GENDER ROLES FOR WOMEN IN CHINA.   Term Paper ID:26026 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Ethnographic overview of women's social, marital, family & ceremonial roles & how they are affected by urban or rural location, age & historical era.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Ethnographic overview of women's social, marital, family & ceremonial roles & how they are affected by urban or rural location, age & historical era. Paper Introduction: Gender Roles and Chinese Women Introduction One of the problems in the social sciences is that people look to the social sciences for the same kinds of answers about people that physical sciences provide about atoms or chemicals. This does not take into account the fact that human beings are affected by an incredible diversity of family, cultural, and other environmental influences that impact their behavior. Even in one society, people live in different regions, belong to different classes, and operate under unique value systems. Still, there may be some generalities that are possible. The intent in this paper is to explore gender roles for women in China, making the argument that those roles have some general Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (1996). For example, Yan (1996) emphasized gift-givingnetworks in a village, while Wolf (1968) provided an intensifiedexamination of one family. This is also true with the Limfamily, with the family discussed in Wolf descendants of two brothers whomoved to Taiwan in the 18 s (Wolf 1968: 11). (1993). Although men still might be more likelyin this role, it would not be unusual for women to serve as liturgists oras gift-bringers. Stanford: Stanford University Press. None of the women were surnamed Kong or related to them (Jing1996: 151). Finally, men still seem to have more responsibility for arranging thefutures of their children then the women do, and women are less likely tobe able to maintain control of their own lives. Stanford: StanfordUniversity Press. Again,the wives had supportive roles. First, there is thesituation of Pan Xiuya. Second, women are expected to provide work, strategizing, accounting,and other important services in the private sphere that enables the familyto thrive. The men do the arranging. Still, in general, women's roles seem to be moving closer tothose of the men in terms of public participation, autonomy, and importanceto the family. Wu, T. At the sametime, she was not in a outcast position. It is also apparent that there is a diversity ofroles in modern China, with some variation between urban and ruralenvironments. The second situation pointing to changing gender roles in the futureis the situation in Jing's work. She was a respectable girl, butable to establish her liaisons for herself. 3. There is no indication that Li resented herinput or that she was expected to efface herself in this privatestrategizing. Women are responsible forbringing forth descendants for the family and, if they accomplish that,they are awarded with respect and a more secure place in the family (Wolf1968: 45). In addition to attending theceremony, one of the women who attended claimed spiritual authorityherself, as a shaman, and brought many of her followers with her. Her contribution led to a betterresolution of the situation. The wife's role was a supportive one. They are not expected to be passive, brainless, or useless.They are expected to contribute all their gifts to the success of thefamily they marry into. Shedid not depend upon a go-between to arrange her connections for her. What is particularly interesting is the shift in attitudesand behaviors among the younger people. The women in the House of Limhave their lives arranged for them. First, men seem consistently to be the publicrepresentatives, while women have an equal responsibility in the privatesphere. The author provided an intensive look at thecharacters through exploring their thoughts and activities during onespecial day. However, women were equally responsible with the men for the familyaltars. Thesewomen carried a banner with them supporting Confucianism and includingtheir names. (1968). This private-public dichotomy is consistent with other culture's gender roles for menand for women. He was the representative to the villageand needed to fulfill his function for the entire family to maintain itsstatus in the village. It is the men that carry the line, remember the ceremonies, and are thedirect connection to important ancestors. Beijing: New WorldPress. 2. Although he is not as his father was, but he is not yet in arelationship with the women in the family that would allow them equal voice(Wolf 1968: 143). The bell and the drum tower. The unmarried men representedindependent households, although the women did not (Yan 1996: 15 ). One of the movies focused on well-digging in arural area and other village activities (Wu, 1983). Even in one society, people live in different regions, belong todifferent classes, and operate under unique value systems. There was variation inthe amount of detail provided about specific aspects of male and femalegender roles.Diverse Environments Let's look at each of these environments first for information aboutgender roles. First, many women were allowed to attend the nighttime ceremony.Unlike in the past, these women were not all elderly, and they were not alleven of the Kong lineage (Jing 1996: 151). (1983). She did not expect anyone totake that responsibility from her. Wolf, M. This still applies, and isstill important in China. These two situations lead one to anticipate that the principles rulinggender roles are changing very rapidly. Finally, in looking at the ethnography focused on Dachuan (Jing,1996), there is additional evidence for women's roles