Is Chinese Patriarchy Over? Some Preliminary Observations

In this exploratory talk, Professor Harrell will consider the possibility that although China is by any standard far from a gender-egalitarian society, that the basis of gender inequality has strayed so far from its traditional form that the term “patriarchy” is no longer applicable. Harrell presents a structural model of patriarchy and show how it has broken down with economic reforms, alterations of family structure, and rapidly changing cultural and ethical norms. This talk will be accompanied by a screening of the short film: Dahua’s Wedding: Migration, Marriage, and Social Change in Southwest China DVD, 27 minutes long, in English and Chinese with English subtitles. Discussion to follow screening. Shot in the village of Yishala, Panzhihua, Sichuan, from 2007-2008, this film alternates scenes of Dahua’s wedding with interviews with Dahua and her family, friends, and fellow villagers, showing how recent social and cultural changes have transformed local understandings and practices around sex and marriage in a rather remote corner of rural China.