Feminism was a cultural movement born in the late nineteenth century, following the booming of the Industrial Revolution and the formation of diverse social ideologies. Feminism originated in France and then was gradually introduced to other countries such a the United Kingdom and the United States. Feminism was officially introduced into China during the May Fourth Movement and Feminist Art rose up in the Chinese contemporary art scene around 1990s.
Chinese Feminist Art is not only different from traditional Chinese female art as it clearly emphasises on female characteristics, but also distinctive from western feminist art in the way that it embraces Chinese culture to the greatest extent. Unlike Western Feminist Art which is tightly
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The reason:
First, Chinese society is still in the process of social forms of agriculture, and gradually deepened since millennia sexist, patriarchal consciousness and spiritual entity unlikely to be essential impact even be destroyed. Salient features of the agricultural community and the agricultural civilization is centralization and personal attachment, the extent of human society that is a lower degree of independence, because of this social form of production, and other social activities objectively excluded women, men occupied the absolute rule status, feminist issues is bound to be "shadowing." In recent decades, although China has laws to protect women's rights and social organizations, but due to the lack of social forms the background and achieve the objective reality of feminism, these laws and organizations tend to become some kind of a symbol or a "national attitude."
Second, China's traditional culture system ideas about the nature of women has not been shaken, although a long time shouting slogans gender equality, but to establish gender equality and women's rights and cultural patterns have not really started. In the traditional culture of inertia, or the idea of men as the main link between the concept is still a mainstream society, "without issue for the big"
Across cultures, many times similarities lay within them that go unnoticed. It is true that obvious differences set them apart; but if a closer look is taken, it is surprising what can be found. The Chinese culture is obviously different from the American culture, but underneath the surface there are similarities. One of them is how the treatment of women has evolved and changed. Anti-feminism in China has been present since ancient times, and has just recently decreased. Anti-feminism in America has never been as severe as it was in China; however, instead of the value of women gradually increasing over the years - it has reversed. The value of women in America has decreased. There are many similarities between the ancient Chinese women
Throughout history the role of women in Asia has changed drastically. In many areas, such as China, women were not treated socially, politically, economically, or culturally equal. China was a patriarchal society meaning that men had more power than women; this was mainly to do their Confucian beliefs. Politically, the literacy rates were much higher in males than in females; due to the fact that women were not allowed to receive an education. Additionally, a common tradition practiced by wealthy females was footbinding. Footbinding limited the physical abilities of women, ultimately making them dependent on males. Furthermore, economically, women could not own or inherit property as men could. Nonetheless, China was not the only Asian country where women were treated differently. The
apt at pushing the campaign for women’s suffrage, many do not even stop to consider supposedly oppressive and impoverished communist regimes as the furnaces in which female rights were first forged. The majority of world history consists of the disputes and bloodshed created by men, perpetrated by men, and for men, all while blatantly disregarding women as trivial and powerless. Pre-Communist Revolution women’s rights comprised of sexist stereotypes that strictly limited the amount of achievements that women could accomplish. Traditional Chinese society was formed through strict social structures that defined daily life in the three obediences: women had
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” Today there are millions of feminists, compared to the 1900's, where feminism was very seldom. During the early 1900’s, slavery and the domestication of women (no matter what race they were), was very common. Beginning in
In all societies, it was very common to have unequal treatment to men and women with the justification being the gender. This shaped the attitude and behavior of people. This commonly occurred to values, norms, customs, and laws in all societies. In the traditional Chinese society, it was very common for the bride to obey her parent-in-laws, do housework, and have a low social status within and outside of the household. Ancient China based its livelihood off of Confucian principles. Confucian principles act as a guide for the people to live and behave according to. Confucian principles included relationships such as the relationship of the emperor to his subjects, a father to a son, elder brother to younger brother, husband to wife, and friend to friend. Traditional China functions on these principles to guide the peoples’ lives. Women living in a Confucian society played a limited gender role. Confucian principles were instilled very deeply into the Chinese society; it was practice throughout Chinese history. Some practices of Confucianism are practiced to this day. Women did not share the same privileges as men in a traditional Confucian society because their role was to be the house wife that society shaped them into.
