The Roles that Gender and Sexuality Play in Z's Identity as a Chinese Woman - Book Report/Review Example

The roles that gender and sexuality play in Zs identity as a Chinese woman A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers is a story about identity,culture, misunderstandings and how we perceive the world around us solely through the means of language and vocabulary. Zhuang, who is the writer of this novel depicts her journey as a young women from rural Chine into the Western world, where she tries to learn the language and comprehend love and heartache in its English version. The shaping of character’s identity begins at the very beginning with the tongue-tied Englishmen who can not pronounce her name, so she calls herself Z. in short. The novel is also about cultural and gender differences between Chinese and English and what it means to be one of these cultures. More than anything the heroine relies on her small Concise Chinese-English Dictionary to initially understand people. This eventually turns into a humorous and ironic situations, where words’ meaning express the world around us. The storyline traces how Z. progresses with her grammar, vocabulary and understanding and how this is invigorated by an intense romance with a man who she met at the cinema. Looking up the words on the dictionary only provide a general idea of what they stand for, often Z. could not explain what they actually mean. The consuming romance she got involved with seems promising at the beginning. Her boyfriend is 44-year-old, hippie, bisexual vegetarian and lives in Hackney, as a typical western man he does not like to discuss his feelings. Cultural and gender misunderstanding can ruin the relationship even between the tenderest lovers. This is what Z. tries to communicate to the readers. Z. is genuinely baffled by the Western civilization. She explains “Chinese, we not having grammar. We saying things simple way. No verb-change usage, no tense differences, no gender changes. We bosses of our language” (24). This is the first time that we are introduced to the fact that in Chinese language they do not differentiate between the genders. Z. also notes another linguistic difference. “English is a sexist language … always talking about mans, no womans” (26). We may say that this observation places Z. and her identity within the context of Chinese culture. Z’s perspective for a relationship or what constitutes the partner’s behaviour is rather conservative when compared to the western views. The Chinese identity does not allow Z. to be a free woman. This is culturally embedded and she can not chance her attitude. She is constantly aware of the fact that there is always some distance between her and the man she is in relationship with. “You a man of free world. I am not free, like you” (113). The readers are shown that gender liberties are not allowed in China and that women are restricted. Z. is well aware of her social and economic standing too. She is coming from a developing country where traditions rule the rural areas as well as the social and cultural life in China. “In the West, in this country, I am barbarian, illiterate peasant girl, a face of third world, and irresponsible foreigner” (153). What needs to be mentioned here is that there is a difference between how the English see the Chinese and vice versa. The Chinese girl is seen as poor, savage and uneducated. The English on the other hand are perceived as pompous and reserved. Z. compares and concludes that those individuals who control their lives and people with self-respect. “You are boss of yourself, so you have dignity” (184). Man having the freedom to do as he wishes, is the master of his life, therefore possesses the nobility that others do not have. Sadly, as it might be this is the reality that Z. experiences. To an extent she is a victim of her own cultural prejudices and judgmental observations. Throughout the novel we can witness that Z. progresses not only in her vocabulary, but also in building up her personality, as an adult and as a Chinese woman. At the end she admits that England is the country where she became adult and among her major discoveries are her sex experiences. Z.’s boyfriend loves her, with joy and vigour, but it becomes obvious that they have insurmountable differences – mainly in their cultural, intellectual, and social background. To Z. as a woman with Chinese identity love is a mutual act. This is a commitment that eradicates privacy and for instance gives her the right to read her boyfriend’s diaries and permits her to be honest about it and tells him so. In a general sense it is in woman’s nature to desire love in the sense of creating a home, children, family. These are intrinsically related to the strong family ties in Chinese culture and they are passed as cultural heritage from generation to generation. It also establishes the conservative stance that Z. is reconstructing during her stay in England. Love to Z. is not only commitment but it is security, because it is accomplished as a community action. The man Z. has fallen in love with is more casual. He is twice her age, he is a hippie and a bohemian sort of man. He believes to be an artist who is drifting through life and thinks that “the future only comes when it comes”. Therefore, he is a man who is not thinking about family and home, he lives day by day, nothing lasts forever. As a man he values his independence and love for him as essential as long as it encompasses the precious moment that today gives, not the ephemeral promises of the future and tomorrow. Lust, soon becomes an issue for Z. since this perception was not developed in her Chinese cultural identity. Z. begins to learn the potential for the sexual longing and the need to restrain it. The two lovers literary occupy diametrically opposite lifestyles, viewpoints and perceptions, because they belong to different cultures, languages and sensations. This defines the relationship between Z. and her boyfriend and helps Z. transit into adulthood, as well as to situate herself on the social, gender and identity continuum. The nameless Englishman, who is unable to commit to a home, family to steadily choose his sexual orientation and who does not plan to commit at all in his relationship with Z. seems to be the stereotype of Western males seen through Z.’s perspective. Her inability to comprehend her boyfriend mirrors the failure to grasp what English culture is all about. Her lover’s failings – mainly his ultimate self-absorption, senseless treatment to Z, simply demonstrates Z.’s observations that Western culture is preoccupied with the individual self, lacks community feeling or belonging and interconnection between people. Throughout the book it seems that Z. change her opinion about what is means to be woman, because she discovers the difference that English and Chinese cultures, beliefs and values store for their gender role, society and identities. The significance in those changes matter insofar that she begins to construct different ideas about Western gender roles and Chinese. Her sexuality and identity modify throughout the book. The changes begin at the very beginning when she introduces herself as Z. It seems that she is following the saying “When in Rome, do as Romans.” However, it is difficult to life a singled our life as a Chinese girl in a Western society. You are expected to become one of them. Something which Z. is not willing to do. This also shows that she is aware of her identity differences and she appreciated them. Only when she moved away from China to study English language, did she acknowledge that she keeps her own sense of identity as a woman and Chinese and as an individual. Cultural and linguistic differences are of primary importance for the determination of gender roles. “Chinese we starting sentence from concept of time or place” (51) whereas in the English language the person always comes first. The author bases her book on several concepts – women’s identity in the West and Asia, cultural differences and language barriers. In understanding Z.’s point of view we have to consider her cultural background, the gender role that women play in China and how she journeys through her sexuality in a Western kind of manner. Most importantly the roles that gender and sexuality played in Z.’s life determined her attitude, behavior, norms, values and identity. Works Cited: Guo, Xiaolu. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. Chatto and Windu. 2007. Read More