Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis book covers a wide array of topics concerning developments of gender relations, ethnicity, and religious and family life in the reform era (post 1979). With 5 of 11 chapters devoted to national minorities living in southwestern China, this book underscores the recent orientation among anthropologists and historians to 'ethnicize' the concepts of 'Chinese' and 'Chinese women.' Case studies and interviews provide insights into the complex mechanics of the ongoing negotiation and reinvention of gender-related beliefs, practices, and expressions of national minorities and the Han majority. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
This coherent and well-organized collection of essays makes important contributions to the study of gender in contemporary Chinese societies. Rich in ethnographic details as well as new theoretical insights, these essays highlight the ethnic and cultural diversity that exists within China. This book will be very valuable for everyone interested in gender studies, China studies, or studies of ethnicity. -- Vanessa L. Fong, Harvard University
A fresh collection spanning nearly a century and bringing the field of Chinese gender studies firmly into the diverse, marketized world of the post-socialist epoch, this multidisciplinary set of case studies is richly ethnographic, analytically imaginative and scrupulously mindful of the many traditions that still inflect gender ideology and practice among ethnic minorities and Han alike. -- Louisa Schein, Rutgers University
Women and Gender in Contemporary Chinese Societies is an important book, because it will help us give up our stereotypes about Chinese family and gender. Local case-study chapters remind us forcefully that there has never been a monolithic 'Chinese family,' but rather great diversity both among the minorities and among the majority Han Chinese. Even more importantly, reports based on recent ethnographic fieldwork show us that there is a family and gender revolution going on— power relations between men and women, between seniors and juniors are changing rapidly, fertility has declined sharply, families are focused on the young. And case studies from recent history and literature demonstrate how these changes are reflected in cultural expressions. Reading the studies in this book both broadens our understanding and brings our ideas of gender and family in China up to date. -- Stevan Harrell, University of Washington
Table of ContentsPreface by Rubie S. Watson Introduction: Toward Multiethnic Approaches to Women and Gender in Chinese Societies, Shanshan Du Part 1: Competing Traditions Chapter 1: The Cultural Logic that Identifies “Two” as “One”: Male-Female Dyad and Gender Equality among the Lahu of Southwest China, Shanshan Du Chapter 2: Negotiating Local Tradition with Taoism: Female Ritual Specialists in the Zhuang Religion, James Wilkerson Chapter 3: Divine Compromises: The Mother of Grain and Gautama Buddha in De’ang Religion, Shanshan Du Part 2: Current Transformations Chapter 4: “The Wife Is the Boss”: Sex-Ratio Imbalance and Young Women’s Empowerment in Marriage in Rural Northeast China, Lihong Shi Chapter 5: The Han Chinese Family: The Realignment of Parenting Ideals, Sentiments, and Practices, William Jankowiak Chapter 6: Butt-Bumping Wedding Performance: Han Chinese Fetishism of Dai Marriage, Monica Cable Chapter 7: As Mothers and Wives: Women in Patrilineal Nuosu (Yi) Society, Shao-hua Liu Part 3: Resistance from Within Chapter 8: The Nude Parade of 1927: Nudity and Women’s Liberation During the Republican Era, Chia-lin Pao Tao Chapter 9: Resistance through Transformation? The Meanings of Gender Reversals in a Taiwanese Buddhist Monastery, Hillary Crane Chapter 10: “Chinese Cinematic Martial Arts Feminism” and Its Incompletion: Case Studies of A Touch of Zen, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and The Banquet, Ya-Chen Chen Chapter 11: Art as Life/Life as Art: The Fiction and Feminist Paradigm of Li Ang, Murray A. Rubinstein Index About the Contributors
