The Feminism Comparison between China and America in Early 20century

1、二十世纪初中美女权主义对比the feminism comparison between chinaand america in early 20-centuryabstract: in a male-oriented world, china and american women, like women in most other countries, often find themselves living in a world with far fewer opportunities to enjoy than men do. while there are differences in

2、 degree in terms of injustice done them by the societies in which they live, one thing in common among the women around the world is that they are not regarded as their mens equals. they were fighting the tyranny of the patriarchal state in nineteenth century. over the centuries, and in many differe

3、nt countries, women have spoken out for their sex, their hopes，in different ways. to compare feminism with america, chinese feminism perhaps can be called feminism ideology or feminism awareness. american feminism is the product of civil rights movement. the personality awareness of american women i

4、s stronger and earlier than chinese women for two hundred to three hundred years.key words: injustice; equals; feminism; awareness; movement摘 要： 在男性为主导的世界,中国和美国的女性和许多国家的女性一样，发现她们自己在这个世界上享受的机会比男性少。在社会生活中，她们总是受到不同程度的不公平对待，全世界的妇女有一个共同之处在于她们没有同男人一样的权利。在十九世纪她们奋起反抗父权制。近几个世纪在不同的国家，妇女们通过不同的方式言说她们的性别和愿望。和美国女

5、权主义相比，中国女权主义只能称作女权思想或女权意识。美国女权主义是民权运动的产物。美国妇女的性别意识强于中国妇女，其女权意识也早于中国二三百年。关键词：不公正；平等；女权主义；意识contentsi. a brief introduction of feminism.1 ii. the origins of feminism awareness.2a. origins of feminism movement in america.2b. origins of feminism movement in china.3iii. the development of feminism.3a. wo

6、mens movement in america.3b. womens movement in china.6iv. the different feminism between america and china.9a. ideological and cultural factors.9b. social and historical factors.10v. conclusion.11works cited.13the feminism comparison between china and america in early 20-centuryi. introduction over

7、 the centuries, and in many different countries, women have spoken out for their sex, hopes in different ways, as this is a very short introduction; this paper concentrates on feminism about its origin, development and comparison between china and america. just as troubling is the caution that the t

8、erm “feminism” seems to arouse in many different young women, a surprising number of whom seem to feel shy from the concept. in that male-oriented world, china and american women, like women in most other countries, often find themselves living in a world with far fewer opportunities than men have.

9、while there are differences in degree in terms of injustice done them by the societies in which they live, one thing in common among the women around the world is that they are not regarded as their mens equals.since 1919, may fourth movement had gone through ninety-one years; meanwhile equally symb

10、olic significance in 1995 world conference on women had also gone through fifteen years. with the continuous endeavor, gender equality as a national basic policy and guidance in the promotion of such ideas had made great progress, and also had played an important role in building a harmonious develo

11、pment of society. human rights are not only a measure of national civilization progress, but also a fundamental guarantee of social liberation. according to chinese national conditions and history, that social liberation, individual liberation and womens liberation are related closely. today, the fi

12、ght for gender have become the mainstream of the worlds, but how to implement, it would be a perpetual quest up and down proposition. from 18th century to 20th century, america womens movement could be divided into three stages. by the end of the 1960s, the womens movement had succeeded in challengi

13、ng nearly all of americas traditional cultural assumptions about womens proper place, and had become one of the medias biggest focus items, rivaling student demonstration, inflation, and the war in vietnam for public attention. the more moderate wing of the government, as represented by now, challen

14、ged employment discrimination, bias against women in politics, and anti-female prejudice so dominant in americas major economic and social institutions. the more radical wing of government, typified by young college graduates, organized in local communities to build day-care centers, fight for repea

15、l of abortion laws, create womens health collectives, provide support for alternative life-styles, and above all, raise the consciousness of women to the cultural bondage of being categorized as a sex object. through such a remarkable variety of activities, feminists successfully put their message a

16、cross the country and managed to enlist an ever growing amount of support from women, and men as well.ii. the origins of feminism awarenessfeminism originated from west, was a social theory and political movement that women were a major source of experience and motivation. in the west, firstly women

17、 pursued the equality between men and women, such as the right for vote. chinese feminism was refers to women who tried to accomplish equality with men. it reflected kinds of womens thoughts, self-spirit and energy.a. origins of feminism movement in americaat any rate, staring in the late eighteenth

18、 century and early nineteenth century, america women assumed a new social role as “republican mother” or “guardians of virtue”. they proudly claimed that modesty and purity were inherent parts of womens nature, and therefore women had unique qualifications for the tasks of spiritual uplifting. conse

