A Living History: Bound Feet Women in China
By Jo Farrel,
A selection of images from this long-term project documenting some of the last remaining women in China with bound feet. A tradition that started during the Song Dynasty, foot binding was banned in 1911 but carried on through 1939 when women had the bandages forcibly removed. Although considered just for the elite, the majority of women in this documentation were farm workers from peasant families living in rural areas. Once unbound the feet are disfigured for life with toes broken beneath the souls of the feet.