Asian American Woman before 1950s Essay Example

Asian American Woman before 1950s Essay It is fair to state that the status of Asian American women before 1950s was not any better than that suffered by minorities from any racial-ethnic group during this period. This is amply attested by first-hand accounts of discrimination and maltreatment by early immigrants. We also have copious legal indictments handing penalties, jail sentences and deportations to early wave of Asian immigrants to the ‘land of the free’. Considering that it was beginning from the second half of the 19th century that steady streams of Asian immigration poured into America, it is apt to claim that their struggle spanned a century, ending with the Civil Rights movement of 1960s. Prior to this the community endured a century of hardships that mitigated their integration into mainstream American socio-culture. If racial prejudice was a sizeable challenge on its own, the issues were compounded for womenfolk. The rest of this essay is an overview of the Asian American experience prior to 1950. Sociological theories on ‘gender’ and ‘intersectionality’ were perused as were classic literary works and essays pertaining to the subject. It is instructive to look at theoretical perspectives that make lucid the Asian American women’s experience before 1950. During much of the evolution of sociology, studying history and society through the axis of gender was not common practice. Race, ethnicity, age, class and nation were the common definitive parameters for groups that were studied. Understanding socio-history from the perspective of gender was mainly an offshoot of feminist movements of mid-twentieth century. The second wave feminist movement was especially instrumental in introducing this approach. The relational identities of women of 19th century as either someone’s daughter, husband or mother is fully applicable to Asian American women. The word ‘gender’ is used frequently in common parlance synonymous with the word ‘sex’ thereby betraying a biological determinism to the classification. But sociologists have sharpened its definition to stress the We will write a custom essay sample on Asian American Woman before 1950s specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Asian American Woman before 1950s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Asian American Woman before 1950s specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"relational aspect of normative definitions of femininity†¦accordingly, women and men were defined in terms of one another, an no understanding of either could be achieved by entirely separate study†¦the goal is to discover the range in sex roles and in sexual symbolism in different societies and periods, to find out what meaning they had and how they functioned to maintain the social order or to promote its change†. (Scott, 1986) Seen in the backdrop of this theoretical framework, it is fair to claim that Asian American women had a decidedly more arduous century prior to 1950 than their male counterparts. This is evident in the literary works of the time, especially that of Jade Snow Wong’s ‘Fifth Chinese Daughter’. The short novel is filled with real life events of the author as she lived through the transition from a native Chinese culture steeped in tradition and the more liberal outlook afforded in America. The book shows the patriarchal familial set up among the Chinese and how this can be a hindrance for immigrant women looking to avail of opportunities for personal and professional growth in the New World. ‘Intersectionality’ is another useful theoretical basis for studying Asian American women’s experience, for it brings the core problems from different domains to the analysis. It helps the studied group to â€Å"invent and inhabit identities that register the effects of differentiated and uneven power, permitting them to envision and enact new social relations grounded in multiple axes of intersecting, situated knowledge.† (Chun, Lipsitz, and Shin, 2013) The theory is seen in action in Jew Law Ying’s ‘Coaching Book’ – a touching historical document that brings out the extent of Asian American women’s struggle for citizenship in the USA. The work is a translation of the ‘coaching book’ which the author’s father sent to her mother prior to the latter’s long voyage to America. The book lists a long set of questions that her mother could possibly receive from immigration officials upon her alighting ashore. It then goes on to give the answers she is expected to give to avoid contradictions with the information already gleaned from her husband. The irony of the situation is that Mrs. Law Ying had to be coached in this way not so much to deceive interrogating officers as to remain consistent with her husband’s utterances. Later in her life Mrs. Law Ying would state that she qualified for citizenship by speaking honestly and not due to the help offered via the book. This makes the book all the more a symbol of love. It stands as a talisman of romance that an Asian American woman received from her husband from a far away land. Yet, the Coaching Book also stands for patriarchal social arrangements that were the norm in late modern China. In retrospect the coaching project is impressive in its simplicity and earnestness, with its detailed biographical minutiae, its representative and erroneous village map and the obviously banality of the questions. But there is a bitter reality behind Law Ying’s particular case of romantic success. For every woman that succeeds the immigration exam, there is a multitude that fails. This confines the latter to severe pecuniary penalties at best and deportation at worst. Those who fall between these two extremes face the unsavoury prospect of a life wasted in prostitution or menial labour. These resistances had an effect in the pattern of Chinese immigration to the United States – it markedly reduced the proportion of female immigrants. The statistics given below is a telling sign of the disparity between the experiences of Asian American men and women. â€Å"In 1920, females comprised 12.6 percent of the U.S. Chinese population; by 1940, that figure stood at 30.0 percent†¦so this shortage among the Chinese in the United States is a matter of degree rather than a difference in kind. Where the Chinese pattern deviates from the norm is that the imbalance in the sex ratio lasted for more than a century rather than for just a few decades†. (Sucheng Chan)