Nicole Fallert

Journalism 390
Professor Mei-Ling Hopgood
Blog Post #1
March 2017

The women in my family are known for their tempers. At the spark of hunger or too many
comments during Pride and Prejudice, my two sisters, mother and I are known to be spitfires.
In China, antiquated patriarchal structures may be reflected in the countrys expectations for
women, according to a November 2011 article by journalist Tania Branigan for The Guardian. Guiding
narratives in Chinese culture favor boys, due to their perceived ability to inherit a familys wealth and
care for parents in their old age, Branigan writes.
This treatment is based in ancient narratives, such as the Confucian text Xiaojing or Book on
Filial Piety. This text dates back to the early Han dynasty and proclaims the notion of Yin and Yang,
which deems women should complement the hardness of men with soft caution.
My parents did not figure out my sex until I was born, and my dad said that many people asked
him that day if he was disappointed he had a third daughter. My dad said he would not have had it any
other way.
Daughters in China have not always been as welcome. Lessons for A Woman or Nuije, is an
ancient text by Ban Zhao, one of the only female scholars during the Han era. Her work promoted female
literacy and acted as a manual for women of the age, according to the 2006 book Confucianism and
Women: A Philosophical Interpretation, by Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee.
Zhao was trying to extend the parity...between yin and yang to the parity between the education
of boys and girls Rosenlee said. While to be a female scholar was groundbreaking, Zhaos praise of
humility and obedience in females was deeply traditional.
I am rarely docile, especially with my family. Ive used this quality to make my own choices, like
pursuing journalism or deciding to report in China. As someone who grew up with female siblings and
attended an all-girls school, Ive grown up in environments in which there are more women than men.
This atmosphere is interesting to compare with the Chinese context, where there were thirty-three million
more men than women as of 2014, according to a January 2015 article for Radio Free Asia.
Branigan said Chinas gender gap has been aggressed by the countrys 1979 one-child policy,
which perpetuated the custom to favor boys over girls. Some families have even taken illegal lengths,
such as sex-selective abortions following ultrasounds, Branigan said.
In a June 2016 article for the Washington Post, journalist Jonathan Kaiman said the Chinese
government sees feminism as a threat to state security. In China, Id like to investigate whether the
growing pro-female movement may be due to the fact that more women are receiving educations in
western nations and experiencing a breach in equality upon returning home.
As exemplified by the words of Zhao, Chinas history has influenced expectations for women:
Let her live in purity and quietness of spirit, and attend to her own affairs.