Modern Women in China and Japan: Gender, Feminism and Global Modernity Between the Wars - Assignment Example

Question The ideal woman that the reformers in the 20th century during song dynasty wanted to see is a woman who was educated and worked outside the home. The reformers in this time period hoped to see women with personhood and independent. They were ambivalent about the women who worked in the male dominated places. The ideal woman was supposed to find education and get a work just like the men did (Jung 84). The woman was supposed to work outside home as this showed determination and zeal to be independent. The reformers expected to see ideal women struggling for equality in the work places and women handling duties that were regarded as men’s. The women were expected by reformers to go and look for their own money instead of staying at home and waiting for the men to provide. The ideal woman is not supposed just to stay at home doing the domestic duties as the only way they would ensure equality with men is through working outside home and getting education. During the Ming dynasty the reformers hoped to see the ideal women to be independent. An ideal woman was not supposed to be inherited after the husband passed away. The reformers expected women to be financially stable so that even if they were widowed they could do just fine by themselves without their husbands (Fincher 56). The reformers suggested that it is better for the widowed women to die of thirst than to be inherited. An ideal woman during this period was expected to take charge and take care of the family. Inheritance showed that the women depended on men for survival. During Mao Zedong error the reformers expected the ideal woman to choose a lover for herself. An ideal woman was supposed to ignore the primitive traditional Chinese family life and cultures which advocated that women’s duties were to give birth, do domestic duties like cooking for their husbands and taking care of the children (Guliver 102). The ideal woman was expected to be outgoing ready to face the male dominated society. The ideal women were expected to choose the husband and lover of their choice and they could marry at their own convenient time without being pushed by their parents or the primitive Chinese customs. The reformers had the motives of seeing the women grow and develop to being independent and stable. They had intensions of ensuring equality between the men and the women. They also strived to improve the lives of women in homes and the society as a whole. They expected women to come out strongly know their rights and face the male dominated society (Fincher 92). Reformers had the motives of ensuring the men did not discriminate against the women and the women were able to thrive in the society. They wanted women to work outside their homes and be able to be financial stable. They also had the motive of ensuring that women were not held back by the traditional customs which allowed the men to mistreat women. All the reformers were similar in terms of their motives and intentions towards women. Question 2 Both rural and urban women benefited from Mao’s changes. Mao Zedong advocated for equality between the Chinese women and men. He made policies and encouraged women to ignore the traditional Chinese beliefs and practices. He encouraged women to choose their own husbands. This first affected the women in urban areas but with time also the women in the rural areas adopted this policy. It enabled the women to marry a person of their choice and at their own convenient time. The parents were denied the opportunity to choose husbands for their daughters. He changes benefited the women as they were allowed to get education and find work outside home. This promoted equality between the men and women as it gave women the opportunity to get jobs and be independent because of the financial stability that comes with the job. This helped in family relationships as the men were also involved in the taking care of children when the women were in work. It encouraged the sharing of responsibilities and roles in homes. He also discouraged the inheritance of widows (Chang 34). Mao suggested than widowed women were supposed to do as they pleased with their social lives. Being inherited was a sign of dependence of women on men and it also portrayed that the women were possessions of the men. He encouraged women to perform the roles and duties that were set aside for men. This encouraged equality in the work place and the whole Chinese society. Question 3 Both Mao Zedong and Leslie Chang agree to the fact that the best ways of the women to achieve equality in the society is through working outside and ignoring the primitive Chinese traditions where women are expected to stay at home and depend on the husbands for money. When every woman fends paid work outside home they are able to be financially stable and independent. The women should also strive to be providers of their homes so that in case they are widowed they don’t have to be inherited. The women should know that their duty is not only to stay at home and be submissive to their husbands. The women should be more outgoing and ignore the traditional Chinese beliefs and culture (Chang 182). In order for the women to come out strongly in the male dominated society they have to stop the family and domestic life and move out to get jobs. Working enabled women to plan for their savings without the influence of their families. It enables women to be more outgoing and it made them realize that they could handle the tasks that were set out for men. Working also enables the women to be innovative and have the same responsibilities with men. It is the most effective way for the women to ensure equality in the Chinese society (Dooling &Torgeson 145). If the women hold on to the