What do you think?
Rate this book
Asia: Local Studies / Global Themes
Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities: A Reader
The past two centuries have witnessed tremendous upheavals in every aspect of Chinese culture and society. At the level of everyday life, some of the most remarkable transformations have occurred in the realm of gender. Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities is a mix of illuminating historical and ethnographic studies of gender from the 1700s to the present.
The essays in this highly creative collection are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities. While most of the essays were specifically written for this volume, a few are reprinted as a testament to their enduring value.
Exploring the central role of gender as an organizing principle of Chinese social life, Chinese Femininities/ Chinese Masculinities is an innovative reader that will spark new debate in a wide range of disciplines.
The essays in this highly creative collection are organized in pairs that alternate in focus between femininity and masculinity, between subjects traditionally associated with feminism (such as family life) and those rarely considered from a gendered point of view (like banditry). The chapters provide a wealth of interesting detail on such varied topics as court cases involving widows and homosexuals; ideal spouses of early-twentieth-century radicals; changing images of prostitutes; the masculinity of qigong masters; sexuality in the era of reform; and the eroticization of minorities. While most of the essays were specifically written for this volume, a few are reprinted as a testament to their enduring value.
Exploring the central role of gender as an organizing principle of Chinese social life, Chinese Femininities/ Chinese Masculinities is an innovative reader that will spark new debate in a wide range of disciplines.
489 pages, Paperback
First published December 8, 2001
1 person is currently reading
104 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 8, 2020
A great collection of insights from many angles on gender in China. The articles touch on the changing faces of law, crime, medicine, obscenity, rebellion, pollution, romance, and more. Through it all, we have a drama of conflicting visions for better relations between the sexes. We have a longing for equality, but with rapidly changing images of what equality looks like.
October 30, 2019
In chapter 2, Sommer incorporated the legal records and vernacular fictions into the frame preset by his binary articulation of males and females as the penetrator and the penetrated. Articulation is not rigorous enough.
June 23, 2007
I read a few articles about penetrators/penetrated in Qing Era, "brothers" during the CR, and women's work in the PRC.
Cool stuff!
Good intro and outro on state/history of the field.
Cool stuff!
Good intro and outro on state/history of the field.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews