This collection places Asian women centre stage and challenges a dichotomized view of Asia and the "west" or "north." It offers an understanding of Asian women in their networks of connections through the work of feminist scholars discussing Asian women in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. While the focus is on how Asian women are socially constructed and represented in books, on screen, and in the media, it also includes discussions on how Asian women present and represent themselves.
Few books deal with Asian women's interconnections, and yet fewer express the range of theoretical perspectives, linkages, and disciplines that are the focus of this collection. Asian Women: Interconnections opens important intellectual discussions about Asian Canadian feminism, and comparative feminisms.
Acknowledgements Introduction – Tineke Hellwig and Sunera Thobani
HERSTORIES: LIVED EXPERIENCES
Chapter 1: Issues in Constituting asian-canadian feminisms – Jo-Anne Lee Why now? Why This Term? What’s in a Name? asian canadian as a Political Constituency acf as Ambiguity and Struggle The Need for asian-canadian feminist Thought A Beginning acf in Women’s Studies Classrooms Asian Feminist Transnationalism Conclusion
Chapter 2: Modernization and Global Restructuring of Women’s Work: Border-Crossing Stories of Iranian Women – Parin Dossa Introduction The Intersectionality Paradigm: “Why Can I Not Work in Canada?” Border Crossing First Moments The Canvas of Life Conclusion
Chapter 3: Emancipation of Oppression in Diaspora? Korean Women Academics and Their Diasporic Experience – Hyaeweol Choi Introduction Alternative Space Imagined for Women Rearticulation of Gender Identity through Transnational Experience Becoming Women of “Colour” Conclusion
Chapter 4: Diasporic Culture and Women in Diaspora: The Case of Rene Wu – Limin Bai Introduction No Education for Girls: A Chinese Childhood in Australia Rene’s Marriage: Following Your Rooster When You Are Married to a Rooster Diasporic Culture and Implications for Women in Diaspora
IMAGINING ASIAN-NESS IN THE DIASPORA
Chapter 5: Translation and Transformation in Chorus of Mushrooms and When Fox Is a Thousand – Shao-Pin Luo Introduction Story: Remembering Myth: Retelling Poetry: Revisioning Conclusion: Transformations
Chapter 6: Abusive Mothers: Literary Representations of the Mother Figure in Three Ethnic Chinese Writers: Hsieh Ping-ying, Denis Chong, and Chen Ying – Maria Ng Introduction Hsieh Ping-ying and Mothers in May Fourth Writing Chinese Canadian Writers Representing Mothers Conclusion
Chapter 7: From Dragon Lady to Action Hero: Race and Gender in Popular Western Television – Yasmin Jiwani Introduction Problematizing “Asian” Women Historical Representations: The Legacy Contemporary Representations Dragon Ladies and Warrior Women The Warrior Woman and the Asian Goddess Condensing Two Traditions in One Sign Conclusion
ASIA VIEWING
Chapter 8: Uncertain Triangles: Lesbian Desire in Hong Kong Cinema – Helen Hok-Sze Leung Prologue: Beyond the Marriage Debates Hong Kong Cinema and the Lesbian Subject Theories of Triangles Heroic Masculinity and Femme Invisibility Romance and Its Discontent Heterosexual Horrors
Chapter 9: “Pop” Feminism in China: The Expansion of Women’s Studies to Popular Women’s Magazines – Sharon R. Wesoky Introduction Women’s Studies in China Women’s Magazines and Feminist Activism Women’s Studies in Women’s Magazines Conclusion
Chapter 10: Knowledge Crossing Borders: Images of South Asian Women in Newspaper Reporting on Sex-Selection Practices – Marsha Henry Introduction Worlds Apart? Analyzing Canadian Newspapers in Relation to SSP Hierarchies within: Analyzing Indian Newspapers in Relation to SSP Conclusion
Bibliography Notes on the Contributors Copyright Acknowledgements
Biography
Dr. Tineke Hellwig is the Chair of Women's Studies and Associate Professor in Asian Studies, University of British Columbia.
Dr. Sunera Thobani is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies at the Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations, University of British Columbia.
