essay
The power and pollution of Chinese women
studies in chinese society • Stanford, Calif. • Published In 1978 • Pages: 269-290, 362-363
By: Ahern, Emily M..
Abstract
This essay considers the polluting or dangerous powers of women in the light of women's ambiguous social position and Taiwanese notions of ideal family structure. The key problem appears to be not one of popular belief in the inherent inferiority of women per se, but rather women's close association with substances that are ritually unclean (e.g., menstrual blood), and their status as outsiders in a kinship system focused on male lines of descent. Conditions in which women are thought to be dangerous or anomalous, such as during pregnancy, childbirth, and widowhood, are discussed in detail along with more general Chinese notions of clean and unclean bodily substances.
- HRAF PubDate
- 1995
- Region
- Asia
- Sub Region
- East Asia
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- M. A. Marcus
- Field Date
- 1969-1972
- Coverage Date
- not specified
- Coverage Place
- Ch'i-nan village, Taipei hsien, Hai-shan region, Taiwan
- Notes
- Emily M. Ahern
- Includes bibliography
- LCSH
- Taiwanese