Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook7 hours
Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China
Written by Leta Hong Fincher
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A feminist movement clashing with China's authoritarian government
On the eve of International Women's Day in 2015, the Chinese government arrested five feminist activists and jailed them for thirty-seven days. The Feminist Five became a global cause celebre, with Hillary Clinton speaking out on their behalf and activists inundating social media with #FreetheFive messages. But the Five are only symbols of a much larger feminist movement of civil rights lawyers, labor activists, performance artists, and online warriors prompting an unprecedented awakening among China's educated, urban women. In Betraying Big Brother, journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher argues that the popular, broad-based movement poses the greatest challenge to China's authoritarian regime today.
Through interviews with the Feminist Five and other leading Chinese activists, Hong Fincher illuminates both the difficulties they face and their "joy of betraying Big Brother," as one of the Feminist Five wrote of the defiance she felt during her detention. Tracing the rise of a new feminist consciousness now finding expression through the #MeToo movement, and describing how the Communist regime has suppressed the history of its own feminist struggles, Betraying Big Brother is a story of how the movement against patriarchy could reconfigure China and the world.
On the eve of International Women's Day in 2015, the Chinese government arrested five feminist activists and jailed them for thirty-seven days. The Feminist Five became a global cause celebre, with Hillary Clinton speaking out on their behalf and activists inundating social media with #FreetheFive messages. But the Five are only symbols of a much larger feminist movement of civil rights lawyers, labor activists, performance artists, and online warriors prompting an unprecedented awakening among China's educated, urban women. In Betraying Big Brother, journalist and scholar Leta Hong Fincher argues that the popular, broad-based movement poses the greatest challenge to China's authoritarian regime today.
Through interviews with the Feminist Five and other leading Chinese activists, Hong Fincher illuminates both the difficulties they face and their "joy of betraying Big Brother," as one of the Feminist Five wrote of the defiance she felt during her detention. Tracing the rise of a new feminist consciousness now finding expression through the #MeToo movement, and describing how the Communist regime has suppressed the history of its own feminist struggles, Betraying Big Brother is a story of how the movement against patriarchy could reconfigure China and the world.
Related to Betraying Big Brother
Related audiobooks
Feminism for the 99% Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Me, not you - The trouble with mainstream feminism (unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Girl's Guide to Joining the Resistance: A Feminist Handbook on Fighting for Good Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bullets and Opium: Real-Life Stories of China After the Tiananmen Square Massacre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Growing Up Disabled in Australia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Female Fear Factory: Unravelling Patriarchy's Cultures of Violence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Data Feminism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leftover in China: The Women Shaping the World's Next Superpower Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand on Menstrual Equality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outspoken: Why Women's Voices Get Silenced and How to Set Them Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again: Women and Desire in the Age of Consent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Child: The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Geek Feminist Revolution: Essays on Subversion, Tactical Profanity, and the Power of the Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Growing up Aboriginal in Australia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lurking: How a Person Became a User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Hate Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Social Science For You
Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lonely Dad Conversations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hate U Give Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radiolab: Mixtape: How The Cassette Changed The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of Delusion: Out on the edge with the crackpots and conspiracy-mongers remaking our shared reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letter to a Christian Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
Rafia Zakaria, "Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption" (W. W. Norton, 2021): An interview with Rafia Zakaria 0% found this document useful138: Abolitionists and Lovers 0% found this document usefulThe Hidden World of Bisexuality, with Julia Shaw 0% found this document usefulCaroline Criado-Perez: Invisible Women 0% found this document usefulConsumed: The Need for Collective Change, an interview with Aja Barber, part 1 0% found this document usefulBisexuality, Queer History & Faith | Blair Imani 0% found this document usefulBody Politics w/ Jasbir Puar (Unlocked): This episode was originally a patron exclusive. I… 0% found this document usefulSophie Lewis & Lola Olufemi: Abolish the Family 0% found this document useful"Nudge" Part 2: Mr. Nudge Goes to Washington 0% found this document usefulElite Capture w/ Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò (08/25/22): Beatrice and Phil speak with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò ab… 0% found this document usefulElites have captured identity politics 100% found this document usefulSeven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls 0% found this document usefulWhy China needs a #MeToo campaign but won’t allow it: A conversation with Leta Hong Fincher 0% found this document usefulHow can we amplify women’s voices on China? 0% found this document usefulThe power of Weibo 0% found this document usefulOuttakes: Leta Hong Fincher on China's One Child Policy: Last week, we spoke to Leta Hong Fincher about th… 0% found this document usefulRoundtable on Asian Migrant Sex Work: An interview with Alison Clancey, Kelly Go, Lily Wong, and Yuri Doolan 0% found this document usefulFQT 08 January 2022 0% found this document useful
Related articles
The State Of Feminism TIMEArticle
The State Of Feminism
Jan 22, 2021
1 min readSo, Do Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism? Literary HubArticle
So, Do Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism?
