The article discusses changes that have taken place over time in the gender construction of women in China.
The article is premised on establishing the relationship between changes in the economic state of China and its impact on women relative to the gender construction in the Chinese society. It also traces the path that Chinese women have taken to assume the current position they hold in the Chinese public sphere. Indeed, the article further advances the argument that gender constructions of women in the western society cannot be used to explain the gender construction of women in China. The article notes that women issues were for a long time disregarded in the development discourse in China. In earlier times, they were not viewed as persons who could contribute to nation building. The article also addresses the issue of state feminism which has been defined as measures that the state has employed so as to empower women. These include activities such as enacting legislation that promotes equality of women with men. The central argument of the article is that the position of women in the Chinese society is yet to be fully established and institutionalized. The place of women in the public and arguably even in the private sphere was not emphasized. Successive regimes in China have sought to address other issues as developing the country while disregarding such matters as those specifically concerning women. This is contrary to western states which sought from the very onset to embed women issues into their development discourse. The end result is that while the women in China have made some gains, these are not firmly entrenched due to the weak anchoring they have.
Work Cited
Yang, Mayfair Mei-bui. "From Gender Erasure to Gender Difference." California: University of Minnesota Press, 1999.
