This volume demonstrates the importance of gender mainstreaming in examining social issues and making decisions that affect women and men. In so doing, the essays of the book enrich our understanding of the social structures and trends within contemporary Hong Kong society and at the same time restate the need for gender-sensitive perspectives in policy-making.
This book is about how Chinese men make sense of and practise fatherhood within the context of changing gender conventions and socio-cultural conditions. Liong analyses data from participant observations at a men's centre, focus groups, and in-depth interviews, to assess the subjective experience and identities of Chinese fathers in Hong Kong, from a gender perspective. His findings show that economic provision, education, and marriage are the three "natural" and "normal" domains of paternity. Not being able to fulfil these requirements is a threat to fathers' masculinity, yet is also an opportunity for fathers to reflect upon these accepted conventions. In order to compensate, these men typically develop a closer and more caring relationship with their children, however these fathers still struggle with feelings of inferiority.
This wide-ranging collection analyzes the status and advancement of women both in a national context and collectively on a global scale, as a powerful social force in a rapidly evolving world. The countries studied—China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Italy, France, Brazil, Belize, Mexico, and the United States—represent a cross-section of economic conditions, cultural and religious traditions, political realities, and social contexts that shape women’s lives, challenges, and opportunities. Psychological and human rights perspectives highlight worldwide goals for equality and empowerment, with implications for today’s girls as they become the next generation of women. Throughout these chapters, women’s lived experience is compared and contrasted in such critical areas as: Home and work lives Physical, medical, and psychological issues Safety and violence Sexual and reproductive concerns Political participation and status under the law Impact of technology and globalism Country-specific topics Women's Evolving Lives is a forward-facing reference for psychology professionals of varied disciplines, as well as for colleagues in other fields, including women’s and gender studies, sociology, anthropology, international studies, and education. The wide scope of concerns also makes this anthology relevant and instructive to readers in diverse non-academic settings.
This book discusses civic engagement and public policymaking in postcolonial Hong Kong. Utilizing case studies of citizens' advisory committees involving four policy areas - urban planning, social welfare policy, environmental protection, and arts and culture policy - it examines the interaction between the state and civil society, and explores how far the state opens up its policy process for citizens' participation.
This book depicts the diverse approaches of established women professors in perceiving and developing intellectual leadership in Hong Kong. It analyzes the combined influences of various disciplines, different higher education institutions, and gender on the careers of female scholars in the East Asian region. The complexity and interaction of academic careers for women, disciplinary contexts, higher education systems, and socio-cultural environments may present a relatively holistic landscape for readers interested in academic life and leadership. Scholars, administrators, managers, and policymakers in higher education-related fields may gain comprehensive ideas to facilitate faculty and institutional development through a cultural and sociological lens. This may empower female academics and students, while also providing benefits for doctoral students and early-career researchers seeking insights into the evolving advantages and disadvantages in women's academic careers. Audiences interested in gender issues may find it intriguing to compare women scholars with women in other professions and in different cultural contexts.
