The Birth of Chinese Feminism by He Zhen

Sex is a status category with political implications. Keywords: emancipation cross-cultural analysis marriage rebel gender discourse(s) Peoples' Republic of China (PRC)

If the 21st century is indeed the Chinese century, such investigations are crucial. To this end, I utilise Zwart's notion of cultural 'mixing' and Derrick's idea of the 'sliding signifier' before making recommendations for improved public policy formulation. The hope is expressed that the profound insights unearthed from these rebel discourse(s) might be beneficial for Western feminisms. In this contribution, several rebel discourses on marriage during both post-Maoist Peoples' Republic of China (PRC) and former dynastic periods, are found to be emancipatory (with women refusing to partake in patriarchal constructs such as marriage) and progressive (with women having several sexual partners simultaneously). Contributions on the theory of discourse are considered and applied. This is done discursive-analytically by way of cross-cultural analysis as methodology. I attempt to evaluate rebel discourse(s), as opposed to mainstream, dominant discourse, on gender as demonstrated by marriage practices in Chinese societies, both contemporary and historical, vis-à-vis general Western, marriage practices. Rebel Discourse(s) on Gender as Demonstrated by Contemporary and Historical Chinese Marriage Practices

The Birth of Chinese Feminism by He Zhen