Canadian Chinese adolescent girls’ gender roles and identities

An autovideography approach was used to investigate the gender role and
identity perceptions of ten adolescent Chinese girls in Vancouver. They were asked to take 20 photos in a week from the media that could illustrate ‘‘what women should or should not be and what women should or should not do’’. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted discussing their choices. Six dominant themes emerged related to appearance, personality, work, family, interests and health. The results reveal that the interviewees aspired to be active in managing their body image, family and career. They valued financial independence and pursuing their dreams. They emphasized a woman’s right to work and aspired to balance work and family. They showed little enthusiasm for the traditional Chinese female characteristics of gentleness and submissiveness.