Feminism in China: Women's Bodies on the Frontline

In this talk, leading Chinese feminist activist Lu Pin will delineate the agenda that the Chinese government has implicitly and explicitly set out for Chinese women: marriage and reproduction. Recently, Chinese activists have resisted this agenda by reclaiming derogatory misogynist terms and posing in artistic nude photos to advocate for the legislation of the country’s first anti-domestic violence law. Lu Pin argues that resisting the government’s agenda will make women unafraid to fight for their causes . Lu Pin has been working for the women’s rights movement in China for over 20 years. In 2009, she founded Feminist Voices, an influential feminist media platform. Since 2011, she has led efforts to develop an activist network that has been credited as the beginning of the next stage of the Chinese women’s rights movement. In 2016, Pin cofounded a new U.S.-based organization to support this movement . This lecture is a continuation of this year’s Gensler Symposium on “Sex and the State.” Sponsored by Chellis House, the Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, and Feminist Action at Middlebury.