Women's Movements in Twentieth-Century Taiwan (Electronic book text)

This book examines the way in which Taiwanese women in the twentieth century selectively appropriated Western feminist theories to meet their needs in a modernizing Confucian culture. Doris T. Chang illustrates the rise and fall of women's movements against the historical backdrop of the island's contested national identities, first vis-o-vis imperial Japan (1895-1945) and later with postwar China (1945-2000). In particular, she finds that when autonomous women's movements were successful at various points in history, they operated within the political perimeters set by the authoritarian regimes. Delving into period sources such as the highly influential feminist monthly magazine Awakening as well as interviews with Taiwanese authors and feminist leaders, Chang provides a comprehensive historical and cross-cultural analysis of the struggle for gender equality in Taiwan.