The crisis of social reproduction and ‘Made-in-China’ feminism

Yige Dong
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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Crises of care and social reproduction have led to new debates and social movements around the world, but there has been little scholarly scrutiny in the global North on these issues as they are unfolding in China. Facing rapid population ageing and historically low birth rates, the Chinese government believes the country is suffering from a demographic crisis. Yet, the so-called population question is fundamentally a political one: who is bearing the brunt of biologically and socially reproducing the Chinese labour force who have fuelled the Chinese economy in the last four decades? As this essay unpacks, the country's long-existing urban-rural divide and the unchecked patriarchal-capitalist mode of accumulation have produced uneven consequences among different social groups, intersectionally defined by class, gender and urban/rural citizenship, and thus have exacerbated existing inequalities. Rural migrants and the urban poor, mostly women, have become domestic servants for urban middle-class families, at the cost of their own well-being and of their families and communities. Across social classes, Chinese women are making their voices heard and taking actions to protest against systemic appropriation and exploitation of their care and reproductive labour, in what is a hostile political environment. Ranging from organised protests to individuals' spontaneous complaints, 'made-in-China' feminism can shed new light on future feminist movements and solidarity building with feminists in the international community.
社会再生产危机与“中国制造”女权主义
护理和社会再生产的危机在世界各地引发了新的辩论和社会运动,但在全球北方,对这些问题的学术审查很少,因为它们正在中国展开。面对快速的人口老龄化和历史上较低的出生率,中国政府认为该国正遭受人口危机。然而,所谓的人口问题从根本上讲是一个政治问题:在过去40年推动中国经济发展的中国劳动力的生物和社会再生产中,谁将首当其冲?正如本文所揭示的那样,这个国家长期存在的城乡鸿沟和不受约束的父权制资本主义积累模式,在不同的社会群体之间产生了不平衡的后果,这些群体由阶级、性别和城乡公民身份交叉界定,从而加剧了现有的不平等。农村移徙者和城市穷人,主要是妇女,已成为城市中产阶级家庭的家仆,牺牲了她们自己的福利以及她们的家庭和社区。在一个充满敌意的政治环境中,中国各阶层的女性都在发出自己的声音,并采取行动,抗议对她们的照料和生殖劳动的系统性侵占和剥削。从有组织的抗议到个人自发的抱怨,“中国制造”女权主义可以为未来的女权主义运动和与国际社会女权主义者的团结建设提供新的启示。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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