Biology and Equality: Challenge for Feminism in the Socialist and the Liberal State

55 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2012 Last revised: 25 Apr 2012

See all articles by Margaret Woo

Margaret Woo

Northeastern University - School of Law

Date Written: 1993

Abstract

This article examines recent Chinese laws on the issue of women and work. While Chinese regulations regarding women and work can be viewed as simply a reflection of the latest state policy on economic development, these regulations can also be viewed as an example of the familiar tension between standards that protect women and those that promote equality of opportunity. More importantly, these regulations reveal a philosophical change in the attitude towards Chinese women. In both tone and focus, the new Chinese regulations have origins in socialist ideals and Confucian traditions. They are Confucian in their focus on the importance of the collective community and socialists in the domineering role they assign to the state in defining the role of women in the workforce. The latest reality in China is that women’s problems are no longer discussed as social problems but rather as a matter of biology.

Suggested Citation

Woo, Margaret, Biology and Equality: Challenge for Feminism in the Socialist and the Liberal State (1993). Emory Law Journal, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 143-196, Winter 1993, Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2034611 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2034611

Margaret Woo (Contact Author)

Northeastern University - School of Law ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-373-3309 (Phone)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
87
Abstract Views
1,474
Rank
523,966
PlumX Metrics