Answer:
Footbinding, an ancient Chinese tradition, involved tightly wrapping young girls' feet, causing them to stop growing and become deformed. This practice reinforced gender inequality by limiting women's ability to move around, keeping them mainly at home and reinforcing traditional gender roles. Small, bound feet were seen as beautiful and made women more desirable for marriage, which further emphasized their inferior status compared to men. Footbinding also made women rely more on men for help and support, showing how men held more power in society. Additionally, it controlled women's behavior by discouraging activities that were considered inappropriate. Overall, footbinding was a way to keep women subordinate to men, showing how cultural customs could keep certain groups of people oppressed.