--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Attempts to limit female mobility by…" description: "\"Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Niger..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/alison-lurie-19529_ancient_attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-ham_1640681.png" --- # Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion… ![“Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of loading women's legs with pounds of heavy brass wire are extreme examples, but all over the world similar stratagems have been…” quote by Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/alison-lurie-19529_ancient_attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-ham_1640681.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/alison-lurie-19529_ancient_attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-ham_1640681.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/alison-lurie-19529_ancient_attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-ham_1640681.png) > “Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of loading women's legs with pounds of heavy brass wire are extreme examples, but all over the world similar stratagems have been employed to make sure that once you have caught a woman she cannot run away, and even if she stays around she cannot keep up with you. ... Literally as well as figuratively modern women's shoes are what keeps Samantha from running as fast as Sammy.” [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical attempts to restrict women's freedom often use physical constraints, reflecting broader power dynamics that limit autonomy. **In simple terms:** Physical restraints symbolize broader oppression of women. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge constraints on women's freedom. Themes gender oppression freedom Mood critical empathetic Type social political When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - education - design of women's footwear Key Concepts feminist theory social control Questions to Reflect On - What modern practices still limit women's mobility? - How can design promote gender equity? A Different Perspective Cultural change alone may not remove deep‑rooted biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brass/) [Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Locomotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locomotion/) [Modern woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-woman/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-away/) [Samantha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/samantha/) [Sexism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexism/) [Stratagem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stratagem/) [Upper class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-class/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ The \[first\] argument asserts the non-existence of motion on the ground that that which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeno-of-elea/the-first-argument-asserts-the-non-existence-of-motion-on-the-ground/) [Zeno of Elea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeno-of-elea/) > [Methods of locomotion have improved greatly in recent years, but places to go remain about the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-herold/methods-of-locomotion-have-improved-greatly-in-recent-years-but/) [Don Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-herold/) > [“And that would be my method of locomotion, the Lion concluded. 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Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-j-russell/) > [“There is this to be said for walking: it is the one method of human locomotion by which a man or woman proceeds erect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-this-to-be-said-for-walking-it-is-the-one-method-of-human/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/walking-takes-longer-than-any-other-known-form-of-locomotion-except/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [There are some good things to be said about walking. Not many, but some. Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-are-some-good-things-to-be-said-about-walking-not-many-but-some/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In the same spirit, when the automobile arrived, there were those that declared the horse to be the most perfect form of locomotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/in-the-same-spirit-when-the-automobile-arrived-there-were-those-that/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) ## More by Alison Lurie > [America has a history of political isolation and economic self-sufficiency; its citizens have tended to regard the rest of the world as a disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/america-has-a-history-of-political-isolation-and-economic-self/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [You get into the habit of being angry and hurt by life, and then when something good happens you can't accept it because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/you-get-into-the-habit-of-being-angry-and-hurt-by-life-and-then-when/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [With a pencil and paper, I could revise the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/with-a-pencil-and-paper-i-could-revise-the-world/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [We can lie in the language of dress or try ot tell the truth; but unless we are naked and bald, it is impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-can-lie-in-the-language-of-dress-or-try-ot-tell-the-truth-but/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [There is a peculiar burning odor in the room, like explosives. the kitchen fills with smoke and the hot, sweet, ashy smell of scorched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/there-is-a-peculiar-burning-odor-in-the-room-like-explosives-the/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-is-power/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Grosvenor and Burke suggest that continually, though silently, a school building tells students who they are and how they should think about the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/grosvenor-and-burke-suggest-that-continually-though-silently-a-school/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Many Americans think of the rest of the world as a kind of Disneyland, a showplace for quaint fauna, flora and artifacts. They dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/many-americans-think-of-the-rest-of-the-world-as-a-kind-of-disneyland/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [The fashion industry is no more able to preserve a style that men and women have decided to abandon than to introduce one they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/the-fashion-industry-is-no-more-able-to-preserve-a-style-that-men-and/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [If nothing will finally survive of life besides what artists report of it, we have no right to report what we know to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/if-nothing-will-finally-survive-of-life-besides-what-artists-report/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Real literature, like travel, is always a surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/real-literature-like-travel-is-always-a-surprise/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [As one went to Europe to see the living past, so one must visit Southern California to observe the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/as-one-went-to-europe-to-see-the-living-past-so-one-must-visit/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“In most novels it is taken for granted that people over fifty are as set in their ways as elderly apple trees, and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/in-most-novels-it-is-taken-for-granted-that-people-over-fifty-are-as/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“Having a chronic illness, Molly thought, was like being invaded. 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I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of loading women's legs with pounds of heavy brass wire are extreme examples, but all over the world similar stratagems have been employed to make sure that once you have caught a woman she cannot run away, and even if she stays around she cannot keep up with you. ... 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