ABSTRACT
208 209One of my earliest memories is of being taken by my parents (in my hat and white gloves) to San Francisco’s Chinatown. There we saw old women hobbling around and my parents told me of the Chinese custom of binding female children’s feet. Small feet were considered beautiful, and having bound feet meant women were unable to perform taxing physical tasks, and could not run off (Levy, 1992). The process of getting small feet was lengthy and extremely painful. The practice probably began in the twelfth century in the courts of China, where women did not have to do burdensome work. Ultimately, it spread through the classes to women required to do heavy work. Once ingrained, like other customs, it was difficult to dislodge. It is a strong reminder that we are all bound by the norms and customs of our societies and our times, which place us in boxes. 1 Just as Chinese mothers placed their daughters in boxes by binding their feet, I wonder what boxes we place our children in.
