Louie Kam (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208562
- eISBN:
- 9789888313716
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
It is now almost a cliché to claim that China and the Chinese people have changed. Yet inside the new clothing that is worn by the Chinese man today, Kam Louie contends, we still see much of the ...
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It is now almost a cliché to claim that China and the Chinese people have changed. Yet inside the new clothing that is worn by the Chinese man today, Kam Louie contends, we still see much of the historical Chinese man. With contributions from a team of outstanding scholars, Changing Chinese Masculinities studies a range of Chinese men in diverse and, most importantly, Chinese contexts. It explores the fundamental meaning of manhood in the Chinese setting and the very notion of an indigenous Chinese masculinity. In twelve chapters spanning the late imperial period to the present day, Changing Chinese Masculinities brings a much needed historical dimension to the discussion. Key aspects defining the male identity such as family relationships and attitudes toward sex, class, and career are explored in depth. Familiar notions of Chinese manhood come in all shapes and sizes. Concubinage reemerges as the taking of “second wives” in recent decades. Male homoerotic love and male prostitution are shown to have long historical roots. The self-images of the literati and officials form an interesting contrast with those of the contemporary white-collar men. Masculinity and nationalism complement each other in troubling ways. China has indeed changed and is still changing, but most of these social transformations do not indicate a complete break with past beliefs or practices in gender relations. Changing Chinese Masculinities inaugurates the Hong Kong University Press book series “Transnational Asian Masculinities.”Less
It is now almost a cliché to claim that China and the Chinese people have changed. Yet inside the new clothing that is worn by the Chinese man today, Kam Louie contends, we still see much of the historical Chinese man. With contributions from a team of outstanding scholars, Changing Chinese Masculinities studies a range of Chinese men in diverse and, most importantly, Chinese contexts. It explores the fundamental meaning of manhood in the Chinese setting and the very notion of an indigenous Chinese masculinity. In twelve chapters spanning the late imperial period to the present day, Changing Chinese Masculinities brings a much needed historical dimension to the discussion. Key aspects defining the male identity such as family relationships and attitudes toward sex, class, and career are explored in depth. Familiar notions of Chinese manhood come in all shapes and sizes. Concubinage reemerges as the taking of “second wives” in recent decades. Male homoerotic love and male prostitution are shown to have long historical roots. The self-images of the literati and officials form an interesting contrast with those of the contemporary white-collar men. Masculinity and nationalism complement each other in troubling ways. China has indeed changed and is still changing, but most of these social transformations do not indicate a complete break with past beliefs or practices in gender relations. Changing Chinese Masculinities inaugurates the Hong Kong University Press book series “Transnational Asian Masculinities.”
Ronald L Jackson and Murali Balaji (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036514
- eISBN:
- 9780252093555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036514.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
Bringing together an array of interdisciplinary voices, this book examines the concept of masculinity from the perspectives of cultures around the world. The chapters deconstruct the history and ...
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Bringing together an array of interdisciplinary voices, this book examines the concept of masculinity from the perspectives of cultures around the world. The chapters deconstruct the history and politics of masculinities within the contexts of the cultures from which they have been developed, examining what makes a man who he is within his own culture. Highlighting manifestations of masculinity in countries including Jamaica, Turkey, Peru, Kenya, Australia, and China, the chapters grapple with topics including how masculinity is affected by war and conflict, defined in relation to race, ethnicity, and sexuality, and expressed in cultural activities such as sports or the cinema. The book follows three major themes: defining masculinity in the global sphere; mediated representations of masculinity; and the cultural practice of masculinity as both a local and global phenomenon. It looks at Jamaican masculinity; queer masculinities; the intersections of gender, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, and class interactions among Kurdish minorities; the representation of masculinity in Peru; the symbols of masculinity and political power within Kenyan society; the “warrior” in Native American communities; Aboriginal and Asian masculinities; and the inequalities of racial masculinities in sport.Less
Bringing together an array of interdisciplinary voices, this book examines the concept of masculinity from the perspectives of cultures around the world. The chapters deconstruct the history and politics of masculinities within the contexts of the cultures from which they have been developed, examining what makes a man who he is within his own culture. Highlighting manifestations of masculinity in countries including Jamaica, Turkey, Peru, Kenya, Australia, and China, the chapters grapple with topics including how masculinity is affected by war and conflict, defined in relation to race, ethnicity, and sexuality, and expressed in cultural activities such as sports or the cinema. The book follows three major themes: defining masculinity in the global sphere; mediated representations of masculinity; and the cultural practice of masculinity as both a local and global phenomenon. It looks at Jamaican masculinity; queer masculinities; the intersections of gender, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, and class interactions among Kurdish minorities; the representation of masculinity in Peru; the symbols of masculinity and political power within Kenyan society; the “warrior” in Native American communities; Aboriginal and Asian masculinities; and the inequalities of racial masculinities in sport.
Kam Louie
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208562
- eISBN:
- 9789888313716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter provides a summary of the emergence of Chinese masculinity studies in the Anglophone world in recent years and concludes that even though it is a rapidly growing field, good book-length ...
