Gender Equality & Rights
Authors: Lee Madrigal, Kinhdara Nguyen, Tiffany Nguyen
The social system in China has enslaved women and forced them into submission for many thousands of years (Zhen, pg. 53). Women were often expected to fulfill submissive roles that limited opportunities for decision-making, such as raising children and household duties. Men have always played a dominant role in both family households and society. This has been a prominent theme throughout Chinese cultural history and has continued into modern society. The socioeconomic system of China treats a man’s wife and children as his property. Men took advantage of this moral teaching to justify their indulgence in sexual gratification. No one dared to question a man’s dominance due to societal and traditional norms embedded in their culture; only the man was allowed outside while the women were confined to the inner chamber. Men had the freedom to travel and roam wherever they pleased. In doing so, they could also choose to disregard the management responsibilities of a household. Women aren’t the only ones who have lost their independence. Men, too, have lost their independence by accepting the responsibility of sustaining their families, as a man is exclusively responsible for the cost of caring for his mother, maintaining his wife, and giving his daughter’s dowry. Despite this, many men still choose to live with this standard.
In the writings of Chinese anarchists, the political and moral institutions’ goals were to separate men from women (nannu). It was believed that to create a dystopian society, men needed to be differentiated (nannu youbie). This differentiation can be shown by the fact that mostly men were mentioned in historical textbooks, not women. The historical narrative supports the idea of masculine superiority and power. Though few women were mentioned in early historical records, that was due to them being the cause of men’s problems (Ebrey, 2024). Women were mentioned in historical records because they wanted to make it publicly known that their actions weren’t accountable to themselves, but it was the wife’s fault. It served as a means to publicly humiliate and blame the women. In many Chinese folklore stories, for example, in New Year’s Sacrifice, the main protagonist is referred to as her husband’s wife: “Everyone called her Xianglin’s wife. Though no one ever asked her what her surname was, it was probably Wei…” (Xun, pg. 167). This shows how little power a woman holds compared to men. It was never the woman’s glory, she couldn’t even have a name of her own. Whoever a woman married, he would take over her name, identity, and free will.
To contradict history, men have attempted to liberate women in modern times. With women being liberated for equal rights, the pressure of men providing for their entire family is essentially being lifted off their shoulders.
Non-textual Description:
For our non-textual element, we decided to include an original piece to embody the perspective of a man in a traditional Chinese household during a time of male dominance over women in China. The original piece will be conducted via song, showing the point of view of a man. The woman’s point of view is not included in the song, indicating how a woman never got a say. The lyrics induce the overall emotion of the man.