Reference to feet binding in China: In what other ways are women "bounded" by society today?

This question was initially a difficult one to answer. It was surfacing on something more specific, perhaps linking foot binding to a similar instance of modern day oppression of women. However, the more I read the question, the broader the question seemed, and thus I retreated to answer the question as if I were answering the same question about female oppression that has been resurfacing recently. My frustration does not lie in the question itself, but in the feeling that there is another level of understanding we have lingered above penetrating.

Frustration aside, I responded to two facets of the prompt. My first reaction was to examine the stereotypes that women today face, and the means available by which this idea of beauty is attainable. Stereotypical beauty can be broken down on three levels: behavior, dress, and physicality. Behavior refers to the mannerisms and intentional portrayal of oneself for the purpose of being attractive and desired. Dress refers to what is socially accepted as attractive attire i.e. tight shirts, tight jeans. Physicality refers to what is a stereotypically attractive body: being thin, tall, curvaceous, sultry, etc. In the societal standards of what is considered attractive in America, women are compared to these standards, and thus in a sense are "bound" by them.

The other approach I took to this prompt was that of gender roles and discrimination today. Gender discrimination is evident in the workplace, where women of similar education attainment of men still earn less in comparison, and are less likely to receive authoritative positions over men. Also, stereotyping remains from the typical roles that women have served in the past. The housewife or subservient nature of women from the past effects women today in that expectations of them are not as high as they are for men. In this way, women are "bound" by the stereotypes that define their gender roles.

There is no denying that women are somewhat "bound" today as a result of their gender. The question remains: what has made the circumstances better today than they were during the days of foot binding?