China’s emerging women’s movement

A fantastic post on China’s emerging Women’s movement. While pure anecdotal experience initially led me to believe that Chinese women are actually extremely well-versed in getting what they want and exercising their authority over their male counterparts, this does not paint a particularly accurate picture of women’s roles in China’s society. The pressures of family, filial piety, and lack of social acceptance are still very difficult hurdles to overcome as China continues its social development.

Joanna Chiu

In the stifling heat of Shanghai last June, Xiaoyan walked through a subway passage wearing a black cotton sheath from head to toe with only her eyes showing. Her friend wore a black face covering along with a homemade metal bra over a red t-shirt and mini-skirt.

They were responding to a comment from a Shanghai metro operator who had posted a photo of a woman in a see-through dress on his blog and wrote: “It’s no wonder that some people get harassed if they dress like this.”

Instead of carrying placards, the women displayed a simple message on their iPads to passersby: “I can dress provocatively, but you cannot harass me”—echoing similar calls around the world against the “victim-blaming” of sexual assault survivors.

“We couldn’t march on the streets like the SlutWalk protests that have happened in other cities,” said Xiaoyan, a slim 33-year-old, a year later during lunch at her…

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