Chinese feminists abroad: borrowing other people’s space and speaking our language

This article was published jointly by "Bass" and " Patchwork ".

Author: Ida 2024/4/18

Women, bodies and social movements

On March 8, International Women's Day, I participated in the Women's Day parade for the first time with my friends in Bristol, a small city in the southwest of England. It was Friday evening, and I had just finished my work at a middle school. In school, there was only one discussion about Women's Day, when a teacher jokingly said, "Today is Women's Day, you should respect me." I was standing by, but did not respond. I later realized that this moment was a metaphor for that day. Here, Women's Day is not an important day, but a joke.

Women's Day in 2024 is at the crossroads of world contradictions. On the one hand, the situation in Palestine continues to deteriorate, with new marches, speeches, and occupations in cities every day; on the other hand, Mother's Day in the UK is March 10, right next to Women's Day. Women's Day is stuck between "more pressing humanitarian issues" and "more private maternal narratives", like an abrupt symbol that should not appear here and now. In Bristol, this feeling is even more obvious. Women's Day, which was originally an opportunity for a march, was awkwardly shelved in the end, giving way to more important issues.

At the beginning of the march, a Jewish woman stood in a pavilion in the middle of the park and gave a speech, saying how many women and children were killed in Gaza every day. The term "women", tied to the numbers, became a symbol and a footnote to a larger and more brutal history, just like most women in the long river of history.

As I followed the crowd from the park to the town square, I felt confused and distressed as I heard slogans about Palestine repeated over and over again. Would women in Gaza have a better life without war? Would the pain I experienced as an East Asian female immigrant not be important? Would racial discrimination and sexual harassment not be important? Should the life experiences of women who are suffering from gender-based violence, which is happening all the time, be erased by the so-called national and ethnic narratives?

The parade reached the end, and more and more people gathered. The slogans in support of Palestine, "From the river to the sea, Palestine should be free," came like waves. During this interval, two brown-skinned girls standing behind me raised their loudspeakers and suddenly shouted, "My body, my choice." This is a traditional and classic slogan for Women's Day. Many people turned their heads to look at them, but no one echoed them, and the focus of attention quickly returned to the protest against the atrocities in Gaza. I smiled at them awkwardly, and the two girls shrugged, as if what had just happened was an inappropriate episode, a joke in the face of "more serious issues." In the following marches, I never heard any slogans about women again. Even when they left, my friends and I didn't notice.

Like an absurd black joke, as the only East Asian faces in the crowd, we stood right in the middle, with people speaking out for Palestine on one side and the feminists who had just spoken out on the other. My friend held a sign in English that read "Chinese Feminists Stand for Palestine," but never raised it. Although we were disappointed, before leaving the parade, we bought small, individually packaged bags of potato chips and bread for the Palestinian supporters occupying the road, so that they could feel better during the long, cold nights of occupation in the UK.

Gender, identity, race, national issues, local issues, language, culture... all kinds of issues have woven into a web. I feel trapped in the web, trapped in a long-term structural neglect, and invisible. But I don't know if this is a personal confusion or a common dilemma for Chinese feminists in the diaspora? What does it mean to be a Chinese feminist on the world stage?

Later, my organization "Patchwork" held an online sharing session for everyone to talk about their feelings about the Women's Day march. We, Chinese feminists scattered around the world, met online and shared the confusion, joy and trauma of being a Chinese woman on the stage of street politics. I found that I was not the only one who was in trouble and confusion.

Differences, divisions, and the political stance of the community

The tearing feeling that the Palestinian issue brings to me stems from the contradiction between women’s personal politics and the national narrative. According to the sharing in this online meeting, this feeling seems to be not uncommon in different communities around the world.

The demonstrations in various places reserved the most space for the Palestinian issue, but contradictions did exist. The Palestinian issue and the women's issue, two equally important issues, competed for space and voice on Women's Day.

In the Netherlands, pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with local police, which directly led to the cancellation of the Women's Day parade that night. This also became the fuse for internal conflicts within the local feminist community in Amsterdam, and directly led to the disintegration of the local Women's Day parade organization.

