Social Justice and Peace Studies 1025F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Foot Binding, Clitoridectomy, Middle Ages
14 Dec 2018
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Socljust 1025f lesson 8 structural oppression & patriarchy. Patriarchy: rule of the father , social system of male dominance. Women have been an oppressed & subordinate group. Starting from france in the 16th century, it was attractive for women to look like hourglasses. They were seen as intellectually inferior & too sexually distracting to be able to participate in the public realm. Not keep her job if she was pregnant. Not get taken seriously if abused by husband/boyfriend. Faced enormous cultural pressure to be petite, polite, submissive, caregiver, etc. Not supposed to be athletic, work out, enjoy sex, be smart, be economically independent, etc. The view of the inferiority of women continued well into the 20th century. Ancient china (10-11th century), there began a tradition of binding women"s feet. The foot would be broken & cloth would be bound tightly around the feet of young girls to prevent further growth. Ideal foot would stay smaller than 4 inches long.
