Like most families in China, we always spend part of our Chinese New Year’s Eve watching the CCTV Gala, one of the most watched annual events in all of television with an annual viewership of about 400 million people. (By contrast, the Superbowl is watched by about 100 million people). This year, though, we had Read More
Tag: Sexism
Shenzhen Man Spends 30 Years Raping Mentally Ill Woman, Hailed as "Responsible"
Over 30 years ago, a young woman named Adi in her early 20s was in a tragic accident that left her with the mind of an infant. Even though she had the body of an adult, she couldn’t care for herself or even express herself to those around her. One day, a ‘barefoot’ doctor came Read More
China – Not As Safe As You Think
In the past, when people have asked me “is China safe?” I have answered “yes.” And most people would agree. In fact, if you Google “is China safe?” you will find plenty of forums that tout the safety of China, even for women. Yet I have been seeing more and more incidents of Western women Read More
Frog by Mo Yan – Book Review
Talk about disappointing. Two years ago, when Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for literature for Frog, Westerners and Chinese were shocked and elated. The Chinese were ecstatic that a Chinese writer won the honor at all (he’s the only Chinese writer who lives in China to have ever won the prize) and Westerners were Read More
Sex, Guns, and Video Games – Anita Sarkeesian Takes on Misogynist Hate Group GamerGate
My husband and I are gamers. It’s how we met. We have also both worked in the gaming industry here in China. So we have been following GamerGate pretty much since the beginning. If you don’t know what GamerGate is, lucky you, but keep reading to find out all about it. I wrote about it Read More
Surprise, Bustle, breastfeeding isn't shamed in China
I’ve been casually following the debates surrounding the topic of mothers breastfeeding in public in the U.S. I say casually because it isn’t something that affects me personally, but is a frequent topic on websites that center around women and feminism, so I read the stories but don’t generally get worked up about it. But Read More
What's in a name? Surnames, China, and Feminism
My surname is not my husband’s surname. My surname is not the surname I was born with. My surname I took from my first husband. I kept it after the divorce because by that time the name was mine. I went to university as Amanda Roberts. All of my years of hard work were under Read More
Penny Dreadful is Pretty Dreadful – Part 2
(It was after I started writing this that I realised just how long this post was, so I decided to break it up into two parts. Yesterday’s post focused on women in the show Penny Dreadful; today’s post focuses on people of color, specifically Chinese characters, in the show.) People of Color To begin with, Read More
Beijing College Students Advertise The Vagina Monologues With Their Vaginas
What the Vagina say? According to female students from Beijing Foreign Studies University, many things. To promote their upcoming performance of The Vagina Monologues (which EVERYONE should see!), the girls took pictures of themselves holding signs with phrases like “my vagina says: I can be sexy, but you can’t harass me,” and “my vagina says, “someone can Read More