Gender Violence Suffered by the Daughter-In-Law in the Changing Chinese Family — A Case Study from the Perspective of Family Power Structure

Abstract

With the development of society, the structure and function of the Chinese family have undergone great changes but gender violence still exists. Through in-depth interviews with two in-laws families, the article describes the gender violence suffered by three daughters-in-law (DILs) within two generations from the 1970s to the 2000s, discovering that despite the nuanced differences in the forms and frequencies of gender violence, three DILs were all at the inferior status in the stem family and were victims of family power inequality. It was revealed that the family power inequality gave rise to gender violence toward the DIL, inducing severe physical or mental injury to the DIL. However, family power inequality was rooted in the traditional gender ideology. The traditional gender ideology originated from the feudal society of China and still pervaded modern society. Consequently, the traditional gender ideology was the rooted cause of the occurrence of gender violence. The article concludes with a reminder of reflecting upon the impacts of the traditional gender ideology on our lives and promoting a new gender consciousness.