Nov 12, 2018
6 min readChidera Eggerue Accuses Florence Given Of ‘Copying’ Her Book: ‘This Is Exactly How White Supremacy Works’ The IndependentArticle
Chidera Eggerue Accuses Florence Given Of ‘Copying’ Her Book: ‘This Is Exactly How White Supremacy Works’
Dec 10, 2020
4 min readHow Many Ways Can Men Say “Not All Men”? Literary HubArticle
How Many Ways Can Men Say “Not All Men”?
Oct 25, 2018
12 min readThe Women Behind The 'Alt-Right' NPRArticle
The Women Behind The 'Alt-Right'
Aug 20, 2017
5 min readWhat Audre Lorde Learned in Berlin About Afro-German Identity Literary HubArticle
What Audre Lorde Learned in Berlin About Afro-German Identity
Dec 10, 2019
5 min readChina Is Attempting To Muzzle #MeToo NPRArticle
China Is Attempting To Muzzle #MeToo
Feb 1, 2018
4 min readIt’s Not Just Peng Shuai — China Is Cracking Down On MeToo Movement The IndependentArticle
It’s Not Just Peng Shuai — China Is Cracking Down On MeToo Movement
Dec 1, 2021
4 min readOutcry Over Missing Peng Shuai’s #MeToo Claim Poses New Challenge For China The IndependentArticle
Outcry Over Missing Peng Shuai’s #MeToo Claim Poses New Challenge For China
Nov 25, 2021
4 min readWithout Memories Of 1989, Young Chinese Activists Struggle For Social Change Los Angeles TimesArticle
Without Memories Of 1989, Young Chinese Activists Struggle For Social Change
Jun 4, 2019
7 min read#MeToo Heads East TIMEArticle
#MeToo Heads East
Oct 29, 2018
8 min read#MeToo With Chinese Characteristics The AtlanticArticle
#MeToo With Chinese Characteristics
Feb 5, 2018
4 min readAlt-right Finds New Partners In Hate On China’s Internet The GuardianArticle
Alt-right Finds New Partners In Hate On China’s Internet
Sep 11, 2021
In the early days of the 2016 US election campaign, Fang Kecheng, a former journalist at the liberal-leaning Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly and then a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, began fact-checking Donald Trump’s statements on
5 min readHousewife, Mother, Frontliner: A Look At Women In Hong Kong's Anti-China Extradition Protests Global VoicesArticle
Housewife, Mother, Frontliner: A Look At Women In Hong Kong's Anti-China Extradition Protests
Jul 7, 2020
4 min readCensored on WeChat: #MeToo in China Global VoicesArticle
Censored on WeChat: #MeToo in China
Mar 25, 2019
The term “rice bunny”, which sounds similar to “me too” when spoken in Chinese, was used as a replacement hashtag to get around the censors.
5 min readAs China Censors Homegrown Feminism, A Feminist Scholar From Japan Is A Bestseller NPRArticle
As China Censors Homegrown Feminism, A Feminist Scholar From Japan Is A Bestseller
Sep 29, 2023
A 75-year-old Japanese feminist scholar who's not married and does not have children is an unlikely celebrity on China's tightly censored internet.
