Women and sexuality in China: female sexuality and gender since 1949

Abstract

This book analyzes major Chinese governmental publications that deal with sexuality in 1950, when the new Marriage Law was enacted, and 1980, with the Second Marriage Law. Evans (Chinese, Univ. of Westminster) is well grounded in both feminist and Chinese studies, which allows her to deepen her analysis with references to China's present-day pop culture and conversations she has had with Chinese colleagues. Her major finding is that Chinese discourses consistently use medical and/or scientific explanations of gender differences to, essentially, denigrate women. Evans's analysis is consistent with much that has been written on China's political system?that it cannot survive without maintaining order and stability. However, she assumes that the audience is fluent in postmodernist language.>