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This chapter provides a summary of the emergence of Chinese masculinity studies in the Anglophone world in recent years and concludes that even though it is a rapidly growing field, good book-length studies specific to researching Chinese masculinity are still limited. The chapter then describes the contents of the book, indicating the reasons for the way the volume is structured and some of the main themes that are discussed. It then gives a rundown of each chapter, showing how they fit in the framework of the book.Less
This chapter provides a summary of the emergence of Chinese masculinity studies in the Anglophone world in recent years and concludes that even though it is a rapidly growing field, good book-length studies specific to researching Chinese masculinity are still limited. The chapter then describes the contents of the book, indicating the reasons for the way the volume is structured and some of the main themes that are discussed. It then gives a rundown of each chapter, showing how they fit in the framework of the book.
Harriet Zurndorfer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208562
- eISBN:
- 9789888313716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter traces the relationship of polygamy to masculinity from the Ming-Qing era to the present. It demonstrates how ideals of masculinity shifted from passing the civil service examinations ...
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This chapter traces the relationship of polygamy to masculinity from the Ming-Qing era to the present. It demonstrates how ideals of masculinity shifted from passing the civil service examinations and enacting political/moral leadership to demonstrating business acumen and gaining wealth. With the demise of Maoist goals of gender equality in the post-Deng reformist years, masculinity became coupled with materialism and affluence which enable men nowadays to acquire mistresses and ‘second wives’. This chapter argues that both in the past and in the present, a homosocial culture that separates men from women encourages polygamy, boosts men’s sense of entitlement, and their pursuit of self-distinction and self-aggrandizement. While men nowadays may profess their filial obligations to their parents and wives, they also consider their power to indulge in extramarital affairs a crucial mark of status in relation to other men.Less
This chapter traces the relationship of polygamy to masculinity from the Ming-Qing era to the present. It demonstrates how ideals of masculinity shifted from passing the civil service examinations and enacting political/moral leadership to demonstrating business acumen and gaining wealth. With the demise of Maoist goals of gender equality in the post-Deng reformist years, masculinity became coupled with materialism and affluence which enable men nowadays to acquire mistresses and ‘second wives’. This chapter argues that both in the past and in the present, a homosocial culture that separates men from women encourages polygamy, boosts men’s sense of entitlement, and their pursuit of self-distinction and self-aggrandizement. While men nowadays may profess their filial obligations to their parents and wives, they also consider their power to indulge in extramarital affairs a crucial mark of status in relation to other men.
Derek Hird
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208562
- eISBN:
- 9789888313716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
The prominence of white-collar (bailing) identity in twenty-first century China is a significant outcome of the major class and gender transformations in the reform era. White-collar men more than ...
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The prominence of white-collar (bailing) identity in twenty-first century China is a significant outcome of the major class and gender transformations in the reform era. White-collar men more than any other category fit the post-Mao project of producing affluent, well-educated, civilized (wenming) and high-quality (suzhi gao) individuals, replete with material and career aspirations and the skills to compete in the transnational economy. This chapter explores the formation of Chinese white-collar men’s subjectivities through interviews and ethnographic research. It reveals that Chinese white-collar men draw on a variety of globally circulating and locally embedded discourses to explain and legitimise their behaviour. Often defining themselves through a rhetoric of freedom and equality, but also acting to shore up their own gendered and classed privileges, Chinese white-collar men show themselves to be paradoxically progressive and conservative at the same time.Less
The prominence of white-collar (bailing) identity in twenty-first century China is a significant outcome of the major class and gender transformations in the reform era. White-collar men more than any other category fit the post-Mao project of producing affluent, well-educated, civilized (wenming) and high-quality (suzhi gao) individuals, replete with material and career aspirations and the skills to compete in the transnational economy. This chapter explores the formation of Chinese white-collar men’s subjectivities through interviews and ethnographic research. It reveals that Chinese white-collar men draw on a variety of globally circulating and locally embedded discourses to explain and legitimise their behaviour. Often defining themselves through a rhetoric of freedom and equality, but also acting to shore up their own gendered and classed privileges, Chinese white-collar men show themselves to be paradoxically progressive and conservative at the same time.
John Osburg
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208562
- eISBN:
- 9789888313716
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208562.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter examines the ways in which networks of entrepreneurs and government officials in the contemporary PRC draw from jianghu ideology and China’s fictive brotherhood tradition to frame their ...
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This chapter examines the ways in which networks of entrepreneurs and government officials in the contemporary PRC draw from jianghu ideology and China’s fictive brotherhood tradition to frame their relationships and to situate their often illicit activities. It argues that the moral greyness and uncertainty of business in the first few decades of the reform period resembled that of traditional jianghu occupations. These alliances between businessmen, government officials, and gangsters, which draw from these cultural ideologies of masculinity, constitute the basic underpinnings of corruption in China and are formed through practices of banqueting, drinking, and group carousing. However, given the growing hegemony of the global, cosmopolitan businessman ideal, I predict that these jianghu configurations of masculinity will likely soon return to their traditional place at the margins of Chinese society.Less
This chapter examines the ways in which networks of entrepreneurs and government officials in the contemporary PRC draw from jianghu ideology and China’s fictive brotherhood tradition to frame their relationships and to situate their often illicit activities. It argues that the moral greyness and uncertainty of business in the first few decades of the reform period resembled that of traditional jianghu occupations. These alliances between businessmen, government officials, and gangsters, which draw from these cultural ideologies of masculinity, constitute the basic underpinnings of corruption in China and are formed through practices of banqueting, drinking, and group carousing. However, given the growing hegemony of the global, cosmopolitan businessman ideal, I predict that these jianghu configurations of masculinity will likely soon return to their traditional place at the margins of Chinese society.
