The Golden Lotus

One sunny morning, scrolling through Instagram, I was directed to a site showing young girls being trained to do a “cat walk”.  Staggering on incredibly high heels, the muscles in their skinny legs as taught as a violin string, they looked tense and anxious.  I couldn’t help but wonder about the impact of the sustained strain on their bodies and their minds.  Watching their painful struggle reminded me of ‘the Golden Lotus’, the Chinese version of this age-old abuse of women’s bodies for the male gaze.   

Gold thread embroidery on paper