Well, at one point bound feat was considering the pinnacle of sophistication and beauty. For those who don't know what that is, it's basically self mutilation, I'm not going to post a picture here.
Um, I'm pretty sure that wasn't for beauty, but for showing royalty/wealth. Women who's feet were bound were wealthy and usually of royal birth and therefore didn't have to work and had servants to care for all their needs. At least that's how it was if I'm remembering correctly... :unsure: