A queer feminist anthropologist exploring the realities of culture, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Asia. Writer producing original editorial content about mainland China, East and Southeast Asia.

SELECTED ARTICLES

Ovaries: Putting Reproductive Health on the Line at Work

I’ve vowed to myself that my body is my public, political sphere as well as my private, personal sphere. It’s my mannequin on which to display my beliefs, my vehicle in the fight for gender rights, my pathway to strength and to weakness. I’m not afraid to bare the truth to the world. What doesn’t…

Marriage Market Takeover: SK-II’s brand of “empowertising”

At a time when feminism is growing in China and yet the movement remains largely underground, the need for women’s empowerment is routinely ignored in China. As stated by one of these women: ‘not getting married is like the biggest sign of disrespect’ to her parents, and society as a whole. The film taps into…

What 5 Chinese women taught me in Women’s History Month

Just because they don’t get to vote for their government, or don’t have the economic stability you do, or don’t have access to the resources you take for granted, doesn’t mean those women don’t fight for their rights just like you. In fact, you might be surprised at how far they have gone to get…

Dating in China [part 5]

Date says more attractive with clothes on. Does an open relationship translate to open dates? Getting an I.O.U. for accepting a drink. Women tell true stories of their dating experiences in China.

Part five in a five part series of interviews. All stories shared by the women who experienced them in their own words.

SELECTED ARTICLES

Sex Education: Self-education

Contrary to (mainly western) feminist paradigms, for Chinese women the advent of birth control is not automatically synonymous with “freedom”. Within the collective cultural memory, family planning holds the cultural weight of painful state control, as legislation to reduce family sizes in the early Maoist period was enforced through forceful means.

Sell-by Date: Fertility and F**kability

A woman’s perceived value is tied up in her fertility and her physical appearance. The biological clock has supposedly ruled women’s lives for generations. In many industries, a woman’s sex appeal can equate to her recognition and success. So how does the notion of a “sell-by date” affect real women’s lives? For generations, the average…

What is it with China and women? International Women’s Day 2015

The 1995 incident was echoed this year: While many women were being distracted with a shower of sexism and unnecessary gifts, Chinese feminist activists were arrested and held over International Women’s Day without cause. Ten women were detained on Friday and Saturday, and five were still being held in custody on Monday.

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I am a queer feminist anthropologist passionate about challenging binary gender norms, combatting sexism, and fighting for equal rights for women around the world. I have been writing about gender and sexuality for over ten years. Feminist issues take priority in my reading and research. I have lived in mainland China and South Korea, and have traveled extensively in South East Asia, including a series of research trips to Burma (Myanmar). I am also a PhD student conducting independent ethnographic fieldwork in Taipei, Taiwan on the subject of gender and sexuality. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey. If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee to keep Zhende Gender going (after all, coffee shops is where most of these articles are written).

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