When one compares villages like the Loushui village in soutwest China to the United States, one can notice cultural and societal differences between these places. While the United States is a patriarchal society, where the father is the head of the family, the villages are a matriarchal society The Mosuo women are believed to part of the last matriarchal society in China. Even as an agricultural society, women are out in the field working, but some stay inside to help with the children. Back in U. S’s agricultural times, the men did all the working while the women took care of the children and did all the household work. The Mosuo women do take care of the children in these societies, but the women’s family help as well. While in the United
This Movement began in the early 1970's ,but feminism was a problem even after they gained the suffrage right .This movement was mostly focused on giving women equal pay as men. During this time women would get paid only 63 percent of what a man made. Feminists who were involved were mainly of middle class members predominantly white. This became in issue that not only upset the poor ,but Women of color as well because they felt the NOW was only looking out for white feminists and they felt they wouldn’t represent their problems well . This was a worldwide movement, Despite the fact that not many women in other countries gained the same opportunities as we did . Feminists during this period of time not only focused on the economic, but also the social and political part to be as equal to men.<http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/history-womens-rights-movements>
Women’s lives in China have changed dramatically throughout reforms in the Qing Dynasty, the Nationalist period, the Chinese Civil War, etc. In the historically male-dominated society, there still is not the gender equality that women have been hoping for. “Millions upon millions of women are missing. They are not lost, but dead: victims of violence, discrimination, and neglect” (Baute). Why should one gender be valued more over the other? Why should one gender be viewed as more important? Females in countries like China are discriminated against, mistreated, and are valued less since many women and girls are not allowed to get an education, the violence/abuse that they have to go through, and because the one-child policy rule that is placed in countries like China.
In traditional Chinese culture, women were inferior to men. They were not allowed to make any decisions concerning their families. Their only purpose in life was to stay home and take care of the households. "A woman's duties are to cook the five grains, heat the wine, look after her parents-in-law, make clothes, and that's all! ...she must follow the `three submissions.' When she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son. These are the rules of propriety." ("The Mother Of Mencius", p.34) That's the principle that was followed in traditional China. Some of the examples of this are discussed in this
In China’s past, over 95 percent of marriages were arranged and on a monetary basis (cite). Now, women have the right to self-determination in marriage and 74 percent of young couples make the decision to wed or do so after consulting their parents (cite). Additionally, 80 percent of marriages of women under 40 years old are based on their own choice (cite). Progression of women’s rights continue with women in China gaining
Not until the twentieth century did things start to turn around for women in china. This is when a woman’s movement began to spread and demanded an end to foot binding. Perhaps the biggest factor in women’s equality was communism. Communists believe that women were equal to men and the government started to pass laws in favor of women. One law was The Chinese constitution of the early 1950s which said that “Chinese women enjoyed equal rights with men in political, economic, social, cultural, and family life. The state protected women’s rights and interest, practiced equal pay for work and provided equal opportunity for women’s training and promotion (W., Jacob 2). Another law was The Inheritance Law, which allowed women to inherit family property. The Marriage Law eliminated arranged marriages and said that “both women and men [are] free to choose their marriage partners, and widows [are]
Women’s rights and equality were cornerstones of Chinese modernization, especially of Mao’s vision of an egalitarian socialist state (illustrated by his slogan that “women could hold up half the sky”). Increased female participation in labor seen as essential to the state and party agenda. While there were without a doubt many issues women still faced within this period, many policies of the Chinese Communist Party contributed to women’s equality. However, after Mao’s death and Deng Xiaoping’s rise to power and his vision of the nation as “Socialist with Chinese Characteristics,” and the implementation of China’s Open Door Policy, women have again become subordinated in many spheres of society. Yet instead of relying on male political theorists
Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based on and motivated by the experiences of women. While generally providing a critique of social relations, many proponents of feminism also focus on analyzing gender inequality and the promotion of women's rights, interests, and issues.
It covers up the rights of females of all ages and supports them in the demand of equality in social, cultural, educational, political, economic, recreational, administrative and domestic systems. Feminism actually began in the late 19th century when the concept behind this ideology was entirely different to what it is perceived today. Feminism was composed to bring about justice to the underprivileged members of the society, irrespective of their caste, color, race or gender. Feminism catered to audiences who were discarded from the civil setup because they lacked the normal atonement to the living standards brought about by the trend setters. Feminism aimed at highlighting the plight of such individuals, by helping people to acknowledge them and their equal stand in living. However, they were criticized in multitudes. Quite often, the deprived groups of individual finding refuge with such comforting agents were mostly the female classes of our society.
Feminism, like all other major movements (such as the civil rights movement of the 1960s) had its birth somewhere. The true birth of feminism began with women authors such as Mary Astell, Margaret Cavendish, Aphra Behn, and Mary Leapor (Sherman 2125). For one to understand why this movement began, one