Abstract
This chapter looks into women’s constructions of their gendered subjectivity as China’s exemplary middle class. I focus on their individual agency under a powerful neoliberal discourse of a desiring and enterprising self in seeking personal happiness through heterosexual marriage. By examining their criteria and practices in seeking a suitable marriage partner, I reveal the restrictive nature of these practices, which ironically make marriage into both a struggle and a solution for these women. I then discuss how their aspirations towards happiness help to realise the neoliberal ideal that fits within the governance framework of the party-state.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Embodying Middle Class Gender Aspirations |
| Subtitle of host publication | Perspectives from China’s Privileged Young Women |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Pages | 157-200 |
| Number of pages | 44 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789811611391 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789811611384, 9789811611414 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Apr 2021 |
Publication series
| Name | Gender, Sexualities and Culture in Asia |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| ISSN (Print) | 2662-7884 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2662-7892 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Demography
- Gender Studies
- Religious studies