19、quently, american women managed to make their presence known in areas previously unimaginable. for example, women now become more active in religious life, founding new sects in line with their own religious belief, organizing societies of various types to launch female revivalism, and using church

20、resources to address female issues. while religious involvement did not exert direct influence on american politics in any significant way, through active participation, american women gradually developed a sense of power among them and became increasingly eager and willing to exercise that power. m

21、ore importantly, the widespread participation of females in religious life helped to begin a new era in the history of women. for the first time, numerous women joined groups or institutions with an interest in social affairs. those organizations offered them many opportunities to raise and discuss

22、issues pertinent to them, and in the process, they slowly but surely learned to voice their concerns to the general public and make corresponding demands on it.b. origins of feminism movement in china the earliest women agency in folk can be traced back to one thousand years in china, there are two

23、ancient documents that found in dunhuang can prove. after five dynasties and ten states, china folk had built up women agency that aimed at self-protect, self-assistance self-entertainment. however, this uncontainable “sub-cultural” agency did not make any menace to collapse china feudalism as longe

24、r as two thousand years down. until the end of eighteen century and the early nineteen century, li ruzhen (1763-1830),who was influenced by the european enlightenment made great concern on chinese women who devastated by father-authority for thousand years.kang tongnbi whose father was kang youwei,

25、was the first feminism advocated,and even the first student who studied abroad in china history. after world war i, as a representative of northern warlords government, she responded the queen in nether land peaceful summon. as a vice-leader she started publishing a magazine called female learning m

26、agazine, also she was the leader of no foot-binding association. at that time, women were mainly struggled for abolishing the foot-binding and the right for education. as an anti-feudal revolution pioneer, qiu jin couldnt tolerate the traditional role of woman in the family. for example, women must

27、stay at home to do some housework, take care of their husbands and children year by year. so that she chose to joining the revolution and went away from home. sometimes, in order to attend social activity, qiu jin dressed herself like a man. shortly after qiu jin, a group of female who came from ope

28、n-minded noble family or intercultural family influenced by west modern atmosphere, especially the feminism thoughts. they looked down upon and refused to play their traditional roles. they struggled for women equal rights and social status, such as the famous writer yang jiangs aunts, they obeyed t

29、he parents command to get married, but after that, they broke up the relationship with their husbands parents and started life afresh. iii. the development of feminisma. womens movement in americaby 1830, it became clear that the womens opportunities to participate in the affairs of society far outs

30、tripped those who opened to women during the revolution ear. so the paradoxical result of “republic mothers” concept was that while it was intended to keep women at home, raising children along the republican lines, the underling assumption that women were superior to men in morality somehow provide

31、d both opportunities and justification for womens engagement in social affairs. during the mid-19th century, many of middle-and upper-class women joined together in voluntary associations such as missionary societies or womens clubs, and steadily moved into the public arena. they raise their concern

32、 over child labor, alcohol abuse, and factory safety conditions, all relating to moral uplifting endeavor in one way or another. later on, as women became more and more conscious of their moral power and the clout that went with it, they found themselves increasingly involved in other types of socia

33、l reform movements as well, especially the abolitionist movement. in all those activities, they frequently allied with younger women professionals who were to seek careers and transform the world they found around them. together, they were going to open a new chapter in the america womens history. t

34、he america womens history began to take a new turn when some women activists developed a feminist ideology that argues that women had social and political rights is what we now understand as suffrage movement. in many ways, the movement for womens rights was shaped by the industrial revolution. on t

35、he surface, the industrial revolution seemed to limit womens influence. it sharpened the lines of demarcation between the home and workplace and accentuated the division of labor within the home. mothers, for example, became increasingly preoccupied with setting moral examples and providing console

36、and support for the “working” members of family. middle-class women fostered a common identity in “womanhood”. they used it to enlarge their influence over decisions in all areas of family life, including the bearing of children and even their husbands choice of work. shaping the ideas of the radica

37、l wing of the womens movement were the two abolitionists: angelina and sarah grimke. in 1837, responding to the demand of some congregationalist clergymen that she cease speaking to mix male and female audience, “sarah replied: the lord jesus defines the duties of his followers in his sermon on the

38、mountmen and women are created equal! they are both moral and accountable beings and whatever is right for man to do is right for women (walters 60)”. by 1840, the grimkes were asserting that traditional roles within the family amounted to “domestic slavery” of women.in 1848, a group of female activ

