Chinese Feminism in Transformation Looking Eastward and Embracing Eastern European Feminisms?

Abstract

Feminism in post-socialist China sprouts and develops in the context of globalization and transnational feminism. In tandem with the country’s ‘opening up’, Chinese feminism has sought to be ‘connected’ (jiegui) with international feminism in order to break away from the Maoist confine and the state-dictated gender ideology and political praxis. The ‘international’ feminism that has ‘travelled to’ China, however, turns out to be overwhelmingly US feminist -theories, and, over the latest years, a self-reflection over this leaning-to-one-side (the west) and the tilted power relations between Chinese and US feminism has come to a clear articulation in the Chinese feminist community. This paper joins the debate. It brings in Eastern European feminisms (EEF) and discusses the potential of EEF in becoming a new source of inspiration for feminist theorizing and organizing in China. Starting with a brief account of the Eastern Europe’s post-socialist transition and encounter with Western feminism, the paper outlines four central tenets of Eastern European feminisms and dwells upon how these constitute a formidable challenge to the hegemony of Western feminism. In the end, the paper discusses the prospect of looking eastward and embracing Eastern European feminisms and points out the relevance of Eastern European feminisms for the transformation of Chinese feminism.