title: Feet and fabrication: footbinding and early twentieth-century rural women's labor in Shaanxi.
abstract: The early twentieth-century transformations of rural Chinese women’s work have received relatively little direct attention. By contrast, the former custom of footbinding continues to fascinate and is often used to illustrate or contest theories about Chinese women’s status. Arguing that for rural women at least, footbinding needs to be understood in relation to rural economic conditions, the authors focus on changes in textile production and in footbinding in two counties in Shaanxi province. Drawing on historical sources and their own interview data from rural women who grew up in this period, the authors find evidence that transformations in textile production undercut the custom of footbinding and contributed to its rapid demise.
authors.affiliation: McGill University.
authors.forename: Laurel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bossen
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xurui
authors.forename: Melissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Hill
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gates
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D005529:Foot Bones; D005530:Foot Deformities / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D006608:Hierarchy, Social / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D012424:Rural Population / Q000266:history; D012922:Social Change / Q000266:history; D012923:Social Class / Q000266:history; D013783:Textile Industry / Q000191:economics / Q000193:education / Q000266:history; D013784:Textiles / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D014931:Women, Working / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology