The Oppression Of Women In China

Chinese women, much like women from all over the world have had to and continue to fight for equality. Strict Chinese tradition has left women inferior to men throughout history and the traditions adopted through the many different dynasties over time contribute to the oppression that women face in China. The difficulties that women face in their own culture show the subjugation to tradition and “respect” adopted centuries before by men whom could not care in the least about the safety, struggles, or even freedom of women. For centuries women in China have been oppressed by their husbands, their straining responsibilities as mothers, and their very own culture, which has left a lasting impact in 21st century China. The culture in China …show more content…
“Pale skin. Big eyes. A narrow jaw. For many young Chinese women, that’s the ideal”(“ Chinese Women ”). The pale skin is a huge part of the beauty standards in China and many Chinese beauty products promise to lighten skin, with bleach-like chemicals. In the past a large part of Chinese beauty was small feet. This prompted many women to try foot binding. Foot binding was a process in which small cloth shoes were tightly bound around women’s feet in order to modify the shape of a woman’s foot to be more desirable to men. Popularized during the Qing dynasty in China, this trend began from the women was a young girl, no older than five or six( Schiavenza, Matt.). The process of foot binding was painful, but the lasting effects it had on a women’s overall health was much more detrimental and in some cases prevented a woman from walking or even caused death. This process is very representative of the relationship between Chinese women and their culture, they are tightly bound to tradition and molded to fit around the standards which were set by others for selfish and inhuman reasons that serve no purpose other than to please others. The lasting impact that the unattainable standards of beauty imposed upon women has driven them to do drastic things like foot binding which is outlawed in China but still practiced in secret, in current day China the need for perfection can …show more content…
In 1979 in an attempt to restrict population growth, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping introduced a policy which limited Chinese families to only one child. “Since male heirs were preferred to female heirs the children directly impacted by the law were mostly female”(One Child policy). The law brought out a lot of questionable activity from doctors, Chinese officials, and families. “ There have long been reports that officials have forced women to get abortions and levied steep fines on families who violated the law”(One Child policy). Unfortunately sex selective abortions are common in China and while the government says they punish those who commit the act, they can not be sure that that will abolish the act. In some extreme cases, female infants were the victims of infanticide, and daughters were sold to brothels or to wealthy families. All of this has contributed to the steep 115 males: 100 females in China (One Child Policy) which translates to over 20 million more men in China than women. This has led to a whole new set of problems like forced incest and rape. While the efforts of the Chinese government had good intentions, they underestimated the longing that families have for male heirs, therefore causing a multitude of unintended consequences. A growing pattern can be seen throughout the various methods of oppression mentioned