Gender inequality in China originates in the philosophical teachings of Confucianism. They contain well-articulated implications for the women’s roles in the society. These strongly enforced rules of appropriate conduct presuppose subservient and obedient behavior of women. While social conventions underwent certain alterations on their way to the promotion of women’s liberation, the female population continued suffering the impact of the stereotypical thinking during the twentieth century due to the overall hesitation of the Chinese authorities to challenge the male authority as known from writing elites review https://best-essays-sites.com/review/elitewritings-com-review.html Historical Background A wide spectrum of historical forces, including religious teachings, social expectations, and economic factors, stimulated the gradual evolution of gender stereotypes in China. The influence of Confucianism proved to be especially prominent during the construction of the Chinese standards of masculinity and femininity. According to the Confucian philosophical postulates, spousal relations essentially should reflect the cosmological dichotomies between the ruler and the subject, Heaven and Earth. Men have to be strong and firm masters of the household, while women are required to cultivate a subservient and docile character. The strict division of assigned roles suggests that generations of Chinese women occupied a secondary place in the family hierarchy. In other words, modesty and obedience constituted the qualities of a perfect wife since the adoption of Confucianism. The assignment of particular roles to women strictly corresponded to the contemporary social expectations. The imbalance of power between a husband and a wife led to gender oppression and segregation in imperial China. While men enjoyed the freedom of movement and socialization outside the family compounds, women remained within the inner quarters of their mansions and interacted only with the representatives of the same sex. In a similarly strict manner, intimate interactions between the male and female members of the household were viewed as improper and vulgar. Strict social conventions aimed at keeping women under strict supervision. In fact, the male-dominated society effectively imposed and enforced the limitations of women’s basic rights. Social standards of female behavior changed considerably under the influence of the Communist ideology during the twentieth century. The public policy of the post-war regime in China dictated partial emancipation of the female population after the declaration of the Cultural Revolution and economic reforms by means of widespread propaganda. Namely, graphic posters effectively promoted application of females for popular male professions. The tendency was largely necessitated by the government policy of inhabiting indigenous territories in terms of the state-sponsored campaign of rapid economic development. The assertion indicates that ideological messages encouraged women to pursue professional growth through education and hard labor. Therefore, the female population witnessed partial diversification of women’s roles in the society and considerable changes in the ideal representations of femininity. Evolution of Gender Roles The changes in the political and social life inevitably resulted in the visible evolution of gender stereotypes. Since the Middle Ages, the Confucian teachings propagated complete subjugation of women to the rules of the male-dominated society. Newly married brides were expected to exhibit a high degree of devotion to hard labor within the walls of the household and self-denial, which was usually manifested in giving the immediate priority to the needs of others. The rules also prescribed obedient compliance with the wishes of husbands. Such self-debasement gave husbands the right and privilege to exercise strict control over their female partners. Therefore, servitude and modesty seem to have been the chief criteria for measuring women’s moral purity. Adequate performance of duties had a sacrificial meaning. Correct manners, sincere desire to serve the male heads of the family, avoidance of participation in gossips and idle activities were the signs of adherence to the practices of ancestral worship. Conversely, disrespectful behavior could have grave consequences for women. Upon the wedding ceremony, the brides went through the ritualistic presentation to the ancestors and joined the ranks of the influential matriarchs after giving birth to a son. By contrast, the role of women in the households was likely to be reduced to the status of a concubine without this ritual. Therefore, the dutiful commitment to hard labor led to a substantial growth of women’s influence within the family hierarchy. Meanwhile, the inferior position of women is exemplified by numerous documented cases of oppression. For instance, female spouses were essentially prohibited from having any social contacts with males outside the family lineage as well as from exposure to public display by means of seclusion in the inner parts of houses, away from human eyes. The examples strongly suggest that husbands usually neglected moral qualities of women, who were obliged by social expectations to exhibit docility and adherence to the conventional boundaries of proper manners. The establishment of the Communist regime in China, by contrast, somewhat diversified women’s roles in the contemporary society. Numerous autobiographical accounts suggest that women were granted the opportunity to pursue professional growth in the male-dominated areas of knowledge under the influence of the Cultural Revolution. Zhou Genfeng, a 51-year-old geologist, recalls how she married and left her hometown to work with her husband on the oilfields in the desolate areas of China. The strong desire for self-realization and adherence to the economic ideology of the Chinese Communist Party urged her to endure hard labor, loss of a child and poor housing conditions. The story illustrates the nationwide tendency of women empowerment through access to education and perspective jobs. However, the policy of women’s liberation bears a strong resemblance to systematic exposure to the compelling ideological pressure as the economic growth of China seems to be primarily achieved at the expense of personal health risks and exploitation of the Chinese citizens. Women’s Rights in the Twentieth Century The limitations imposed on women’s rights by gender oppression and segregation left little chance for the female population in imperial China to enjoy individual freedoms. While men could realize their ambitions in education and at work, the rights of the female population were limited to household chores and making cloth. Women had no right to inherit property and were essentially dependent on the amount of dowry provided by their family for ensuring an appropriate match. Although they could use this money for purchasing various items and giving donations to temples, some supporters of Confucianism stressed the necessity of obtaining permission from parents-in-law before spending dowry. The provided facts indicate complete economic and social dependence of the Chinese women on their families. Meanwhile, females suffered the same restrictions in choosing outdoor activities. While women of all classes could visit operas and temples in the same-sex groups, men viewed those activities with suspicion since theaters and religious gatherings were considered as the places for cultivation of promiscuity and barbarism, respectively. The evidence exemplifies the magnitude of abuse of women’s rights in imperial China as social conventions prevented their political and financial elevation from the burdens of stereotypical thinking. The tendency of gender inequality remained relatively strong in the twentieth-century China. Despite the evident progress in women empowerment, the Communist ideology did little to reshape conservative social norms. For instance, the failure to create and sustain a harmonious family was an excuse for social isolation and public scolding. Four Women of Forty written by the prize-winning author Hu Xin vividly portrays “the fallen women” Yehyun that dared to pursue the career of an actress instead of staying home with her family and tyrannical mother-in-law. Later, the heroine was subjected to the popular condemnation for divorcing her husband. In other cases, women suffered economic hardships that resulted from the contemporary social injustice. Xiao Wenxin, an experienced schoolteacher from the rural area, admits having suffered a serious lack of money as her salary constituted only two-thirds of the money paid to the state-recruited educators from urban areas. These examples illustrate stereotypic roles that were generally assigned to oppressed women by the Western authors in terms of feministic discourse. These popular labels include such notions as “the veiled woman, the powerful mother, the chaste virgin, the obedient wife,” i.e. the images that “exist in universal, ahistorical splendor.” Therefore, partial empowerment of women is merely a half measure aimed at the achievement of short-term goals. In other words, the Communist regime in China had no desire to challenge the conventional stereotypes about male superiority. The evolution of gender roles during the cultural development in China manifested in the accessible education and jobs did not negate the pressure of the conventional boundaries of masculinity and femininity of the previous century. The phenomenon is usually attributed to the lack of enthusiasm for challenging male domination in the contemporary society. The extensive amount of supportive evidence that includes the literary works, autobiographical accounts and documented cases of gender inequality prove the assertion. As the underprivileged status of women in China constitutes a universal phenomenon, the presented findings may contribute to the cross-cultural research on gender roles in the future.