Harvard International Review

Half the Sky, But Not Yet Equal: 's Author(s): ALICE HU Source: Harvard International Review, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Spring 2016), pp. 15-18 Published by: Harvard International Review Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26445831 Accessed: 22-10-2019 01:29 UTC

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China raised by another family to become a designated bride). Besides protecting women and girls from feudal prac Half thethe Sky,Sky, ButBut Not Not Yet Yet Equal Equal tices, the law also extended the repre China'sChina s FeministFeminist Movement sentation of women by guaranteeing women equal rights in the ownership staff writer and management of family property, ALICE HU as well as the equal right to petition for divorce. The law even went as far Indeed, Chinese has its as guaranteeing women the right to has been one of the most pub own historic context different from keep their own family names — an The Chinese licized phenomena economic on the miracle that of the West, but an outdated vi act that would have been considered international stage. But what is often sion on the issue will not only harm not only progressive, but radical by neglected in the news and in scholar the citizens — it may destabilize the Western standards at the time. ship are China's domestic and social very balance the CCP has tried so However, it would be misleading changes that are inseparable from hard to maintain. to discuss progressive policies such the country's exponential economic as the Marriage Reform Law without growth. In particular, the Chinese Feminism and the Communist taking into account the government's women's rights movement, begin Revolution economic agenda. For one, the Mar ning in the mid-twentieth century, While the Chinese Communist riage Reform Law was designated to has played a crucial role in China's Revolution is known for its over create a "new democratic marriage," rapid development. haul of the country's economic and relieve patriarchal oppression, and Unlike the Western feminism initi political structures, it also initiated construct a new image of women ated by grassroots activists, modern the modern Chinese women's rights — so that women can more easily Chinese feminism began as a state movement. In fact, the first official actenter the workforce and that fami policy. Since the Communist Revo passed by the new government after lies would become more productive. lution of 1949, women's rights have the CCP won the revolution was the Other reforms, including laws that been driven by the party ideology Marriage Reform Law. The govern guaranteed equal pay and equal that women's equal participation in ment of the new People's Republic education opportunities for women, the economy and society was neces of China (PRC) believed family to be also functioned to help women inte sary to advance the nation. Despite the key institution in society, and to grate into the labor economy. Mao numerous revolutions and China's strengthen the family meant eman Zedong, who had long envisioned ensuing transition to a capitalist mar cipating women. Though the role of the female liberation, believed that ket economy, this ideology remained women evolved continuously with women had been a wasted reservoir the underpinning of women's rights thousands of years of history and is of labor. Until China could obtain in China. a product of many traditions, women mechanical means of production, he In the past two decades, however, had generally been viewed as infe believed that the shortage of labor in contemporary Chinese feminists have rior to men in the traditional gender cooperatives and communes would begun vocally challenging Marxist dichotomy. Women were socially be alleviated by women. In essence, . The 2015 detainment and physically bounded by norms the post-Revolution women's rights of five Chinese feminist protesters of femininity — they were restricted movement was not rooted in ideal before International Women's Day to a domestic role in the home and ist beliefs of human rights but the — and their subsequent release upon suffered from foot-binding, a muti realist considerations of economic popular outcry — is emblematic of latory practice that made movement development. deeply seated public discontent to difficult. Nevertheless, the new state poli ward state policy on women's rights The Marriage Reform Law was cies elevated the economic and social and the influence such discontent can symbolic of the CCP's prioritizing status of women in a scale previously have on the ever watchful Chinese of women's rights. Officially pro unseen within and outside China. regime. Given both the domestic mulgated on May 1, 1950, the na This translated into women having and international pressure at stake, tional law sought to address the most a greater voice in decision-making the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prominent issues faced by women in in both the private and the public cannot afford to silence the country's regard to marriage and family life. It spheres. Women exercised political feminist protest movement. It must abolished forced marriage, brideprice authority in local governments and treat women's rights as a priority (moneyin given by the groom's family served in high-ranking offices. Many itself and not simply a prerequisite for a bride), concubinage, and child organizations championing women's for its own economic advancement. betrothal (in which a young girl is representation also formed, such as

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ever, this Marxist state feminism seemed obsolete and insufficient to Chinese feminists.

