Foot binding

The Chinese historically have been guilty of performing what individuals in the West may perceive to be highly manipulative acts toward their own people. It is the norm within the endemic culture of China to adjust attributes that are deemed undesirable. For the why, see Deviating from the crowd. A prime example of this sort of thing is the ancient and, now, outdated practice of foot binding. Young girls used to have bones in their feet broken and systematically bound so that their feet shrink to a very tiny and delicate form. Other forms of manipulation include adjusting someone’s handedness. For instance, my dad is naturally a left-handed individual and, in his youth, my grandmother felt the need to adjust his handedness because it was considered inauspicious to be a lefty (he’s still a lefty).

Under this presumption, I have a theory that my parents ever since I was young have tried to adjust my sexual orientation behind my back. I think they knew ever since I was a child that I could be gay (children typically aren’t that good at hiding) and so they, for instance, really wanted me to play sports and enforced it–despite the fact that I’m not a particularly sports-inclined person. I imagine this line of thinking is not uncommon for many parents who lean conservative. However, sometimes this tactic may backfire by leaving permanent and indelible mental scarring: as may have been the case for me being the first and only member of my family to have bipolar. Yet, we are talking about children here and, at the end of the day, you can’t pick your parents.