Gender and Change in Hong Kong: Globalization, Postcolonialism, and Chinese Patriarchy

The 1980s and 1990s represent a critical historical juncture for Hong Kong, as it underwent important social, political, and economic transformations. This period of transition, during which the state worked to redefine itself, significantly altered the role and status of Hong Kong women. Colonial modernity, which arose through the integration of the colonial state, the capitalist economy, and the Hong Kong Chinese society, proved favourable for some women but also had adverse consequences for others. It constructed women of different class interests and shaped the gendered citizenship of its colonial subjects.

Gender and Change in Hong Kong analyzes women’s changing identities and agencies amidst the complex interaction of three important forces, namely, globalization, postcolonialism, and Chinese patriarchy. The chapters examine the issues from a number of perspectives to consider legal changes, political participation, the situation of working-class and professional women, sexuality, religion, and international migration.

This incisive volume offers sophisticated theoretical discussions and original empirical findings, and will appeal to a wide range of scholars and students in gender and women’s studies, postcolonialism, globalization, and Asian studies.