The Outsider Within and the Insider Without: A Case Study of Chinese Women’s Political Participation

Women’s political participation has been recognized internationally as an important measure of the status of women in any particular country. This article examines Chinese women’s political participation as it is experienced and articulated by professional women. It draws upon the reflections and narratives of professional women to show how women professionals come to challenge the gender system in post-Mao China, and what forces have sustained these women in times of uncertainty and defeat. The analysis indicates that their lived experiences, together with the legacy of Chinese women’s liberation, have laid the foundation for an oppositional, engendered identity.