Foot binding was a Chinese tradition in which young girls' feet were broken and tightly bound in order to alter their shape and size.

These shoes were used by women in China with bound feet. They were called "lotus shoes".

Feet of a Chinese woman, showing the effect of foot-binding.

An X-ray of two bound feet.

It has been estimated that by the 19th century, 40–50% of all Chinese women may have had bound feet, rising to almost 100% in upper-class Chinese women.

Foot binding was a painful practice that significantly limited the mobility of women...

... resulting in lifelong disabilities for most of its subjects, including the inability to walk quickly and significant pain and discomfort while walking.

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A small foot in China, no different from a tiny waist in Victorian England, represented the height of female refinement. For families with marriageable daughters, foot size translated into its own form of currency. http://t.ly/nOGS 

TIL women have been treated as objects since forever

The most common problem with bound feet was infection. Despite the amount of care taken in regularly trimming the toenails, they would often in-grow, becoming infected and causing injuries to the toes.

Sometimes, for this reason, the girl's toenails would be peeled back and removed altogether. The tightness of the binding meant that the circulation in the feet was faulty, and the circulation to the toes was almost cut off...

... so any injuries to the toes were unlikely to heal and were likely to gradually worsen and lead to infected toes and rotting flesh. Most of the women receiving treatment did not go out often and were disabled.