That’s how the line to our Women in China exhibit started
off. In a time when a man could refuse to marry a woman because her feet were not
shaped like a “three-inch golden lotus”, these women were overturning kingdoms,
conquering battlefields, and, in general, kicking ass. Along with foot binding,
other traditionally Confucian standards of beauty included having “phoenix
eyes” and “willow-leaf eyebrows” as well as light skin all of which were symbols
of beauty, proper ancestry and socioeconomic status (Zhang, 2012). But
the women on our clothesline weren’t just some pretty faces, they were women
who held power and influence, and who played an important role in the evolution
of China. Yet, most of these women have been forgotten in some obscure corner
of HIStory, gathering dust.
The clothesline Women in China exhibit
Next came the women of the revolution: Mao’s “Iron women” whose
masculinization was supposed to exemplify equality. They were tough and strong,
hard workers, capable of doing anything a man could do (Yang, 2006). Although,
Communism officially opposed beauty in the form of self-adornment, it did not
outright reject beauty, but rather constructed a new image of beauty in line with
Communist ideology and politics (Ip, 2003). Young and attractive women
with lots of revolutionary zeal, known as “beautiful heroines”, were used in
propaganda to promote a positive image of the Communist Party and encourage political loyalty and moral integrity. For example, Sun Yat-sen’s wife, Song Qingling, who was
described as a woman of “dignified grace, sophistication, fragility and simple
but tasteful clothing” was admired by many for her “elegance combined with
political commitment, tender beauty juxta- posed with courage” (Ip, 2003).
Meanwhile, revolutionary poet, Qiu
Jin, who was criticized for wearing men’s clothing, drew inspiration for
her poems from the female heroes (or SHEroes as my buddy calls them) and
warriors of Chinese history. In one of
her poems, she writes: “Don’t tell me women/ are not the stuff of heroes”.
Quotes on clothes
In the next section, writers from the “newly new generation”
(post 1970s) sought to reclaim “the feminine” by giving voice to women through
personal narratives and life stories (Schaffer & Xianlin, 2007). “Beauty
writers” like Lin Bai, Zhou WeiHui and Mian Mian fought against sexual repression and female
objectification by writing about female bodies, desires and
sexualities (most of them have books that are banned or censured in
China). They challenged the
notion that beauty is oppressive to women by exploiting their image and
sexuality in order to gain public attention, fame and glamour.
In fact, it was common practice to showcase their “artistic pictures” (yishu zhao)
on book covers in order to catch public attention since “a female writer
with a beautiful appearance is more likely to create a sensation that the
market would like to see” (Yang, 2006).
It is difficult to judge whether or not exposing themselves
to the public gaze is exploitative or not. A part of me would like to see
women’s books read because they are intellectually sharp and interesting, not
because there is a pretty face on the front cover. The other part of me knows
that that is not how the market works. Efrat Tseelon (1995) provides another perspective:
The argument equating gaze with masculine position and power is problematic. In the distinction between the man “who is doing the gaze” and the women who is the object of the gaze there is an assumption that one position, that of the onlooker, is inherently more powerful than the other. However, a careful examination of the use of “invisible” and “visible” shows them to encompass a dialectical rather than a unilateral meaning. “Invisible” as ignored and trivialized is powerless. But invisible as the source of gaze (that is, the one who is looking without being looked at) is powerful. Similarly, visible as objectified is powerless, but visible as prominent and dominant is powerful.
The "gender studies" classroom
At the end of the exhibit line are the modern day SHEroes: the “Oprah
of China”, the first
lady of China, actresses
and athletes…Known as
the “Fan Bingbing”
standard, they are the women that young women in China aspire to be like;
admired for their wealth, beauty and glamourous lifestyles (Zhang, 2012).
Our exhibit provides only a glimpse at all the phenomenal
and radical women throughout China’s history, but by opening the door just a
crack, we managed to shed light on a topic that is often left in the dark. When
we first introduced the idea of doing an exhibit celebrating influential women
in Chinese history, our buddies were surprised. “We hear people talk about
water and the environment all the time,” said one of our buddies, “but never
women”. Most of our buddies admitted that they didn’t know much about the topic
and had never really thought about women’s issues before. It would turn out to
be a significant learning opportunity for them as well.
White lilies expressing people's hope for women in China
Our exhibit was divided into two parts: an artistic display
of historical women figures interspersed on a laundry line with quotes written
on clothing; and an interactive “gender studies” classroom where we invited
participants to play a game of “guess who” and answer the question “what hope
do you have for the future of women in China?” Answers were written on white
lily cut-outs and posted on a board.
Throughout the exhibit day, I was engaged in several lengthy
and profound discussions around women’s issues and gender equality in China.
Although, beauty didn’t come up as a topic in any of the conversations I had, it
did show up many times in response to the lily question along with independence
and equality; although it is unclear what many of them meant by beauty and if
they were referring to beauty in a moral or aesthetic sense.
Independence, equality, beauty they wrote on hundreds of lilies.
One of the most rewarding moments during our exhibit was when
one of our buddies started guiding people through the exhibit on her own initiative.
Previously, she had been one of the buddies for who “women” was a new topic for
her, but she had been very involved in helping us plan and translate our
exhibit. Watching her take ownership of the exhibit and share her new knowledge
with her peers was a significant testimony to the success of our project.
We had wanted to create an exhibit that had meaning beyond just
presenting a “cultural exchange”. We wanted our exhibit to be thought-provoking
by opening spaces for dialogue on a topic rarely discussed. We wanted to
celebrate women in China, but we also wanted to inspire women in China. Just
seeing how engaged our buddies were in developing our exhibit showed that we
had succeeded in having an impact. Seeing how our team grew in solidarity and
strengthened our commitment to feminism through intense struggles and differing
perspectives was another sign of success. Engaging in some many enriching
conversations with men and women on the day of the exhibit and having young
women thank us for drawing attention to women’s issues was just the cherry on
top.
Our buddy sharing her knowledge
Zhang, M. (2012). A chinese beauty story: How college women in
china negotiate beauty, body image, and mass media. Chinese Journal of Communication, 5(4), 437-454. doi:10.1080/17544750.2012.723387
Ip, H.-Y. (2003). Fashioning Appearances: Feminine Beauty in Chinese
Communist Revolutionary Culture. Modern
China, 29(3), 329-361. DOI:
10.1177/00977004032
Schaffer, K. & Xianlin, S. (2007). Unruly Spaces: Gender, Women's
Writing and Indigenous Feminism in China. Journal
of Gender Studies, 16(1), 17-30. DOI: 10.1080/09589230601116125
Yang, X.
(2006). From Beauty Fear to
Beauty Fever: A Critical Study of Chinese Female Writers Born in the 1970s.
(Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon). Retrieved from ProQuest
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