"The beauty of a Chinese woman," says Dr. Matignon, "resides
largely in her foot. 'A foot which is not deformed is a
dishonor,' says a poet. For the husband the foot is more
interesting than the face. Only the husband may see his wife's
foot naked. A Chinese woman is as reticent in showing her feet to
a man as a European woman her breasts. I have often had to treat
Chinese women with ridiculously small feet for wounds and
excoriations, the result of tight-bandaging. They exhibited the
prudishness of school-girls, blushed, turned their backs to
unfasten the bandages, and then concealed the foot in a cloth,
leaving only the affected part uncovered. Modesty is a question
of convention; Chinese have it for their feet," (J. Matignon, "A
propos d'un Pied de Chinoise," _Archives d'Anthropologie
Criminelle_, 1898, p. 445.)

Among the Yakuts of Northeast Siberia, "there was a well-known
custom according to which a bride should avoid showing herself or
her uncovered body to her father-in-law. In ancient times, they
say, a bride concealed herself for seven years from her
father-in-law, and from the brothers and other masculine
relations of her husband.... The men also tried not to meet her,
saying, 'The poor child will be ashamed.' If a meeting could not
be avoided the young woman put a mask on her face.... Nowadays,
the young wives only avoid showing to their male relatives-in-law
the uncovered body. Amongst the rich they avoid going about in
the presence of these in the chemise alone. In some places, they
lay especial emphasis on the fact that it is a shame for young
wives to show their uncovered hair and feet to the male relatives
of their husbands. On the other side, the male relatives of the
husband ought to avoid showing to the young wife the body