| Abstract: | All societies have a sex-gender system, which transforms biological sex difference into gender differences which define roles in society. In China the sex-gender system was patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal. Because girls married out of the family it was thought wasteful to educate them, an idea which was in many ways the antithesis of Communist Party ideology. The article discusses this conflict from a historical perspective, with particular emphasis on changes in the strategic area of education policy. While the sex-gender system is undergoing unprecedented, rapid change, the ideological attacks on it have been rejected or only partially successful. Present policies even include retreats by the Party from ground previously thought to be won. The discussion includes: the gap between reform in the cities and in the country; the role of the All China Women's Federation; the Party's reluctance to confront patriarchal practices, particularly patrilocal residence after marriage; and its continued tolerance of discrimination against women in educational and economic institutions. |
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