Long Read – Zhēn de Gender

Sell-by Date: Fertility and F**kability

on April 2, 2017June 10, 2020 By ZhendeGender 2 Comments

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 woman has lived her entire life with the overpowering idea that one day, her eggs will suddenly run out and she’ll be immediately infertile. Thankfully, the biological clock is a myth.

Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw on the State of Women’s rights in Myanmar (Interview: part 3)

on March 24, 2017March 1, 2020 By ZhendeGender

Pyone Thet Thet Kyaw can be found at the British Embassy, working for the Department for International Development (DFID) in Yangon from 9-5, and leading her own dressmaking start-up, Virya Couture, on 39th Street every evening, juggling two completely different careers but pursuing one dream. Pyone spans sectors while securing rights for her fellow women [...]

Hedonism, Reproductive Health, and Fighting Repatriation: Lijia Zhang on her Debut Novel Lotus (Interview: Part 3)

on March 22, 2017June 10, 2020 By ZhendeGender 2 Comments

They refuse to use femidoms because they are too big to swallow. In a raid, sex workers will swallow any condoms they have on their person, because condoms (used or unused) will be used as hard evidence by the police.

Ovaries: Putting Reproductive Health on the Line at Work

on March 16, 2017June 10, 2020 By ZhendeGender

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 help is feeling that the system is pitted against me because I speak a different language, because I am a foreigner, and because I am a woman.

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

on November 7, 2016June 17, 2020 By ZhendeGender

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 that need directly.

Can Rape Jokes Ever be Funny?

on October 8, 2015June 10, 2020 By ZhendeGender 1 Comment

Sexist Faux Pas at a Beijing Bar A woman takes the Beijing subway to work every day. One day her doctor tells her she is pregnant. "That's impossible," she says. "I've only been on the subway." When this joke was told to a friend and me at a party, the punch line hung in the air. The [...]