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Concubines and Foot Binding
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What are concubines?
A concubine is a woman who cohabits with a man whom she is not legally married to. Concubines generally served two purposes:
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1. to increase a man’s prestige through his capacity to produce children
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2. to provide limitless opportunities for the man to indulge in his sexual desires
What is Foot Binding?
Foot binding was the custom of applying tight binding to the feet of young girls to alter the shape and size of their feet. This was often practiced in China- beginning from the Tang dynasty until the early 20th century. Bound feet were considered a status symbol as well as a mark of beauty. Having bound feet would drastically affect a woman’s balance, her ability to walk, and her posture.
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