Description
Book SynopsisSporting Gender is the first book to explore the rise to fame of female athletes in China during its national crisis of 1931-45 brought on by the Japanese invasion. By re-mapping lives and careers of these athletes, administrators, and film actors within a wartime context, Gao shows how they coped with the conflicting demands of nationalist causes, unwanted male attention, and modern fame. Addressing themes of state control, media influence, fashion, and changing gender roles, she argues that the athletic female form helped to create a new ideal of modern womanhood in China at a time when women's emancipation and national needs went hand in hand. This book brings vividly to life the histories of these athletes and demonstrates how intertwined they were with the aims of the state and the needs of society.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 Zhang Huilan (1898-1996): The “Mother of Women’s Modern Physical Education”
2 Nationalist and Feminist Discourses on Jianmei (Robust Healthy Beauty)
3 The Basketball Team of the Private Liangjiang Women’s Tiyu Normal School
4 The Evanescent Glory of the Track Queens
5 “Miss China,” Yang Xiuqiong (1918-82): A Female Olympic Swimmer
6 Sportswomen on Screen: The “Athletic Movie Star,” Li Lili (1915-2005)
Conclusion
Notes; Glossary of Chinese Terms, Titles, and Names; Bibliography; Index
