I Believe We Have the Power to Change

Jin Yihong [File Photo]

I have always been encouraging my students, ever since I experienced the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. The presence of 40,000 women at the opening ceremony made me realize that so many people are fighting for a common goal, in which there is no need to feel isolated or powerless. I hope that the gender studies curricula I opened at my college in China will serve not only to reveal and criticize fallacious phenomena but also will help students to discover their own initiatives.

Seeking a Juncture between Research and Action Intervention

I have been delving into women and gender studies since the 1980s. I lacked knowledge about feminism and relevant theories then, so I started doing research on women-related issues. China's reform and opening-up policy has triggered a number of conundrums for women — in particular whether women should return to the role of housewives in an unprecedentedly developing country.

At the beginning, I decided to step into the field simply out of interest. I was studying the dialectics of nature at the Institute of Philosophy and Culture at Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences at the time, but gradually I developed an interest in social sciences. I have a special sensitivity and concern for social inequality, which might have something to do with my gender.

Regarding the 1995 World Conference, I have to say that it was the process of participation that mattered the most. It was a fresh and unusual experience. At first, I was stunned at the divergent voices and active participation of numerous grass-roots organizations. It was then that I began to learn the diversity of the feminist movement as well as the variety and meaning of participation. Saying the conference changed their life, many of my peers have become women activists with substantial achievements. From then on, women- and gender-related issues have come into my sight, involving me in the massive campaign of women's development and even the emancipation of mankind.

Since then I have started to strive for gender equality — a huge and arduous task. So, apart from localized study, I try to reveal gender power relations and structural reasons behind the inequality.

Motivating Students to Believe in Their Power to Push Social Reform

Changing my job to Nanjing Normal University has given me greater power to spread feminism. The 1995 conference also provided an opportunity for me to encourage and endorse young students determined to work for social transformation and progress. I started courses on gender studies from the first year I entered. Despite the toil of teaching bigger classes, I feel everyone who attended the conference on women in Beijing has an obligation to spread the concept of gender equality. This is a long, drawn-out revolution which will not be accomplished in one or two generations. The younger generation's view on gender will wield a far-reaching influence upon the future mainstream of society. I have no intention to cultivate my students into feminists but they should be baptized with the basic knowledge of gender equality and social justice.

Some students once asked me what they could do even if they understand all this. According to them, revealing those cruel realities, that they could hardly change, brings about nothing but more agony and bitterness. However, I've been trying to get the message across that we are not powerless about the situation and the most important thing is to act.

Nevertheless, feminism in Chinese society has somewhat been demonized. Ginling College attaches great importance to women and gender studies. We have set up a number of relevant disciplines since the 1990s but still failed to earn recognition. As of now, only China Women's University has a department for women's studies. We have encountered a lot of difficulties in applying for the establishment of such a section. The only achievement we have made in this connection is the establishment of a master program in women and education under the discipline of pedagogy, which is the first of its kind in China.

Shedding Light on Realities to Vitalize Theoretical Research

Back in the 1980s, women were trapped in a grim plight when it came to employment. I suggested that childbearing was the most crucial factor in play. Though seemingly personalized, childbearing is actually a socialized behavior. Therefore, society, employers, women and their families should assume their due responsibility.

In 1989 I pointed out a trend of the time that there were an increasing number of rural women involved in farm work and published a thesis on this topic a year later. But that was based on documents and statistics and lacked field study. In the 1990s, I made up my mind to delve into gender study in rural China and then published two books: Decline of Paternity: Gender Study in Southern China amid the Modernization Process and Gender and Labor during the Cultural Revolution, which were well received and introduced to foreign publishing houses. This made me aware of what is indeed valuable.

Besides giving lessons in university, I also take part in women's campaigns and encourage my students to do so. Meanwhile, I have organized some programs on topics such as anti-domestic violence and fighting against women and child trafficking, in the hope that women students with higher education qualifications will develop a sense of responsibility for disadvantaged groups.

Academic study is inseparable with social transformation, so taking part in real-life practices will inject more energy into theoretical studies. And, at same time, research into theories prompts me to think more about social activities.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)