Authors- Nex Wilson, Reese Tynen, Riley Hoerner
The theme our group chose to explore for this final project is the New Woman and the Modern Girl. The New Woman and Modern Girl both represent archetypes of women in the early 20th century. They were each representative of the changing social, political and economic environment within China. The New Woman represented the emancipated women. The New Woman was independent, educated, and politically engaged. The New Woman used her abilities to help better the nation. This ideal seemingly ignored ideas of desire, sexuality, leisure, consumption or femininity. On the other hand, the Modern Girl represented women as consumers. The Modern Girl enjoyed and was interested in fashion, style, leisure, and romance. This ideal emerged with the development of urban capitalism and of markets catering to the needs of this consumer base. In this blog post, we will explore the representation of these two archetypes in a few of the readings as well as screenings that we interacted with throughout this class.
“New Women”, a movie directed by Cai Chusheng in 1935 about Wei Ming, a patriotic music teacher, and a single mother of a very sick daughter in China. Facing hardships, Wei Ming shows strength in a society that doesn’t treat single mothers nicely. Her situation gets even tougher when her boss offers to pay for her daughter’s doctor bills if she agrees to sexual favors. Wei Ming stays true to her beliefs and says no to his offer. Even though Wei Ming tried her hardest to find another way to help her daughter, her daughter eventually passed away, leaving Wei Ming filled with grief. Feeling sad and lost after her daughter dies, Wei Ming decides to take sleeping pills to end her own life. In the moments before her death, she experiences an intense realization and declares, “I want to live!”. This moment is a turning point in the movie, showing her fight against the bad treatment she went through and trying to create a better future. Wei Ming’s decision comes too late, and she dies shortly after having this realization. In the end, even though she decides too late that she wants to keep fighting for a better life, her decision shows what “new women” wanted, they wanted to be treated fairly and make their own choices. Her story highlights the fight of women in China in the early 1900s to live freely and be respected, against all the rules that held them back.
“Crisis in the Women’s World,” an essay from 1998, written by Chen Xiefen. In the story she talks about how life was tough for women in China in the early 1900s. She shows that women were put in a bad spot because of old traditions and beliefs that didn’t let them do a lot. Women had to deal with painful things like foot binding, getting married off without any say, and not being able to make their own choices in life. Xiefen believed the root of the problem was that women didn’t have their own money from a job or the option to get an education. This made it hard for them to stand up for themselves or change their situations. To fix this she believed that big changes needed to happen. Women should pursue an education to develop independent thinking and challenge existing norms in China. Additionally, earning their own income is important for gaining independence and making decisions in their own lives. Laws needed to change to give women more rights and protection, breaking down the old system that oppressed them. She also thought it would be important for women to get involved in politics. If women don’t help make the rules, things will never get better for them. Her essay was a big deal because it opened a conversation about treating women better in China. She wanted a world where women could be their own bosses, live with respect, and have the same opportunities as everyone else. The “new women” is all about women being able to make their own choices, such as getting an education and having a job. Xiefen wanted women to be able to learn, work, and have rights just like everyone else. This is just like the “new women,” who is independent and doesn’t want to be held back by old traditions. Xiefen’s call for change is similar to what the “new women” stands for, being free, respected, and able to do what she wants in life.
As the rise of the “New Woman” took hold across China, another female archetype began to take hold, the “Modern Girl”. The Modern Girl was everything that the New Woman was not. The Modern Girl cared about cosmetics, fashion, leisure, and romance. The Modern Girl was a capitalist, seen as a consumer of commodities and participant in the burgeoning market economy. She enjoyed and embraced this consumerist life. Unlike the New Woman who challenged long held societal norms and fought for equality, the Modern Girl was more concerned with her individual expression and personal fulfillment. She symbolized this changing landscape within Chinese Society, where materialism and consumer culture began to shape the aspirations and identities of future generations. The emergence of the Modern Girl coincided with the rise of urban capitalism, signaling a shift towards a more market-oriented and consumer-driven society.
This archetype of the Modern Girl was most apparent in capitalistic advertisements at the time. The Modern Girl was a direct demographic bloc that could be advertised to, as shown in the advertisements displayed. Her portrayal in advertisements exemplified her status as a coveted demographic for marketers eager to capitalize on her purchasing power and influence. Advertisements of this era depicted the Modern Girl as the epitome of modernity and femininity. She would often showcase products ranging from cosmetics and fashion to leisure and romantic activities. These advertisements not only reinforced these newfound traditional gender roles, but would also perpetuate consumerist ideals, encouraging women to define their own identities via consumption. The portrayal of the Modern Girl in media and advertising reflected the growing influence of capitalism and consumer culture in shaping societal norms and values at the time. The Modern Girl became emblematic of a shifting socio-economic landscape where individualism and materialism became increasingly intertwined with femininity.
In a more modern sense, the Modern Girl embodies the ideal of femininity, embodying what women should aspire to look, feel, and act like to be seen as desirable. As highlighted in Leta Hong Fincher’s book, “Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China,” women who display any sort of ambition or independence are often quelled by societal forces to instead settle down and get married. According to recent census data, China’s female population accounts for less than half of their total. This has led to a derogatory label given to single women over 27, often labeling them as “leftover women” This label is meant to dissuade them from embracing their independence, and instead falling back into the comfortability of family life. This added pressure is applied to women in China to not follow in the footsteps of the New Woman, who favors education and career, and instead the Modern Girl, who favors leisure and romantic pursuits.
The Modern Girl as well as the New Woman both embody different standards that women in China have been expected to uphold. With the New Woman being seemingly necessary to the development of the nation and the Modern Girl representing the more docile, feminine side. Both were very impactful during the 20th century in their own ways. While these terms themselves were more common during the 20th century, the ideals behind these two archetypes still exist today, though which is more prevalent/ideal has changed. In recent years, there has been a emphasis on the Modern Girl, with women often being expected to take part in the market as well as having products specifically marketed to them. While parts of the New Woman still exist in some sense, the archetype itself has become less prevalent. In this blog we have investigated how these archetypes can be seen in the literature and films we looked at during this class.