traditions of staying at home and only handling the domestic duties they will remain inferior and ever submissive to the men. It promotes equality between the men and women as it makes women equally productive as the men. Question 4 One Chinese custom and tradition that has persisted from the beginning of 20th century to the present is the arranged marriages. The parents are responsible for choosing a partner for their children. According to the Chinese customs it was the responsibility of the parents to choose the marriage partner of their children especially daughters. This process was overseen by an astrologer (Jung 76). The father’s word was considered final as to whom his daughter was going to be married to. This custom is still common among the Chinese people, especially those leaving in the rural regions. After the wedding the married girl is supposed to bow and give tea to her in-laws to show that she now belongs to the husband’s family. The custom and tradition that has disappeared is foot binding. This primitive tradition was burned and it is no longer practised. This was considered a mark of exceptional beauty among the women. It was necessary for the girls to have their feet bound so that they could find a husband. This process was so painful and its main role was to show that women are inferior to men. It was regarded as a way of improving social status of the women especially those from poor back grounds (Tatlow). This process made it hard for the girls to dance or even stand. The women who had undergone this practise were believed to be less likely to be rebellious or disobedient to the men. Question 5: Women are considered as a silent voice in the society with majority of the decisions being made for them. The ancient Chinese culture believed and practiced male chauvinism. A woman was seen as a sacred object that was to be kept pure in as much as men had their numerous short comings. There were various roles that were assigned and designated to women. There were large expectations when it came to the performance of various duties by the women (Jung 67). Some of the roles that were out rightly assigned to the women in the Chinese society were: They were responsible for taking care of the children and teaching them some of the basic Chinese culture that they were expected to uphold whenever they would interact with fellow children and the adults in the society. A woman was praised if the children were seen to uphold high moral values and standards in the society. Whenever the husband was away for a mission or had travelled to do his personal business, the Chinese wife was expected to stay in the house and could only come out if she was going to get necessary basic commodities from the market (Dooling & Torgeson 103). The social aspect of life was never in the ways of the Chinese women. Chinese women are just like any other human beings with the desire to socialize and be together with their fellow age mates to talk about their husbands, men and other favorite topics such as clothing and the powers and culture that prevent them from doing a lot of things. It therefore becomes more interesting to read a memoir and biography of the Chinese women than the scholarly articles since they contain the real voice that is behind the suffering and oppression. Articles look at it from a holistic perspective ignoring the relevant details of the plight of women and their roles in the Chinese culture. Question 6 Marriage and courtship remains a subject of contention in Chinas culture. However, the country has gone through modernization which has given the woman an ability to choose a reason for herself. However, some regions still practice the old culture whereby a husband was brought for a wife. In most of the cases, the bride was considered as a price or a gift. It was always a union between families that had vested interests in each other (Chang 98). It overlooked the relationship between two individuals and catered for the interests of the elder members of the family who had an association which could only be sealed through a union of one of the children. This was evident in the old culture where a prince could marry a daughter of another kingdom as a sign of peace between the two lands. It also was a way to conquer kingdoms and show submissions. The present society has provided the women with various options to choose from. We can also attribute the current dynamism to education that is universally provided (Hariett 65). The global millennium development goals state that education should be provided to all. Education has acted as a bridge from un-civilization to civilization. It has given them the liberty to perform a lot of things and make various choices that have a direct impact in their lives. I agree that the woman should have the ability to choose that which pleases her other than being imposed on a husband. This is a mode of slavery that in my opinion should be revised and women should be left to choose their destinies, which include husbands. Works Cited Amy D. Dooling, Kristina M. Torgeson. Writing Women in Modern China: An Anthology of Womens Literature from the Early Twentieth Century. Washington DC: Columbia University Press, 1998. Chang, Jung. Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine who Launched Modern China. New York: Random House, 2013. Chang, Leslie T. Factory Girls. London: Pan Macmillan UK, 2010. Evans, Harriet. Women and Sexuality in China. Canada: Bloomsbury, 1997. Fincher, Leta Hong. Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. New York: Zed Books, 2014. Gulliver, Katrina. Modern Women in China and Japan: Gender, Feminism and Global Modernity Between the Wars. Washington DC: I.B.Tauris, 2012. TATLOW, DIDI KIRSTEN. Chinese Women ‘Name and Shame’ Companies They Say Discriminate. 30 December 2013. 5 May 2014 . Read More