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SPOTLIGHT / They don’t owe us pretty
Young feminists are sharing before and after photos of themselves on social media.Credit: Xiaohongshu/@empowomen
When Mao proclaimed in 1968 that “women hold up half the sky”, he couldn’t have foreseen the shape of feminism in China today. Across the country, young women are shaving their heads, forgoing make-up and wearing loose-fitting clothing in a rejection of what they call “beauty duty”, the strict cultural norms that dictate how women should look. The burgeoning movement is unfolding on local social-media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo, where young feminists share before and after photos of themselves – swapping their long hair, contact lenses and make-up for buzzcuts, glasses and nude faces – using the hashtag #BeautyDuty.
Louise Edwards, professor of Chinese history at the University of NSW, says that while beauty standards in China carry echoes of those in the West, gendered expectations are more ingrained. Failing to adhere to beauty standards can hinder a woman’s career progression in a setting where it’s common for job advertisements to request photos. By rejecting beauty duty, women are pushing back against the amount of time they’re expected to devote to their appearance just to participate in society. “Women are seen as having to carry the burden of decorating people’s lives, offices and homes and there’s a lot of labour that goes into that,” says Edwards.
In an increasingly globalised world, Chinese women are swayed by international feminist movements and crusades in countries such as Japan and Korea. Also, many young women were born under China’s one-child policy. “Many singleton daughters have really supportive parents. They tell them, ‘Girls are equal, girls are good.’ They want them to succeed.” Lauren Ironmonger
A woman grieving her mother abandons her marriage and life to return to the place of her childhood.
READ / Amen to that
What does it take to forgive? Does grief ever leave you? Are despair and retreat from the world rational acts or moral failings? Award-winning writer Charlotte Wood explores these issues in her seventh novel, Stone Yard Devotional ($33), in which a woman abandons her marriage, job and city life to live in an abbey in the Monaro, in south-east NSW, where she grew up. There, she leads a contemplative existence, grieving her long-dead mother and recalling her parents’ many acts of kindness as she reflects on what it means to be good and examines the ethical implications of her own conduct. Haunting. Nicole Abadee
LISTEN / Facts of life
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