tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607441034503290367.post7312715586804847841..comments2023-08-13T19:25:45.898-07:00Comments on East Meets West: Chinese Women, Confucian Yin-Yang Theory, and Living out Virtue through the Female BodyTeresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12831169405732892599noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607441034503290367.post-46748235193941974202010-08-11T13:47:07.422-07:002010-08-11T13:47:07.422-07:00I was speaking about this with a friend whose moth...I was speaking about this with a friend whose mother is Iranian. She said that she had noticed similarities between the Chinese and Iranian cultures, and when I mentioned the competition among women in enduring pain, she got quite excited at finding yet another point of cultural convergence. So apparently such thoughts have a certain universality.<br /><br />It is very easy to get sucked into competing about your ability to endure pain, especially in the Chinese culture where it is tied to womanly virtue. I have to confess that I really got into the competition for many years, to the detriment of my health. I am very good at enduring pain, even when I shouldn't, and I won a lot of praise for it among my Chinese friends and relatives. <br /><br />Once women buy into a negative cultural habit, they perpetrate things on themselves, and it becomes even harder to change attitudes. Foot-binding was done by mothers, grandmothers and aunts to girls when they reached the age of 5 to 9 depending on the region.<br /><br />Mao spent decades trying to change things for women in China, but now with the Reform Era and the easing of Maoist controls, even urban women are reverting back to their old habits and attitudes. And of course, in many rural places, the old ways never died.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12831169405732892599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607441034503290367.post-60717359021876493942010-08-11T13:24:18.731-07:002010-08-11T13:24:18.731-07:00Very interesting. And a little scary. We are so mu...Very interesting. And a little scary. We are so much a product of our culture. And not all cultures treat us fairly.Barriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04678698296265168217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607441034503290367.post-49924229317500595762010-08-11T12:38:51.778-07:002010-08-11T12:38:51.778-07:00Wow! Sorry for staying in thesis mode. I thought I...Wow! Sorry for staying in thesis mode. I thought I had lightened things up a lot, but I guess not.<br /><br />Glad you found this interesting.<br /><br />TeresaTeresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12831169405732892599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607441034503290367.post-38089353407303661512010-08-11T12:32:40.766-07:002010-08-11T12:32:40.766-07:00I gotta read this rich piece of scholarship again!...I gotta read this rich piece of scholarship again!<br /><br />Fascinating<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Aloha from Waikiki :) <br /><br /><a href="http://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Comfort Spiral</a>Cloudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853753108637831069noreply@blogger.com