as private supportersand men's roles as public performers, or carriers of the family's statusand responsibility in the community. In an older ethnography, by Wolf (1968), that contrast is apparent.The women have little power to manage their lives, in contrast to PanXiuya. However, there is also indicationthat women's roles are changing, particularly as shown by their movementinto roles in relationship to the lineage ceremony.Generalities It is possible to make some generalizations about the gender roles ofwomen and men in 2 th century China, with the proviso that those roles areconstantly in process. First, the film "The Old Well" provided a good look at rolesfor husbands and wives. References Jing, J. For example, in Yan (1996: 86), Li's wifedisagreed with his views, providing a more sophisticated and nuancedperspective on the situation with Gao. Most men and women will arrange their own marriages and beresponsible for their own lives. The temple of memories. The husband, on theother hand, was expected to participate in the public activity of well-digging on behalf of his family. It could be predicted that withinthe next ten to 2 years, the following would be true: 1. The focal points of theethnographies also varied. This seems to be true, too, in the ethnography written by Yan (1996).The men were the primary representatives in village activities, althoughnot exclusively so. The old well. In the past, women had no part in thelineage ceremonies. However, there were still some instances in which women werenot allowed to participate in activities that men performed, as in thepicture-taking (Jing 1996: 151). It was not relevant to them, since the men were thecarriers of the family name and the honor of the family. The flow of gifts: Reciprocity and social networksin a Chinese village. The conflictbetween Lim A-ou and Lim Chieng-cua is at least partly because he does notallow Lim A-pou equal participation in the family strategizing and decision-making. In addition,women were considered to be ritually unclean and likely to defile publicceremonies (Jing 1996: 147). Third, women are not as important to the family because they are notthe name-bearers and the lineage carriers. She seemed to have less status than herhusband and served him, rather than him serving her. NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Both men and women would serve as public representatives oftheir family in village affairs. The intent in this paper is toexplore gender roles for women in China, making the argument that thoseroles have some general parameters, although they are affected by location,age, and historical era.The Background The ethnographies provided views of women and their roles in differentregions of China, including both mainland China and Taiwan, in rural andurban areas, and in different historical eras. Men seem to be the public representatives, while women haveimportant responsibilities for teaching the children and maintaining thefamily's values within the home. In this private sphere, they carried equal weight. Still, theremay be some generalities that are possible. House of Lim. She made the decisions about her own future. However, the contributionsare in more traditional ways, as with cooking for the family. Yan, Y. For example, in the lineage ceremony, the men are the liturgists.They have always been the liturgists and they passed the ceremonial ritesto other men over hundreds of years. Men fix the genealogy, whilewomen only move in to families and are then responsible for carrying forththat family name, rather than their own. There are several indications of changingroles for women. If lineage regains some of its importance, women, too, willbecome lineage carriers, although to a lesser degree than the men.Conclusions It is apparent that there have been changes over time in the genderroles of men and women. Shemade the decisions about who would be best for her to marry. In the House of Lim, there are innumerable indications thatthe women's contribution is sought and valued. This is shown in The OldWell, with its focus on arranged marriages, in Wolf, in which even therebellious older son went through with his arranged marriage (Wolf 1968:49), and in Yan. This does not take into accountthe fact that human beings are affected by an incredible diversity offamily, cultural, and other environmental influences that impact theirbehavior. Liu, X. The clearest example of this is in Wolf, which is in adifferent part of China, and a different historical era from the otherethnographies. There is evidence that the control of the elder male, andof men in general, has decreased, but not completely disappeared.Prospects for the Future In looking at the ethnographies, there are two situations which seemto point to a change in gender roles in the future. Specifically, the major change revolvesaround the temple ceremony. Theimportant clans in the village of Dachuan traced their ancestry toConfucius, ultimately, through the four brothers who moved into the region. They were the ones who carried out the gift-giving,even if their wives helped with strategy. (1996). Gender Roles and Chinese WomenIntroduction One of the problems in the social sciences is that people look to thesocial sciences for the same kinds of answers about people that physicalsciences provide about atoms or chemicals. She was not like one of theprostitutes mentioned in the House of Lim. This is most clearly expressed in Jing. Pan Xiuya strategized for herself. The roles are more diverse in modern-day Beijing, at least asportrayed by Xinwu (1993). Essentially, the wife was responsible forhousehold matters, such as cooking, but was not expected to take a strongstance in the public world. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.