Women: Traditional role of women Flashcards
What were the ‘three obediences’? Who were women expected to obey?
A woman should obey her father before marriage, obey her husband once married, and, after her husband dies, obey her son. The “obediences” included obeying, agreeing, serving, and following.
What was marriage like for: Poor women? Rich women?
Many women were forced into arranged marriages
Poor women would marry poor men to have another labourer in the household
Rich women would often have to share their husbands with concubines
What was foot-binding? Why was it practiced? When was it officially banned?
Foot binding was the Chinese custom of breaking and tightly binding the feet of young girls in order to change the shape and size of their feet; during the time it was practiced, bound feet were considered a status symbol and a mark of beauty. After the Nationalist Revolution in 1911, foot binding was outlawed in 1912. However, the practice did not truly end until the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
What was a dowry? Why was it such a financial burden? What did some families resort to?
A dowry is a transfer of parental property, gifts or money given to the groom from the bride and her family.
What was a bride-price? How did it influence the relationship between husband and wife?
The groom’s family would provide gifts for the bride’s family. This reinforced the sense of the bride being property that had been purchased. Many husbands treated their wives as private property and expected them to carry out domestic duties
What treatment did many wives get from their mother-in-laws?
Mother-in-laws would be very close to their sons as their sons would look after them in old age. This meant that they were jealous of their son’s wife and would be petty. New brides would be given the most backbreaking chores by mother-in-laws; mistakes often resulted in beatings.
What level of education did girls receive? Could they own property?
Girls were not provided with educational opportunities. One survey in the 1930s suggested that 45.2% of males and just 2.2% of females had received schooling. Women could not own property.
What was Mao’s attitude towards this traditional role?
Mao had been critical of the attitudes held.
Mao stated how ‘women hold up half the sky’.
