Hi Candace!

> RE: Foot binding...but doesn't this surpass any cultural
> standards and fit into what is humane, and what is not?

What is humane is subjective.  One might think abortion and
euthanasia are humane, and someone else might disagree.  One
might drown extra  kittens and puppies, and one might insist
upon giving them to an animal shelter.  Look at the changes
in psychiatric care - just in the last few decades - and
you'll understand the subjectivity involved in such
judgments.

> Corsets were a choice,

If you were a woman in the late 18th through late 19th
century, moving in certain social circles, corsets were NOT
a choice.  Peer pressure can be a whole lot worse than
parental and familial pressure . . .

> foot binding was not. And the pain NEVER ceased, from
> what I understand.

There seem to be discrepancies.  A quotation from the Museum
of the City of San Francisco web page I suggested in my
previous post:

        "Despite the difficulties we observed, women with
        bound feet did not have greater difficulty preparing
        meals, walking or climbing steps,” Cummings says,
        adding that these women may have accommodated
        to their impairments or may be reluctant to complain.

> We had a missionary associated with the religious group
> our museum interprets who spent 40 years in China
> helping to solve this problem and others...

Naturally, one must ask who saw this as a problem?  Did the
Chinese people?  Did ALL the Chinese people?  Did SOME
Chinese people?  Certainly those responsible for the
Revolution in 1911 saw it as a problem.  But was it viewed
as a physical problem (i.e., 'We should not cause this great
pain to women") OR as a social and economic problem (i.e.,
"These women are more useful if their feet are not bound" or
"This is mostly a luxury for aristocrats and we must remove
this symbol of inequality")?

OR, was it missionaries - such as the one to whom you
refer - who saw this as a problem?  After all, we've all
heard stories about how missionaries misunderstood many
cultural practices amongst many native peoples and host
populations.  Judgments based on Christian theology nearly
managed to wipe out the native peoples of North America and
have caused generational problems for natives who feel
'lost' from their culture after having been displaced,
"re-educated" and Westernized to Eurocentric standards.

> now of course imposing our Christian American standards
> probably wasn't a great idea either, but helping women to
> walk properly without pain certainly seemd like a good
> mission.

First, the United States of America, was founded by
Christians AND Theists/Pantheists.  Additionally, nearly one
quarter of the American population is not Christian.  (So,
associating "Christian" and "American" as if they are
"standard" displaces one-quarter of the population . . .
which may very well offend many Americans.)

On the matter of pain, refer to Cummings quotation above.

Sincerely,

Jay Heuman, Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
342-3300 (telephone)     342-2376 (fax)     www.joslyn.org

Copyright retained.
My opinions - no one else's.
If you have a problem with what I wrote, take it up with me
personally.
If this is illegal where you are, do not read it!

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).