TY - JOUR
T1 - Being a Valuable Daughter in a Rural Family
T2 - The Relational Identity and Empowered Gender Subjectivities of Female Vocational College Students
AU - Koo, Anita
AU - Zhan , Yang
N1 - This research was supported by the GRF, Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (15601617 and 25607320).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/11
Y1 - 2023/11
N2 - The rapid expansion of vocational higher education, the labor market, and the emergence of individualistic values have empowered the young generation of Chinese rural women, granting them more autonomy in planning their futures and constructing their identities. This article explores the motivation for vocational higher education and the meaning attached to education and employment among the female college students from rural households, primarily through in-depth interviews. While investigating the strategies young women employ for economic empowerment and self-development, we identify a new form of empowered gender subjectivity highly tied to their strong desire to become valuable daughters within their natal patrilineal families. They aim to transform the devalued role of daughters in the patriarchal system by aspiring to provide continuous financial, emotional, and physical support for their parents through a smooth school-to-work transition. This empowered agency, however, does not necessarily challenge the gender structure of the labor market and the primary caregiving role of women in families. This study also underscores the relational nature of individual identity in China and highlights the intricacies of educated young women’s gendered subjectivities under the rapid social, cultural, and economic transitions in Chinese rural communities.
AB - The rapid expansion of vocational higher education, the labor market, and the emergence of individualistic values have empowered the young generation of Chinese rural women, granting them more autonomy in planning their futures and constructing their identities. This article explores the motivation for vocational higher education and the meaning attached to education and employment among the female college students from rural households, primarily through in-depth interviews. While investigating the strategies young women employ for economic empowerment and self-development, we identify a new form of empowered gender subjectivity highly tied to their strong desire to become valuable daughters within their natal patrilineal families. They aim to transform the devalued role of daughters in the patriarchal system by aspiring to provide continuous financial, emotional, and physical support for their parents through a smooth school-to-work transition. This empowered agency, however, does not necessarily challenge the gender structure of the labor market and the primary caregiving role of women in families. This study also underscores the relational nature of individual identity in China and highlights the intricacies of educated young women’s gendered subjectivities under the rapid social, cultural, and economic transitions in Chinese rural communities.
UR - https://cup.cuhk.edu.hk/TheChinaReview
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85178484866&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85178484866
SN - 1680-2012
VL - 23
SP - 259
EP - 286
JO - China Review
JF - China Review
IS - 4
ER -