Daoism and Feminism: Identity through Life Stories of Chinese Immigrant Women

This paper was originally presented at American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2008 Conference held at New York. Observing the conservative trend in feminist identity in teacher education classrooms in U.S.A. as well as internationally, I inquire about a few Chinese immigrant women life experiences in modern China and during their early years of immigration to Canada. Situating these individual’s life stories in particular cultural and historical moments, I explore gender expectations of them and roles they played. The details of these women’s lives, revealed a Daoist interplay between the traditional male and female identities. Following the Daoist thinking, I propose a Daoist gender identity that interplays between dimorphism and polymorphism.