3 min readChina Wipes Out LGBTQ Channels On WeChat With No Explanation Global VoicesArticle
China Wipes Out LGBTQ Channels On WeChat With No Explanation
Jul 9, 2021
At least 14 LGBTQ public channels on WeChat were permanently blocked on July 6, 2021. All their content vanished without a trace.
4 min readCommentary: China's Communist Party Is As Shadowy And Repressive As When It Took Power 70 Years Ago Los Angeles TimesArticle
Commentary: China's Communist Party Is As Shadowy And Repressive As When It Took Power 70 Years Ago
Oct 2, 2019
3 min readUndertones: Russia's Feminists Rise Up Global VoicesArticle
Undertones: Russia's Feminists Rise Up
Mar 8, 2022
5 min read#MeToo: How a Hashtag Became a Rallying Cry Against Sexual Harassment The GuardianArticle
#MeToo: How a Hashtag Became a Rallying Cry Against Sexual Harassment
Oct 20, 2017
3 min readHow Women Are Defying Despots The Christian Science MonitorArticle
How Women Are Defying Despots
Mar 3, 2023
This year’s celebration of International Women’s Day, held every March 8, could be a bit different. Over the past year, women in three of the world’s most oppressive countries – China, Iran, and Russia – have either led mass protests or become the fa
2 min readProminent Chinese Feminist Social Media Account Shuttered on International Women’s Day Global VoicesArticle
Prominent Chinese Feminist Social Media Account Shuttered on International Women’s Day
Mar 12, 2018
3 min readThe Cries For Freedom That Still Rattle China The Christian Science MonitorArticle
The Cries For Freedom That Still Rattle China
Jun 3, 2019
Beneath the veneer of stability 30 years after the Tiananmen massacre, Chinese society continues to be restless in ways the party cannot always control. Truth cannot be arrested or exterminated.
2 min readFeminism’s Purity Wars The AtlanticArticle
Feminism’s Purity Wars
Feb 27, 2020
10 min readSonia Sodha Guardian WeeklyArticle
Sonia Sodha
Dec 1, 2023
3 min readMary Sanchez: What The Latest Sighting Of Tennis Star Peng Shuai Reveals About China Tribune Content Agency OpinionsArticle
Mary Sanchez: What The Latest Sighting Of Tennis Star Peng Shuai Reveals About China
Dec 23, 2021
Here’s the offense that tennis champion Peng Shuai committed, the one that irked the Chinese government to the point of erasing her voice, censoring any mention of her accusations of sexual assault against a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communi
3 min readCommentary: What Animal Memes Can Tell Us About Chinese Politics Los Angeles TimesArticle
Commentary: What Animal Memes Can Tell Us About Chinese Politics
Mar 15, 2018
3 min readHow Paranoia Over Trans Rights Became Catnip For QAnon And The Far Right The IndependentArticle
How Paranoia Over Trans Rights Became Catnip For QAnon And The Far Right
Jun 26, 2022
17 min readTiananmen 30 Years Later: ‘Hope Has Not Died’ Say Chinese Dissidents The Christian Science MonitorArticle
Tiananmen 30 Years Later: ‘Hope Has Not Died’ Say Chinese Dissidents
Jun 3, 2019
The Tiananmen massacre of 1989 did more than quell protests; the ensuing crackdown froze China’s pro-democracy movement for years to come.
6 min readInspired By A Netflix Drama, Taiwan Finally Has Its #MeToo Moment Global VoicesArticle
Inspired By A Netflix Drama, Taiwan Finally Has Its #MeToo Moment
Jun 9, 2023
5 min read
Reviews for Betraying Big Brother
Rating: 4.552631644736842 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
38 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interesting book about the growth/rise of feminism in modern China using the story of the Feminist Five to detail the kind of abuses that can go on inside China. I'd recommend it for someone interested in the topic of global feminism and womens' rights advocacy. It's a little dry but by turns both shocking and hopeful.