sessions 7 & 8 readings

[Anonymous]

Reading about midwifes was a very touching subject. As a woman I sympathized with the pain and suffering of other women. I am aware that using midwives to assist women to deliver their babies have been part of many different civilizations around the globe. Most women who live in rural areas are in need of a midwife services due to the lack of access to medical care. Even today in Latin America, women who live in rural areas do not have access to medical care during their pregnancies, therefore, they are continuing to use the services of midwives. Often, these women end up with serious health complications due to the lack of medical care.
edited by edelafuente on 6/20/2016

[Anonymous]

One of my favorite articles for this week was the “Wrapped and Unwrapped” reading. I knew very little about the foot binding culture, and I found it fascinating that it was a taboo to show the unbound foot to anyone. The article states, “The taboo against exposure was so strong that even husbands were not permitted to see or touch the unwrapped feet of their wives; pornographic depictions of women with bound feet showed women naked, except for their feet; and prostitutes did not unwrap their feet for their customers.” Because the binding process was not for the woman herself, I think that this is a classic example of “ignorance is bliss,” her husband or the customer wanting the bound foot, but never seeing the process first hand. I do wonder however, how women learned to bind their feet? Was it acceptable to show you bound feet to other women?

I also found it interesting that the article, whether this was the case or not, though its choice of wording, puts the cultural shift at the hands of Western missionaries. The article states that through Western technology such as photography and x-rays, “Missionary images stripped the bound foot of its allure, taking it out of the secluded confines of the cloistered women’s quarters and putting it on display for all to see.” Although I am of course grateful that Chinese women were eventually freed of this process, I am always skeptical of descriptions such as these, because it also takes away the agency of the women who fought overtly or covertly to rid China of this inhumane practice.

[Anonymous]

The reading on spousal abuse under the heading of Modern China interesting because in the 1930 there was a mindset shift. During this time ideas about domestic violence changed from domestic abuse being a woman's fate to it being a matter of unlawfulness. Yet women were still not able to divorce due to these circumstances. These new ideas actually did very little to help these female victims. At least it was a start in making a change. Change has to start somewhere and most of the time it needs to happen in small increments.

[Anonymous]

Today I came across this article titled Lonely Men In China Are Having Relationships with Life-Size Dolls. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/lonely-men-china-having-relationships-144838734.html. Of course I clicked on it because of all the information we have learned about Chinese men not having enough wives to marry came to mind. And the few who do find someone who they can marry are often taken advantage by runaway brides. As I was reading this article it reminded me of an episode I saw on the National Geographic Channel called Taboo, Strange Love. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/taboo/videos/love-dolls/. When I first saw this episode I thought it was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen but after understanding the situation that Chinese men are facing, it makes me more empathetic to their situation. I don’t think this is something I would teach my students but its good information to know.

What are your thoughts on the article?

[Anonymous]

Wow that was incredible. I agree that after knowing more about what these men are facing helps me understand why they would choose to spend so much money on building a custom doll to use as a wife. I am having more difficulty, however, understanding the position of the man that bought a doll as his daughter. I also find it odd that a man would buy a doll to be the female version of himself. I wonder if this practice will continue and if i it grow in popularity? I also wonder if this practice is being followed in other countries?

[Anonymous]

Here is an article I have read, End of China’s one –child policy is slowly giving ‘ghost children’ identities published on Sunday April 3, 2016. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/end-of-chinas-one-child-policy-is-slowly-giving-ghost-children-identities/article29507109/. This is the most recent article I have seen about China changing its policy from one child to two since 1/2016. According to China the reason for changing this policy is because most of the population is growing old and China is now allowing couples to have two children. However, does this mean the gender imbalance will change? Will parents want to have children since they have the burden of taking care of their elders and now kids? The cost of living is expensive and tuition might be too much for families. What about parents who have more than two children. Are those children still going to be considered ghost children? This is a topic that has been on my mind since hearing about it from Mei Fong. This topic I am sure would be interesting to many high school students. It can be discussed in Economics or Government class.

For more information click on link: China unveils two child Policy http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/27/asia/china-two-child-policy/

[Anonymous]

• I was very intrigued by the idea of feminism and its ties to nationalism. Having a background on Mao’s Cultural Revolution, I am not surprised how women’s rights are positioned within the context of nationalism. It seems that feminism revolves around the role of motherhood and the agenda of motherhood which is completely different from what we are used to the United States. As I was hearing about the role of women in China, I couldn’t help but wonder about how women’s rights are viewed for minority women. Here in the US, there is a stark difference between feminism of white women and feminism of women of color, and I would like to know what that looks like in China.

edited by nramon on 6/23/2016

[Anonymous]

One of the stories I found most intriguing about Professor Hershalter was the story about the woman with the pseudonym of Zhang Chauteng. I found it very fascinating that she was able to establish a friendly relationship with the mother of the man she had an unsuccessful marriage with. As the woman recalled, there seemed to be a genuine sense of care between both women, and that was evident in the discourse between Chauteng and her mother in law as she was proceeding with the divorce process. In thinking about how women relate to their daughters in law, it would seem more logical that mothers might have a closer relationship with their own sons rather then their daughters in law, and I wonder how the social circumstances for women allowed these two women to form a profound bond. Overall, I was very touched to hear the amount of work women put into running their households. Culturally speaking, Latina women typically take a central role in running their homes, and upon hearing about what it was like for rural women during this time, it seems that the role of the hardworking woman seems somewhat universal.

edited by nramon on 6/23/2016
edited by nramon on 6/23/2016

[Anonymous]

Upon listening to Mei Fong’s talk on women in more contemporary China, I can see some parallels between the roles of daughters in China and in Latino families. The idea that struck me the most was that it is better to be a woman in the city because not only are they better educated, but their quality of life is significantly better. This reminded me a lot about the older generations of women in my family as they compare to the women in my family today. Just like in China, women in rural areas tended to play a more domestic role and families seem to prefer to have sons. They very same dynamics were seen in my family, particularly because they lived in a rural setting were there was land to be distributed. In my family’s case, only men were considered when land was distributed among the siblings. As both sides of my family began to immigrate to more urban settings in the US, there seems to be a more equal balance in power between men and women, particularly within the realm of education since women in my family tend to achieve more than men. It was very interesting to see the universality of similar trends between women in China and women in my family.

edited by nramon on 6/23/2016
edited by nramon on 6/23/2016

[Anonymous]

I absolutely loved Mei Fong's lecture on women and learning more about the one child policy. Prior to this lecture I knew very little about the Chinese policy. Hearing from Fong gave me more context as to what the one child policy is, how this influences society and its impact on society today. It was also very intriguing to learn more about the loopholes of one child policy such as having twins or when being remarried. Her lecture really resonated with me especially when she started to speak about women in contemporary China. The stories that were described is really similar to what women in my heritage have to endure. There is this expectation that you must be married and have kids by a certain age similar to what Fong described about contemporary women in China.

[cgao]

Please download the following files in preparation for the April 9th workshop on Women in Modern China.
edited by cgao on 4/5/2016

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