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Gendered Subjectivities in a Patriarchal China

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Beyond Tears and Laughter

Part of the book series: New Perspectives on Chinese Politics and Society ((NPCPS))

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Abstract

Two clusters of concepts are vital to this book. The first cluster consists of agency, subjectivity, coercion, coping and resistance; the second focuses on patriarchy, filial piety, masculinity and femininity. The aim of this chapter is to provide a theoretical framework based on these concepts, which will help to explain the overarching research questions. The conceptualised framework of agency, subjectivity and coercion is fundamental to the book as a whole. The discussion of patriarchy, femininity and masculinity also serves as a theoretical pillar for the empirical chapters, especially for intimate relations, discussed in Chap. 5.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This literature includes but is not limited to Parish and Whyte (1978), Stacey (1983), Ma (2003), Fan (2004), Pun (2005) and Jacka (2006). As I discussed in the introduction, few scholars have paid attention to male rural migrants’ experiences. There have been some studies that particularly focus on male migrant workers’ disadvantages in the marriage market (Attané, Qunlin, Shuzhuo, Xueyan, & Guilmoto, 2013) and sexually transmitted disease (Ebenstein & Jennings, 2009; Tucker et al., 2005).

  2. 2.

    The six structures of patriarchy were ‘the patriarchal mode of production, patriarchal relations in paid work, patriarchal relations in the state, male violence, patriarchal relations in sexuality, and patriarchal relations in cultural institutions’ (Walby, 1990, p. 20).

  3. 3.

    Scholars have different understandings of the original meaning of this quote. Cai (2013) argued that Qi Zhao in the Han Dynasty interpreted it as, ‘there are three things that are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them’ (p. 54); this has become the most prevalent version. Although it may be a misinterpretation, it has nevertheless become the most influential translation.

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  1. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Yang Shen

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Shen, Y. (2019). Gendered Subjectivities in a Patriarchal China. In: Beyond Tears and Laughter. New Perspectives on Chinese Politics and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5817-3_2

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