This study demonstrates that recognizing the differences of the women activists promoting disparate agendas leads to a fuller appreciation of the connections and commonalities in the relations among those involved. Transnational Feminism and Women's Movements in Post-1997 Hong Kong: Solidarity Beyond the State is the first comprehensive account of feminism and women's movements in Hong Kong. The unique geographical, historical and cultural situation of the city provides the backdrop for Adelyn Lim to bring diverse groups of activists organizing socially disadvantaged and disaffected women, many of whom originating from Mainland China or South and Southeast Asia, to the foreground. Feminism, Lim argues, is not premised on a collective identity; it should rather be understood as a collective frame of action. The book begins with a critical history of women's mobilization during the British colonial period and the lead up to governance under the People's Republic of China. Subsequent chapters discuss the organizational forms, rhetoric, and strategies of women's groups in addressing the feminization of poverty, engagement with state institutions, violence against women, prostitution, and domestic work. Conflicts between feminist ideals and the realities and demands of the sociopolitical environment are thrown into sharp relief. The empirical analysis makes a case for Hong Kong to be considered a prime site to challenge and renew the theorizing of transnational feminism. "In this well written monograph, Adelyn Lim explores the multiple forms of women's activism in the tense political environment of post-1997 Hong Kong. Using feminist theory and social movement scholarship, she explores processes of framing social action and building coalitions in a context where unresolved conflicts abound. The result is a rich portrait of activism in one of the world's most globalized cities." —Andrew Kipnis, author of China and Postsocialist Anthropology: Theorizing Power and Society after Communism "A book about Hong Kong feminisms that manages to be both sweeping and intimate, with through-lines of historical and political context seamlessly interwoven with details of activist identities and commitments. Lim skillfully connects feminist and social movement theory with movement praxis to develop a compelling account of local feminist organizing situated in a clear transnational context." —Sharon Wesoky, author of Chinese Feminism Faces Globalization
It is becoming increasingly common for human rights norms to be transferred between legal and political systems and this book is a fresh approach to the intersection of transnational law and the protection of cultural difference beyond the single state border. It investigates how the construction and evolution of human rights norms are transferred in transnational legal settings and asks whether law should reflect, express or control any given aspect of culture. The chapters explore the ways that law and cultural identity may or may not co-exist, particularly in circumstances where a prima facie clash is observed. Examining legal approaches to cultural differences from a comparative perspective and across a wide range of locations, the book covers topics such as juvenile punishment, religious defamation, religious rights and conflict between industry and indigenous communities. It will be of value to those working in the areas of transnational and comparative law, as well as those concerned with human rights and the intersection of law and cultural difference.
China’s transformation from a poor and underdeveloped country into a global market power has profoundly altered its socioeconomic power relations with the other countries in the Greater China region, namely, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Indeed, this economic shift has resulted in the massive flow of capital and people from Taiwan as well as Hong Kong to China, to seek business opportunities and new lifestyles. These flows have in turn completely transformed longstanding borderlines in the region. This book examines the transformation of Taiwan and Hong Kong’s socioeconomic relationships with China as their economies have become more deeply integrated into Greater China. Across three key sections, it explores the impact of increasing social interaction and the shrinking of existing borderlines to ask whether these changes will bring about a convergence of identity among the people involved. "Production" examines how investments from Taiwan and Hong Kong to China have transformed production networks; "Community" explores the impact of cross-boundary mobility and the integration of migrants into Chinese communities; and finally, "Identity" engages with what is one of the most important issues in contemporary Taiwanese society. Border Crossing in Greater China contributes not only to theoretical debates on border crossing issues, but also provides valuable insights on the practical concerns regarding social and political integration and tensions in the region. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars of Taiwan studies, Chinese studies, Chinese society and Chinese economics.
In Chinese societies where both “money” and “gender” confer power, can a woman’s economic success relative to her husband’s bring about a more equal division of household labor? Lui’s qualitative study of “status-reversed” Hong Kong families, wherein wives earn more than their husbands, examines how couples re-negotiate household labor in ways that perpetuate male dominance within the family even when the traditional gender expectation that “men rule outside, women rule inside” (nanzhuwai, nuzhunei) is challenged. Going beyond the dyadic negotiation of household labor, this important study also explores the role of “third parties,” namely the couples’ children and parents, who actively encourage couples to conform to traditional gender norms, thereby reproducing an unequal division of household labor. Based upon the experiences of families with stay-at-home dads, Lui further identifies a new mechanism of deconstructing gender, by which couples concertedly construct new norms of "work" and "gender" that they maintain through daily interactions to fit their atypical relative earnings. As a result, there are sparks of hope that both men and women can be liberated from a set of traditional social norms. Re-negotiating Gender: Household Division of Labor When She Earns More than He Does is essential reading in the fields of family and gender studies, sociology, psychology, and East Asian studies.
With thirty-two original chapters reflecting cutting edge content throughout developed and developing Asia, Women of Asia: Globalization, Development, and Gender Equity is a comprehensive anthology that contributes significantly to understanding globalization’s transformative process and the resulting detrimental and beneficial consequences for women in the four major geographic regions of Asia—East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Eurasia/Central Asia—as it gives "voice" to women and provides innovative ways through which salient understudied issues pertaining to Asian women’s situation are brought to the forefront.
