Learning that your ex is married. Walking away from a Tinder date. Getting set up by your boyfriend. These women tell true stories of their dating experiences in China.
Dating in China [part 1]
Tag: Women
The value of pronouns; or, ‘Excuse me, Sir?’
How are we to believe Mao Zedong's statement that "women hold up half the sky", if China’s women are being downtrodden by the very language they speak?
Where did my hair go? The aftermath of a drastic hair cut
Four months ago, I made the courageous decision to cut my 12 inch hair off entirely. Here's a video of the day, the event, and the aftermath: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZpAY8zrkEg A huge thank you to my good friends Maxi Battaglia and Ponita Reasmy for making this video possible. It is a wonderful record of a major moment in [...]
Gender Equality in China [Loreli Interview]
There is no reason a western feminist ‘we’ must set the agenda for a developing world feminist ‘them’. Chinese activists are navigating the way toward gender equality using a contemporary Chinese feminism, on their own terms.
Burma Voices Project: Women of Burma
During two trips to Burma (Myanmar) in the past year, I initially felt surprised to experience widespread enthusiasm to speak openly to me, outsider as I am. The openness I was so frequently greeted with amazed me. Locals felt completely at ease about discussing the politics of their threatened totalitarian regime in my presence. The [...]
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 rights women around the world deserve.
Lijia Zhang on gender, China’s sexual revolution and prostitution in contemporary China (Interview: part 2)
I was willing to be different, willing to try new things, and wanting to expand my world and life experience. My situation in life has changed, but fundamentally I haven’t changed.
Lijia Zhang on ambition, writing and her public role in contemporary China (Interview: part 1)
People outside China imagine that 1.3 billion people exist in a very controlled, very rigid environment here. But for lots of ordinary people, the cage has expanded so much that they don’t often feel the limit.
My experience of: Endometriosis
In my first few days of university I met a bright, bubbly girl while I was out on a pub-crawl. She had crazy hair, wore glasses and she was on the same degree course as me. We spoke at high speed back and forth for hours that night, and became great friends very quickly. We [...]
Why can’t I write about China?
Since I moved to Beijing, my parents have told me countless times to be careful what I write about China. I wouldn’t want to get caught by some kind of authority and be kicked out of the country now, would I? But this has not been a problem, because, as much as I would love [...]
Zhēn de Gender 