Dramatic video clip showing footbinding in ancient China – from “Snow Flower and The Secret Fan”

August 8, 2014August 3, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

“Only through pain will you find beauty,” says Snow Flower’s mother as she makes her daughter walk with her feet bound.

In my research for Bound Feet Blues, I’ve been looking into what it was like for young girls to have their feet bound. I came across the movie Snow Flower and The Secret Fan – see my blog post from earlier this week “Beaches” with Bound Feet – footbinding and female friendship – which is all about footbinding.

Here is a clip showing the sequence where one of the girls has to endure footbinding:

It is painful to watch and is a moving dramatisation of what it must have been like for little girls who had to endure this brutal process.

The one comment I would have, however, is that from my research, footbinding is a process and not just a one-off as the film suggests.

As a girl grow up, her feet keep growing so Continue reading →

“Beaches” with Bound Feet – footbinding and female friendship

August 6, 2014August 11, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In Chinese tradition, where marriages were made for social or business reasons and where women – especially those with tiny bound feet – were seen as trophies, there was a recognition that women would not find much emotional comfort, love or meaningful human connection with their husbands.

So as part of this tradition, girls were given “sworn sisters” who would be their emotional partner – rather like the “blood brothers” relationship that boys would have. These formally sanctioned and socially accepted partnerships were known as “laotongs”.

I learnt about this intriguing custom from the film Snow Flower and The Secret Fan which I discovered over the weekend, based on the novel by Lisa See. How had I not known about this touching tradition before now!

Here is the official movie trailer:

The movie is about two female friendships, one set in modern Shanghai and the other in 19th century China, during the Boxer Rebellion. The same two actresses portray the two pairs of friends. The arc of the story has echoes Continue reading →

What gorgeous barefoot sandals!

July 25, 2014July 24, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I had never heard of barefoot sandals before until my pal Vincent posted a photo on Facebook. As I am obsessing about feet and shoes and all things pedial these days due to Bound Feet Blues, I set off into the web universe to find out more.

There are some amazing and gorgeous foot adornments that can be found – here is an example. Isn’t it just gorgeous?

With this current rare heatwave in the UK, this summer might Continue reading →

Why I love this pair of battered biker boots

July 20, 2014July 19, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / 5 Comments

I’ve been blogging a lot about high heels recently and in particular, my efforts to recreate a swaying, high heeled walk for a scene in Bound Feet Blues.

To give you a contrast – and especially to show you who I am now, here is a photo of the kind of footwear that I stride around in these days.

This is the pair of biker boots that I wear most often in my daily life. They are now a bit beaten up and grungy looking. But I love them because they are the most comfortable pair of boots I have at the moment.

I love the way that they make me feel a bit tough, especially with the two strapped buckles on the side. If you know me, you know that I’m really a softy and not much of a hard-ass biker chick at all – but it gives me a kick (ha ha) to stomp around in these boots that make me feel as if I could win any bar brawl…

For me, the shoes or boots that I wear can really affect Continue reading →

You can be trained to walk perfectly poised in stilettos, says walking expert – High Heels Masterclass

July 18, 2014July 19, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I’ve been researching how the body moves when walking in high heels as part of the preparation for my solo show Bound Feet Blues. As I am performing the whole piece in bare feet, my aim is to give a flavour of the movements rather than walking in actual high heel shoes.

weak hip muscles

My Googling on the topic of walking in high heels took me to the Perfectly Poised website of a walking expert Martin Bell who offers a High Heels Masterclass. It looks like a brilliant service for all those women who Continue reading →

The Last Bound Feet Women of China [video]

July 13, 2014August 11, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

Photographer Jo Farell is documenting the last women in China with bound feet. This timely and important project tells the stories of these last remaining women who suffered the brutal practice of footbinding through intimate and respectful black and white photos.

This video gives an overview of the project and also outlines some the history and reasons for this ancient Chinese social tradition.

She funded this project via Continue reading →

What about these studded and strapped biker boots – would you wear these?

June 25, 2014June 25, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

To counter balance the pic of high heel shoes I posted recently – which are not really shoes I’d wear these days – what about this pair of studded and strapped biker boots for women?

Would you wear these?

I surely would love a pair!

Though I’m not sure about the spikes in the toes and around the rim which could do my pals some damage if I crossed my legs and accidentally grazed their shins under the cafe table as we sip our lattes…

Continue reading →

Would you get naked in front of a hundred people? Ten Women did

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

In the finale of the theatre piece Ten Women, the women on stage tried an experiment. What would it be like to show our ordinary, un-Photoshopped bodies in all their frailty and glory to the world?

The all female cast asked themselves that and also invited any members of the audience to join them. Some of the performers stripped naked, others left their underwear on and still others remained fully clothed. No-one in the audience joined them apart from the writer/director and producer who were sitting among us.

It was a powerful, uncomfortable and also celebratory end to the work in progress show exploring what being a real woman with a real body means in a society where “the image of a hyper-sexualised, grossly exaggerated, objectified woman’s body is used to sell pretty much anything”.

TEN WOMEN smaller

Written and directed by Bethan Dear and produced by Amy Clamp from true stories drawn from the other women in the ensemble, Ten Women is a thought provoking piece that tells … Continue reading →

Is there such a thing as “the good Malaysian woman”? This exhibition in Kuala Lumpur investigates

May 15, 2014May 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

The Good Malaysian Woman exhibtion looks like a fascinating exhibition of Malaysian artists exploring “questions that affect women like “whose view”, “what is right or wrong”, “who judges” and “should they judge”.”

Bound Feet Blues explores what it means to be a woman within Chinese culture, going back to ancient times when women in China had bound feet and paralleling that with my own experience of growing up in Malaysia. It touches on gender roles, female desirability and conformity – all themes being explored by the artists in this exhibition.

The exhibition is supported by…

Continue reading →

Super-Models risk injury walking in High Heels

May 11, 2014May 30, 2014 / Yang-May Ooi / Leave a comment

I used to think it was just me – that I couldn’t walk in high heels. I don’t know how many times I’ve sprained my ankles over the years wearing heels, supposedly in order to look poised and elegant. And it is excruciating when that ankle twists over and you can feel and hear your ligaments go crack…

This YouTube video shows that even
Continue reading →