39、ists took a critical step. they called a convention in seneca falls, in upstate new york. led by elizabeth cady stanton and lucretia, and joined by a few male sympathizers, the convention outlined, for the first time, a coherent program for womens equality. “among their declared principles were that

40、 all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by the creator with certain inalienable rights (walters 63)”. and they involved using every instrumentality within their power to employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the state and national legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulp

41、it and the press on their behalf. the movement for womens rights was thus launched in america. during the 1850s, conventions of national womens rights were held annually, and there were numerous local and regional meetings. for example, the emphasis on establishing the right of married women to cont

42、rol their own property and earnings; guaranteeing custody of children in the event of divorce; ensuring their right to sue or testify in court and so on. by 1860, for example, fourteen states, following new yorks pioneering law of 1848, adopted laws protecting the property of married women in the ev

43、ent of the death or incapacitation of their husbands. also in the 1860, under the constant pressure of women, new york gave women the legal right to collect their own wages. in particular, the campaign for suffrage made little headway before the civil war, and this caused tremendous concern to the w

44、omens movement. to emphasize on the overriding concern over this issue as well as to press for the solution of it, a resolution was passed by the 1856 national convention of women, declaring the right of suffrage as the movements one cardinal demand. however, before they could put their plan and tho

45、ughts into action, the outbreak of the civil war brought an abrupt halt to the struggle for suffrage.when the war was over, the suffrage movement was rekindled and gained a new momentum from the result of the war. as the fifteenth amendment made no reference to sex and thus allowed states to deny su

46、ffrage to women, people like stanton and anthony concluded that feminists should develop a political position of their own. in 1869, two women organizations were set up to deal with the suffrage issue. for twenties-one years, these two women organizations pushed the suffrage issue to the forefront o

47、f american public and demanded response from both the federal government and the general public, while at the same time competing with each other for the leadership of the womens movement. it was now clear that american women in the second half of nineteenth century began to develop political strate

48、gies independent of other reform movement.as women saw more and more things in common among themselves, they came to realize the importance as well as the necessity of putting their limited forces together. in 1890, the national american women suffrage association was formed out of the above mention

49、ed two women organizations, restoring unity to the movement. with their joint efforts, plus their unflinching determination, american women finally brought their hard work to fulfillment. by 1900, four states wyoming, colorado, idaho, and utah passed laws, conferring voting right on women in these s

50、tates. encouraged by these victories, activists for woman suffrage in other states intensified their efforts to combat the barrier for their voting rights. before long, suffrage activity found itself revitalized virtually everywhere across the country, and a genuine sisterhood developed among women

51、that cut both ethnic and class lines. women now saw eye to eye on the voting-right issue and did 4not hesitate to throw their weight behind the suffrage movement. for example, in 1910, women won the right to right to vote in the state of washington; in 1911, california gave women the right to vote;

52、and during the next four years, four more western states followed suit on the suffrage issue.capitalizing on the gains in several states, the national american women suffrage association decided in 1915 to bring a broad-based organization to the campaign for a federal amendment. under the strong lea

53、dership of alice paul and carrie chapman catt, two women of considerable ability, the women suffrage movement got rejuvenated and grew increasingly militant. for instance, they adopted the new tactics of parades, rallies and protests, putting pressure on the america congress on the one hand, solicit

54、ing help and sympathy from the general public on the other. as tension mounted and congress repeatedly failed to pass the amendment, paul and catt in 1917 organized round- the-clock picketing of the white house. the woodrow wilson administration played into their hands by having them arrested and ja

55、iled. the national press coverage they received embarrassed the administration by exposing the harshness of their treatment, including force-feeding the women when they refused to eat. meanwhile, womens contributions to the first world war in the from of taking up both civilian and military industri

56、al work left behind by men received growing recognition by the general public, adding necessary support to the mounting cries for woman suffrage. wilson, who had converted to woman suffrage in 1916 but preferred to leave the matter to the states, withdrew his opposition to a federal woman suffrage a

57、mendment in january 1918, clearing the way for federal action on the issue. the constitutional amendment quickly passed the house but took eighteen months to get through the senate. then came another year of hard work for ratification by the states. finally, on august 26, 1920, tennessee gave the ni

58、neteenth amendment the last vote it needed, and the goal that had been declared at the seneca falls convention in 1848, came to effect seventy-two years later.b. womens movement in china womens movement is not only a unique ideological and cultural revolution, but also a great turning point. may fourth movement was a thorough and uncompromising anti-impe