New Feminism in China : Young Middle-Class Chinese Women in Shanghai

This book is based on rich empirical data and findings concerning the lives, perceptions and ambitions of young middle-class female graduates, thus providing essential insights into the lives and viewpoints of a previously unresearched group in China from a feminist scholarly perspective. The study shows how the lives of young women and debates over youthful femininity lie at the very heart of modern Chinese history and society. With a central focus on women's issues, the book's ultimate goal is to enable Western readers to better understand the changing ideologies and the overall social domain of China under the leadership of President Xi. The empirical data presented includes interviews and group discussions, as well as illustrations, tables and images collected during a prolonged period of fieldwork. The insights shared here will facilitate cross-cultural communication with both Western feminist academics and readers who are sensitive to different cultures. Acknowledgements 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 9 Abbreviations 8 Introduction 11 Rosy Future for Girls 11 Gender Equality Matters 13 Contextual Overview 14 Successful Chinese Girls 17 Book Organisation 19 1 Chinese Women and Feminism 21 Women’s Movements in Progress 22 Women’s/Gender Studies: An Emerging Field 28 Unique Characteristics 30 Critique of Marxist Theory on Women 33 Theoretical Re-construction 36 Conclusion: An Unusual Way for Chinese Women 40 2 Feminism in the Third Wave 43 Bodily Practice and Sexuality 44 The Education-Work Dilemma 47 Being Daughter and Being Wife 50 Political Engagement, Young Citizens and Feminist Agenda 53 Conclusion: Feminism Becomes Young 57 3 Feminist Epistemology and Approach 59 Qualitative Inquiry 60 Feminist Concerns 65 Research Approach 68 Dealing with Data 72 Conclusion: Doing Feminist Research in China 76 4 Chinese Beauty and Femininity 78 Straight-Black-Hair-Ness 80 Try Something New 84 Brand, Power and Urban New Class 87 Urban Lifestyles and Luxury Consumption 93 Conclusion: Local or Global? 97 5 The Work-Marriage Dilemma 99 Cowgirl in Work 101 Coping Strategies 104 Eve’s Passion Fruit 109 The ‘Goddess’ and ‘Erotic Capital’ 111 ‘Leftover Woman’ 113 Conclusion: How to Have a Perfect Marriage? 118 6 A Pampered Daughter 120 How to Become a ‘Good’ Daughter 122 Modern Chinese Family 126 Expectations for Daughter’s Academic Achievement 130 Resistance and Negotiation 135 Conclusion: Act Like a Girl 137 7 Her China Dreams 140 Joining Communist Party: Pros and Cons 142 Dilemma of Chinese Patriotism 145 Female + Ism: Soft and Independent 149 Global Citizen and China Dreams 153 Conclusion: Toward the Future 156 8 Scenarios 159 Scenario 1: The Ambivalent ‘Post’ Condition 159 Scenario 2: ‘Chinese Modernity’ and ‘China Dreams’ 163 Scenario 3: Troubling Gender in Higher Education 165 Conclusion: Doing Feminism in China 167 Appendix 1: A Brief Note on Romanisation of Chinese Names and Pronunciation 168 Appendix 2: Problems of Using Ethnographic Methods in China 170 Appendix 3: Categorisation of Chinese ‘Class’ in the Book 172 Appendix 4: A Brief Introduction of China’s Tiered City System and City Geography of Shanghai 173 Appendix 5: Participant Demographics 176 Appendix 6a: Participant Information Sheet 179 Appendix 6b: Participant Consent Form 180 Appendix 7: Samples of Interview Questions 182 Bibliography 186 Based on rich empirical data and findings concerning the lives, perceptions and ambitions of young middle-class women graduates, this book provides insight into the lives and perceptions of a previously un-researched group in China from a feminist scholarly perspective. This study shows how the lives of young women and debates over youthful femininity lie at the very heart of modern Chinese history and society. With the central focus of women's issues, the ultimate concerns for this book is for facilitating Western readers to better understand the changing ideologies and the overall social domain of China under the leadership of President Xi. The empirical data displayed in this book include interviews, group discussions and additionally, illustrations, tables and other forms of images collected during a prolonged period of fieldwork. The insights presented in this book contribute to the cross-cultural communication with both Western feminist academics and readers who are sensible to different cultures Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Chinese Women and Feminism....Pages 1-22 Feminism in the Third Wave....Pages 23-38 Feminist Epistemology and Approach....Pages 39-57 Chinese Beauty and Femininity....Pages 59-79 The Work-Marriage Dilemma....Pages 81-101 A Pampered Daughter....Pages 103-122 Her China Dreams....Pages 123-141 Scenarios....Pages 143-151 Back Matter....Pages 153-189