foot-binding

American  

[foot-bahyn-ding] / ˈfʊtˌbaɪn dɪŋ /

noun

1. (formerly in China) the act or practice of tightly binding the feet of infant girls to keep the feet as small as possible.

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Example Sentences

At least Keziah wasn’t tip-toeing around to mimic bound feet in a play set a millennium before foot-binding became a thing in China, as in perhaps the most absurd example of cultural appropriation I’ve witnessed.

From The Guardian • May 4, 2018

Our feet and spines will unknot, and high heels will fade from consciousness along with foot-binding and rib removal to shrink your waist.

From The New Yorker • May 16, 2016

Instead of twiggy 1960s doll-like languor, our models more often portray a kind of wolfish, predatory and materialistic vision, with $2,000 handbags and platform heels that make Chinese foot-binding look enlightened.

From The Guardian • Feb. 20, 2013

As one mandarin warned in the late 19th century, foot-binding made China "a laughingstock in the eyes of foreigners."

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 25, 2010

To curry favour with her the ladies-in-waiting in the palace bound theirs to imitate the appearance of hers, and so the custom of foot-binding was commenced that has lasted all these ages.

From Sidelights on Chinese Life by Macgowan, J. (John)