Because foot binding was seen as essential if you were to marry into a rich family, mothers would often bind their eldest daughter’s feet in the hope that they could marry into money and keep their youngest’s feet in working order so that they could work in the fields. Trying to imagine the desperation of a mother and the screams of the child is a bleak thought indeed.

The ideal length for these hideously modified feet was about 7cm, this was known as the “Golden Lotus”. Men found these small feet incredibly erotic and a Qing Dynasty sex manual mentions 48 separate ways to play with bound feet. The men would of course not want to see the naked feet themselves, as it would break the illusion (no shit) and on top of that they would stink of rotting flesh.

The men enjoyed the shuffling walk because of it’s “grace” but it also meant their wife couldn’t go far without him and enhanced his feelings of ownership of his woman. Men were also under the impression that the tottering walk (where the women would pretty much just walk on their heels as their toes were useless) tightened vaginal muscles.