It’s not easy being a woman in China. In the workplace, women face the glass ceiling phenomenon, but there’s also a sticky floor, wherein women in low-paying jobs get paid less than men of equal skill level. In their personal lives, they are bombarded by images in mass media, telling them they need to be thinner, fairer, taller. While many societies promote equal political and social rights for women (China being one of them), it’s rare to see it fully implemented in practice. This entry is about when I’ve received some sort of discrimination based on my gender at the pool. I don’t have any specific conclusions or policy recommendations; this is just a story of my life in China. When I was studying in Harbin last year, I often went to Heilongjiang University’s pool. Every time I went, I stuck out as one of the fastest swimmers in the pool. I befriended the lifeguards there, who welcomed my presence every time with a smile and a wave. One lifeguard, ? (Li), in his late 40s, single, would often swim with me and race me. He always tried to invite me out to another pool he worked at during his
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My roommate and I arrive in Wuhan (Wuchang, specifically) and try to find a cheap place to stay that’s close to the train station (unfortunately we both ended up taking trains from the other train station on the other side of town, about a 40 minute drive away). We find this “hotel” (after seeing the bathrooms/showers at this place, though, I don’t know what to call it) that must not see many foreigners. Here is a conversation I had with employees at check-in: Hotel staff (Chinese): May I have your 身份证 (shen1fen4zheng4, identity card)? I hand over my passport. Hotel staff: What is this? Where is the number? Me: I don’t have a national identity card; that’s my passport. I’m an American citizen. Hotel staff (to a co-worker): What do we do? Where’s the number? Where’s her name? What should we put? Me: Can’t you just input my English name and passport number? Hotel staff: You’re sure you’re not Chinese? Do you have any other form of identification? What’s your Chinese name? I go on to show them my school ID from last semester, as well as my work ID, neither of which are acceptable. I have no idea what
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On Tuesday, I had this conversation: Woman at camera shop: Are you from (whispers) Xinjiang? Me: No, I’m Chinese-American. You thought I was a Uyghur? Man at camera shop: Uyghur women are very beautiful, you are very beautiful, that is why we asked you. Me: Ummm. I don’t know what goes on in Chinese people’s minds when they get all wound up in determining someone’s ethnic background.
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From a NYTimes article titled China’s Financial Industry Recruits Abroad: Despite the swelling number of unemployed financial service employees, those qualified to work for Chinese firms is extremely small. Mr. Leggett’s background in Chinese — he studied Mandarin for four years as an undergraduate student at Columbia — made his move feasible. He has shocked many recruiters with his Chinese ability: “They see a tall, white guy and they’ve got low expectations. When they find out I can say a lot more than ‘hello,’ in Chinese, they begin to take me seriously.” Oh that’s great. But when they see an average-height Asian girl they have different expectations. Every time I speak to a Chinese person, they expect me to be completely fluent. Here are five different circumstances I find myself in: 1. I tell them I am Chinese (or Chinese-American). Laughter. Okay, seriously, what am I? Proceed to point out certain superficial features that lend then to believe that I am of a different race. Conclusion: I speak Chinese, but I look Korean or Japanese. Therefore, I am Korean or Japanese. 2. I tell them I am Chinese-American. Disappointment. Believe that as a descendent of Chinese people, my Chinese should be
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