Culmination of Contemporary Feminist Movement The underlying feminist discontent that had simmered since the 1970s peaked at the 1995 Fourth United Nations Conference on Women, held in . The conference proved to be a crucial opportunity for feminist activists to access transnational net works as well as build "conceptual frameworks [...] to break away from or transform a Marxist theory of 'equality between men and women.'" Chinese feminists had been in contact with feminist activists from other While the the Communist Communist Revolution Revolution intitated intitated the women's the rightswomen's movement rights in movement China, in China, there are are still still limitations limitations to women's to women's progress. progress. countries since the 1980s and had been working on developing indepen the National Women's Federation. authority with its own authority. dent It nongovernmental organizations Most importantly, the women's rights sought to transform family life so that (NGOs) for women's rights. The UN Conference on Women came at an movement permanently altered commitmentthe to the party exceeded all national psyche in regard to the roleother ties. Between the breakdown of opportune time in which Chinese of women, and its legacy remains the old commitments and the con feminists were able to gather outside entrenched in society to this day. solidation of new loyalty, however, support for their causes as well as Women, Mao was famously quoted, there was an "intermediate stage ofgain understanding of new concepts such as "women-centered sustainable began to hold up "half the sky." hedonism." During this stage, the government made clear its intention development" and "mainstreaming Conflicts with State-Sponsored was to solidify collective adherence gender." These concepts helped ex Feminism to the party ideology rather than plain the discontent that the Chinese While emancipatory in many promote re any individual thinking feminists had lacked the language spects, state feminism functioned or decision. Women's equality and to describe and further encouraged as a form of social control. Women's full participation was promoted sothem to imagine be organizations such as National Wom long as it benefited the party and yondit the Marxist framework. en's Federation were dependent upon strengthened its coercive apparatus. Despite the agreements made dur the government and exercised little The introduction of the market re ing the UN Conference in Beijing, actual authority. Additionally, any forms by Deng Xiaoping, China's de in which Hillary Clinton famously trend that in any way jeopardized the facto paramount leader from 1972 to declared "women's rights are hu central government's power was im 1992, complicated the role of women man rights," feminist activists in mediately quashed. For example, the in Chinese society. Once guaranteed a the country have continued to face women's rights movement had led to job in the state-controlled economy, police crackdowns and government increased sexual freedom, as "among women now had to compete with threats. Yet the new Chinese feminist the poor peasantry, triangular and their male counterparts and faced movement has not only remained multilateral relationships are almost severe discrimination in the market. alive, but has gained traction among universal." The liberalization of fe They were more likely to get laid off, much of the younger generation. male sexuality caused resentment be forced to retire at a younger age, The younger generation, born years among the more conservative peas or receive less social support after a after the Cultural Revolution, feels ants, mostly men. Concerned about lay-off, and were less likely to find little allegiance to the Marxist state feminism that had dominated social backlash and about the image of the re-employment. This regression in party, the government abandoned the women's economic position was ac discourse. The post-1980-ers are Marriage Reform Law in 1953, three companied by a worsening of social well-connected with the outside years after its introduction. issues such as domestic violence, world, open to foreign ideas, and On a higher level, the party sought in the workplace, more willing than their predecessors to override traditional patriarchal and sex trafficking. More so than to challenge the status quo.

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The most recent notable ease of to distribute materials critical of the ties should also support them, not state suppression involved the de police on International Women's silence them." tainment of five feminist activists Day, including stickers that state "Po On April 13, 2015, the detainees who had planned a peaceful protest lice: go arrest those who committed were released — undoubtedly a result against domestic abuse on Interna sexual harassment." However, unlike of intense international pressure. Yet tional Women's Day on March 8, most cases involving protesters, the such an immediate and widespread 2015. The police originally arrested activists were criminally detained response would have been unimagi nine activists who were involved in rather than informally held by the nable a decade ago. The growth of planning the protest in their respec police. This meant that they could informal media and the increasing tive cities — Beijing, , and be charged and convicted, without interconnectedness of the world Hangzhou — but later released four of a trial. have made suppressing informa them. The five women who remained However, in the process of their tion difficult. Whereas in the past in detention were , detention, something remarkable oc Chinese activist groups were mostly 6C cut off from the outside world, now, Whereas in the past Chinese activist the women's rights activists in China have close ties with supporters and groups were mostly cut off from the feminist groups from around the world. The Chinese feminist activists outside world, now, the women's rights themselves may not be able to speak activists in China have close ties with freely on the streets of Shanghai or Guiyang, but their voices can now be heard in the streets of Sao Paulo supporters and feminist groups from and Greenwich. For the first time in around the world. history, the term "" may be close to a reality. , , Wang curred. Immediately after the arrests, What does this mean for the leader Man, and . flyers featuring the faces of the five ship of China? It means continuous The activists are core members activists with an image of Rosie the suppression of feminist activists, of China's Women's Rights Action Riveter — a popular symbol of female including the raiding of women's Group — a symbol of new Chinese empowerment in the West — spread rights NGOs and monitoring of the feminism. They are known for their across Chinese social media. Though five released detainees, will not gain the state-controlled news media creative stunts and eye-catching the government any supporters on a costumes during protests, earning made no mention of the arrests and domestic or international level. On them the title "guerilla feminists." detention,Li informal news channels the eve of the twentieth anniversary Tingting, a better known as Li Maizi, rapidly publicized the news to the of the milestone UN Conference on has taken part in the protest cam international community. Women in Beijing, the CCP had paign "Occupy the Men's Toilets," The response from outside the appeared to be making progress on which sought to raise awareness country was incredible. One Billion women's rights with the introduction about the inadequacy and indigni Rising, an international movement of the long-awaited first anti-domes ties of public bathroom facilities against rape and sexual violence tic violence law. Yet, given the arrest for women. In one demonstration, against women, demanded the re and detention of the peaceful femi Li Maizi and Wei Tingting donned lease of "our activist feminist sisters," nist activists — and that being only bloody wedding gowns and fake while its members in China provided one of the numerous cases of state bruises on their faces. They marched on-the-ground updates of the condi suppression of women's activism — down one of the busiest streets in the tions of the detainees. On Twitter, any state reforms seem to be only nation's capital holding signs with which is banned in China, "free the words on paper. The anti-domestic statements such as "Violence is next five" became a trending hashtag. violence law may be simply another to you, yet you remain silent?!" and Thousands of groups and individuals Marriage Reform Law — convenient "Love, not an excuse for violence." also spoke out against the govern for the government, insufficient for Their activism has not gone unno ment detention, including US Am the people. ticed. According to the government, bassador to the UN Samantha Power the five women activists were de and US Secretary of State John Kerry, The Future of Chinese Femi tained for "picking quarrels" — what who declared, "We strongly support nism has become a catch-all justification the efforts of these activists to make The Chinese government cannot for the suppression of any dissident. progress on these challenging issues, afford to keep repeating incidents like and we believe that Chinese authori The group was reportedly planning the March 8 detentions. Not only will

