王佳薇 Carrie

    From birth to funeral, people have adopted so many traditions and continually follow them without knowing their meaning. However, I think many traditions should die.

    “A pretty woman has a long neck” is a tradition in a region in Thailand. The women in that region stretch their necks by wearing brass rings. They think the longer the women’s necks are, the more beautiful they are. Girls above five years old start wearing a copper ring and the number of rings can be increased as the girls age. Most of them remove the rings only three times in their lives.

    I remember that China had an old custom just like long-necked women — it was foot-binding. Foot-binding was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China.

    However, the injury was permanent especially when a girl’s arches or toes were broken. They wore elegantly embroidered silk shoes. Walking on bound feet, they had to bend the knees slightly and sway to maintain balance. This swaying walk became known as the Lotus Gait and was considered sexy by men.

    Bound feet made women dependent on their family, particularly their men, and, therefore, became a symbol of chastity and male ownership.

    With the globalization of society, many traditions such as foot-binding have been abandoned. But they still exist in some remote areas to satisfy travelers’ curiosity. I believe they should be abandoned and don’t deserve to be preserved.