must comprehend that Chinese women benefited from the practice and if

footbinding was so rewarding for them and therefore welcomed, then how can we judge it?
 Tosunidis 3

Lastly, Cohen points out that we must treat other as they want to be treated, when he speaks of

the Golden Rule, “Assuming that other people naturally share our preference or moral

precepts...violates the Golden Rule. Real morality involves understanding that other people may

actually want different things than you want and being ready to adjust your behavior to recognize

those differences” (Cohen 132). Cohen highlights that real morality is that of respecting,

understanding and tolerating one’s culture, custom or beliefs. With our American blindfolds on,

we cannot fully understand the motives behind footbinding. However as historical evidence

shows us, the practice evolved throughout Chinese society and was used as a way for women to

pursue successful futures with a spouse. Obeying the Golden Rule, which nearly means ‘ we

should treat other people as they would have us treat them’, we must permit upholders of

footbinding to continue with their practice without our prejudice and involvement. Through

Cohen three main factors, we can stand true that Cohen would argue that the practice should be

condoned if it was to still be in effect today.

Cohen’s first point of interest is the awareness of the historical context of a custom and

being able to tolerate the custom while keeping an open mind about the matter. In relation with

this concept, John King Fairbank writes, “The Sung philosophers stressed women’s inferiority as

a basic element of the social order… Chu Hsi promoted footbinding to preserve female chastity

and as ‘a means of spreading Chinese culture and teaching the separation of men and

women”’ (Fairbank 69). According to Fairbank, footbinding was an element of social order of

which created the distinction between males and females. Clearly, males were much more valued

and had a higher social status than woman but this is what created the foundation of Chinese

social order at the time. If we allow ourselves to condemn the practice, we not only judge the
 Tosunidis 4

practice of footbinding but also the social order in China. The historical context of footbinding is

also evident in Pang-Mei Natasha Chang’s work where she writes, “My amah, who came from

the countryside and whose feet were big like a man’s, said if I was good I would grow up to be

like my mother, pale and beautiful like one of the sisters in the moon” (Chang, Pang-Mei 15). In

describing her mother, Chang depicts how the social status of a woman lay within her beauty,

primarily reflected by small feet. The fact that Chang’s mother had her feet bound, shows how

fortunate she feels to have married to a man who saw her beauty. Fundamentally, if footbinding

was still practiced today and served the same purpose, we would not be able to judge the ritual

because we would be opposing a woman’s pursuit of happiness in life. To continue, Jung

Chang’s narrative presents the effect on Chinese men footbinding had which evidently pleased

the women as well. Jung Chang explains, “[A woman’s] greatest assets were her bound feet...The

sight of a woman teetering on bound feet was supposed to have an erotic effect on men, partly

because her vulnerability induced a feeling of protectiveness in the onlooker” (Chang, Jung 24).

This quote further reinforces the fact that the effects of footbinding pleased both men and

women. The women were honored by men and were able to stand out with their bound feet.

Cohen would most likely support condoning the matter, especially in this case, because the

effects of footbinding clearly were valuable for the women despite undergoing such painful

procedures. Through it all, all three works present evidence supporting that we must look deeper

into the issue and condone the practice because footbinding primarily was beneficial for Chinese

women.