Womens oppressing in fashion and laws

Research Question: How is Chinese foot binding an example of systemic patriarchy?

“Women are silenced through laws, traditions.” Dawn [Karachi, Pakistan], 5 Oct. 2019. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601737243/STND?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=8f334b7f. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

Dr Afiya Shehrbano Zia, a feminist researcher, discusses how laws or things in the name of culture or traditions can be a catalyst to oppress women. A book, Disputed Legacies: The Pakistan Papers at Government College University, Lahore, referenced a lot about how the increase of sexual violence and the silence over this violence has created a normalization of it. Because no one does anything about it nor acknowledges it in the context of South Asia, it allows perpetrators to rise and makes laws granting them more leeway. It is talked about how no matter if it’s during war or peacetime, violence against women is constant, and it’s because the nature of such dynamics is not seen in a criminal manner.

This oppression of women correlates with the idea of systematic patriarchy because the concept of this is that men are privileged through the law or the societal system. It is evident through this text that things such as Chinese foot binding or the idea of wearing corsets to find a good sutor were so impactful and normalized due to the people benefiting from being quiet about the situation.

Homeward bound: My Chinese grandmother’s tiny feet point the way toward a heritage I never knew: By janet wu. (1999, Sep 05). New York Times (1923-) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/homeward-bound/docview/110146003/se-2 

Homeward Bound by Janet Wu reflects how she felt connecting with her Chinese mother, who had bounded feet. She explains how this was a painful practice that suppressed women. Wu talks about her experience growing up in America with her grandmother, who was foot-bounded. The idea of tradition was tricky for Wu. Her father left China and remarried in the U.S., and so growing up, there was a big disconnect with her Chinese culture. She has tried to reconnect by going to China twice to see her grandmother, but through her trips, she noticed a physical and emotional barrier between them. On her second visit before her grandma’s death, she notices how much culture and time that can not be gained back. She ends this by wishing to bridge the gap between her culture and history, which she symbolizes with her grandmother’s tiny feet.

This relates to my topic as this culture of suppressing women took much of their freedom and made them dependent on a man purely focused on beauty. Wu not being able to connect with her grandmother due to how different their lives are is genuinely heartbreaking and makes one understand that foot binding did not only affect the physical but one’s mental state.

Li, Wei. Renovating Confucian ideas for gender equality: an inquiry of Confucian feminist debates in modern China. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 25 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04349-8 

Renovating Confucian ideas for gender equality discusses how Chinese feminists like Kang Tongbi, Qiu Jin, and Tang Qunying had Confucian values or social principles. They used principles like ren (benevolence) and yi (righteousness), and there was a responsibility both men and women needed to follow. The female virtues, as explained, were more for control as was to silence women. It created an atmosphere where women needed to obey male-regulated rules. Feminists discussed how Confucian values could provide social change and how we can try to balance tradition and societal progression.  

These principles silenced women and came to show how rules, even when discussing social principles, can Target women, making them feel responsible for staying silent and being controlled by male agendas. It also highlights the importance of social progression, even when it comes to changing certain aspects of tradition.

“Japan’s women say sayonara to suppression.” Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 3 Jan. 1990, p. A7. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A164519211/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=summon&xid=303a3969. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.   

In Japan women in workspaces have faced expectations primarily due to gender. These expectations are  small ties or the idea of leaving your job after marriage to become a housewife.  did a sex scandal that formed from Prime Minister Sosuke Uno Compelled  create an outrage with women activists. This Scandal led to Japans  first sexual harassment lawsuit  and put forth the idea of having legal protection for  women and gender equality. Many women groups and lawyers have gathered to push legal changes in Japan. As the public learns how serious these gender stereotypes are and the idea of women and men not being the same in certain aspects, places like Japan will take it more seriously.

Due to Japan’s idea on how they be women and men their legal expectations are also altered and do not protect women in sexual harassment situations as well as they should.  it is not only sexual harassment situations but also the gender equality when it comes to jobs or small tasks Due to stereotypes this is another way women are silenced.

A FEMALE PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. (1874, Jun 18). New York Times (1857-1922) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/female-physiological-society/docview/93394673/se-2 

The article discusses A Woman’s Group in Brooklyn called the Ladies psychological Society of Brooklyn. Their goal was to oppose fashion practices  like corsets which could harm women just for the solid fact of looking beautiful. This is not the only thing they advocated for but high heel boots, false hair and other things which they believe damage Women’s Health. The members in this group follow healthy living standards and try to avoid restrictive clothing or clothing that can harm their health.  Mrs Theodore led this group out curlier who plan to  take their avocation further through lectures and education.  overall this group tried to advocate for healthier habits  for women  helping unrestricted clothing to not be a norm.

This article helps explain a lot of Women’s oppression as they explain how this group in Brooklyn was able to advocate for normality such as using a corset which can bring great harm later on in life.  Similar practices like Chinese food binding, although normalized at first through advocacy, can be stopped with women’s health in mind.