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This content downloaded from 206.253.207.235 on Tue, 22 Oct 2019 01:29:33 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms GLOBAL NOTEBOOK it lose ground with the international other related causes seem more like tering the world while also bringing community, but it will also common draw at sense than revolutionary domestic and international issues to tention to already existing sentiment.concerns As stated by Feng Yuan, thea attention of a generation Y and domestically. The most rational women's and rights activist, "We cannot Z audience that might otherwise be most forward-looking decision understand would why the authorities are unaware. be to cooperate with feminist so toughgroups this time. What the activ Celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, instead of criminalizing them. ists want is exactly what state policy Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie Pitt, Feminist organizations suchon women as says: that women should and others have demonstrated — China's Women's Rights beAction equal." and continue to demonstrate — Group are not arising out of nowhere. Yet moving toward true gender their commitments to humanitarian Their causes reflect the commonplace equality requires nothing short of causes and international issues of in concerns of the domestic population. a small revolution in the attitude of equality, and other celebrities follow While they share ideologies the CCP. with It needs to end police sup their lead. Although the movement feminist movements in other pression parts ofas its foremost policy and toward celebrity humanitarian the world, they function within begin theirto prioritize local and national ism has grown most in the Global unique cultural context. Feministcooperation and communication North, examples of celebrities in activist groups are cautious with aboutthe feminist groups. The activ other parts of the world dedicating not appearing to be too "radical"ists themselves are aware that they themselves to international issues and alienate the larger population. cannot realize their goals without the include Uruguayan actor Osvaldo Though women's rights have support gained of the state and are open to Laport and African singer Youssou traction in the generation, suchthe a widepartnership. The state should N'Dour. If more celebrities were spread stereotype of feminists seize this asopportunity rather than to use their fame, influence, and threatening extremists is everpunish presthose who believe in it. money to endorse non-profit and ent in China. As emphasized Not by tooYe long ago, the women of nongovernmental organizations, Jinghuan, a friend of the Chinadetainees helped transform the country raise awareness for charities aiming and fellow activist, "Those fromfive ankids impoverished, rural society to eradicate inequalities, and bring are so moderate ... They were to a globalnever economic powerhouse. important international issues — po radical or violent." But it has come time to realize that litical, economic, and social — to the Indeed, their proposals are "mod the rights of half of the population attention of their generation Y and Z erate" and practical. Building more hold importance beyond the state audiences, we would see much more public bathroom facilities for women, development agenda. If women are awareness among the young people addressing domestic violence, and half the sky, the Chinese government who will become world leaders. must start holding up its part. SI The first step to developing an environment in which celebrities can inform and mobilize youth is to Humanitarianism bridge the gap between celebrities and international, political, and hu Celebrity Humanitarianism manitarian issues. Bridging the Gap Bridging the Gap As Andrew Cooper describes in his staff writer 2009 article for E-International Rela EMMA DWIGHT tions, "Taking Celebrity Diplomacy Seriously in International Relations," there has been a massive shift in the generations. As watching the news from soccer practice on a drifts out of style, people of more last decade, from public views that Eleven Thursday year night, old sits Jane down in returns recent generations focus on what entirely is separate celebrities and in front of the television, and turns on immediately relevant to them: ternationallis issues and criticize such the CBS Evening News. tening to music, following television partnerships, to views that now allow What is wrong with this picture? series, watching movies, and paying celebrities to play active roles in the The methods by which people of attention to what the artists, actors, global arena. The public needs to see generations Y and Z — those born and celebrities they know are saying celebrities as legitimate, educated, in the late 1990s, also known as mil and doing beyond their roles as enter and aware individuals, not just super lennials, and those born after 2000 tainers. With widespread visibility, ficial entertainers; this is an impor — become informed about the world celebrities have the potential to take tant step on the way to bridging the are different from those of earlier on effective humanitarian roles, betgap between celebrities and global

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