Xin Huang Dissertation April 12
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THE LEGACY OF THE MAOIST GENDER PROJECT IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA by Xin Huang M.A., Institute of Social Studies, 2002 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Women’s and Gender Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2010 ©Xin Huang, 2010 ABSTRACT This study examines various ways in which the Maoist gender project manifests itself in Chinese women’s lives today, as conveyed by a range of women currently living in Beijing. Oral histories were collected from fifteen women, four of whom were selected for in-depth analysis using a method informed by narrative studies and feminist approaches to women’s auto/bio/graphy. Judith Butler’s ideas on gender as performative serve as a framework to examine these individual negotiations with changing models of femininity, and the first chapter presents a critical account of the limits and applicability of her theory in this specific transnational context. The four following chapters provide detailed, contextualized analysis of these particular performances of gender in relation to the Maoist model woman (fun!, or socialist labourer), whose presence remains in the shadow of the currently preferred n!xing (feminine, consumer-oriented woman), while the even older pre-revolutionary devoted wife and mother remains in the background. Their gender performances bring out the intersections of physical embodiment and the construction of subjectivity through discourse. Analysis of the content of each story is complemented by a discussion of the structure and language of their narratives, including an innovative interviewing method of “telling and retelling”. Hybrid language— various mixtures of official dialect, regional dialects, and imported terms—is a feature that becomes prominent, conveying changing performances of being a woman, as do the visual representations (photographs, artwork) that some of them shared. The analysis reveals how women individually appropriate, resist or synthesize the ideologically motivated models proposed by government and media, from China and from the West. The concept of gender ii performance as a “project” is introduced to convey both conscious manipulation at the collective level, and personal agency for individuals. This research shows that the Maoist legacy still manifests itself in various ways in the lives of women with different social locations and sexual orientations, and is one of the resources for women to formulate strategies for gender subversion. The persistent existence of this legacy sheds light on how to formulate subversive strategies to challenge the narrowly defined, class-encoded, normative gender model of the post-Mao nüxing, and create a more diverse and democratic gender landscape in China. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ ix Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1 Funü, nüxing, and the Maoist gender project...................................................................................... 3 Feminist studies of the Maoist gender project ..................................................................................... 5 Research data .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Research summary ............................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1 Theoretical Approach and Methodology............................................................... 20 The conceptualization of gender in China.......................................................................................... 20 “Western theory” and “Chinese experience”..................................................................................... 28 Judith Butler and the theory of gender performativity .................................................................... 37 Gender (as) project ............................................................................................................................... 57 Feminism and narrative studies .......................................................................................................... 60 A critical and self-reflective approach................................................................................................ 73 Chapter 2 Born into the Mao Era: Lin’s Life Story............................................................... 77 Context................................................................................................................................................... 78 Lin’s life story ....................................................................................................................................... 88 The storytelling ................................................................................................................................... 115 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 3 Desire and Shame: Dong’s Life Story.................................................................. 127 Context................................................................................................................................................. 129 Dong’s life story .................................................................................................................................. 138 The narration: dialect as the vehicle for a story of desire............................................................... 163 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 170 Chapter 4 I am a Rock: Shitou’s Life Story.......................................................................... 173 Context: female same-sex desire in China........................................................................................ 174 Shitou’s life story ................................................................................................................................ 177 The storytelling ................................................................................................................................... 207 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 220 Chapter 5 The Uninhabitable Place of the Nüxing: Anne’s Life Story .............................. 224 Context: economic reform and transnational Chinese identities ................................................... 225 Anne’s life story .................................................................................................................................. 233 iv The storytelling: hybrid language and the cosmopolitan Chinese woman.................................... 270 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 279 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 283 The Maoist gender project and its legacy......................................................................................... 283 Gender as project, situated subversion, and diverse strategies...................................................... 286 Feminist research and alternative story-telling ............................................................................... 289 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 294 Appendix I Participant Information................................................................................... 343 Appendix II Checklist and Questionnaire (English and Chinese)..................................... 345 Appendix III University Behaviour Research Ethics Certificate of Approval .................. 356 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Lin’s description of her Nainai and her mother............................................................ 121 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Lin..............................................................................................................................88 Figure 2 See the hairstyles of the women on the right and left..............................................113 Figure 3 Dong at the restaurant where she works..................................................................138 Figure 4 PLA sneakers;..........................................................................................................143