In Germany, due to historical reasons, the Palestinian issue has always been closely linked to sensitive labels such as "anti-Semitism". Trump participated in a Women's Day parade in Berlin. At the sharing session, she said that this was the first time she saw riot police in a formally declared rally. The leader was arrested and the scene was very chaotic.

The difference in political stance on the Palestinian-Israeli issue is also tearing the activist community apart. Supporters of Palestine and Israel are at loggerheads online and offline, and this divide has also spread to the Chinese activist community.

In Europe, many Chinese feminist communities were connected and eventually formed because of the actions of the "White Paper Movement". Therefore, feminist communities are often closely linked to democratic movement communities, and many feminists themselves are also active participants in the democratic movement. At the sharing session, Chuan said that in Berlin, the feminist community that took joint action was formed with the White Paper Movement as an opportunity. The person who manages the community's social media supports Israel and publicly shares many limited-time dynamics supporting Israel on the public Instagram community account. But many people in the community hold different positions or do not want to be represented by the community that supports Israel. Therefore, this year, feminists in Berlin gave up appearing as a collective and participated in the Women's Day march as individuals.

When I heard this, I was also thinking about what it means to be a Chinese feminist? What does it mean to form a Chinese feminist community that connects with each other overseas? I don’t have a specific answer.

The feminist community is not a monolithic entity. There is actually a spectrum within the community. Everyone may agree on gender issues, but may disagree on other issues, so there will inevitably be disagreements and divisions within the community. For individuals, how to deal with these disagreements and divisions is related to how we imagine our relationship with the community and with others in the community. For the community, the ecology of the community is determined by everyone in the community. Therefore, as a space for community to keep warm and act together, how to bridge different feminists on the diverse political spectrum is a question that every member needs to think about and work hard on.

Spectacle, discrimination, and being an East Asian immigrant in Europe

The day after Women’s Day, I called my friend Xingxing in Barcelona, ​​where she was participating in the Women’s Day parade.

Xingxing told me that many groups and organizations took to the streets in Barcelona that day, and she and her friends were among them. A white man suddenly came over and told Xingxing and her friends that he was a policeman who was maintaining order and asked them to leave the march. In the crowded streets, this request was abrupt and unreasonable. They were the only East Asian faces, and they were the only ones asked to do so.

Angry, this is what Xingxing felt. She discovered the huge inequality between her and the other party in terms of identity, information and knowledge. As an immigrant, she didn't know whether it was a "normal thing" for the policeman to appear here, nor whether the whole situation was "normal". The man took out a badge instead of an ID and told Xingxing that it was a police badge. Instinctively distrusting and feeling disrespected ignited her anger, and Xingxing soon got into an argument with the other party. She picked up her phone to record everything as evidence.

East Asian female immigrants in Europe are often viewed as vulnerable or sexualized objects. Coupled with their unfamiliarity with local laws and regulations, it is not uncommon for them to be discriminated against or otherwise treated unfairly. Chinese feminists who take to the streets also face the risks and emergencies of street politics, which makes their actions difficult.

After the incident, she quickly found a reporter and wanted to expose the man. After telling the story, Xingxing cried and said to the female reporter in front of her: "We are the only East Asian faces here. It has not been easy for us to get here. This is the first time we are here."

When I heard Xingxing say this, I was very moved and sad.

Indeed, Chinese women who can receive higher education overseas have gone through layers of screening: they have to be lucky enough to have more privileges than most people in China, and they have to work hard enough to get a ticket to study in a foreign country. Being a stranger overseas, the difficulties are in front of us. Not only do we face various problems such as visas, work, and income, but we also need to invest a lot of energy and rest time in unpaid community labor and voice and advocacy for gender issues in addition to daily life. It is indeed not easy to walk all the way to the streets of a foreign country.

After listening to Xingxing's story, the reporter asked her: "These are not allowed in your place, right?"

This is a fact, but the other party's words still made Xingxing feel uncomfortable. To Xingxing, this was an unintentional arrogance, and she seemed to have become a spectacle, watched by the audience in the Western world. Fortunately, the reporter later accompanied Xingxing to seek help from the police on the roadside.

Local, Homeland, and Feminist Activists in Between

Actors abroad also generally face a dilemma: the misalignment between the political agenda of Western concern and the trauma that diaspora actors bring with them from their home countries.

The suffering that is happening in other parts of the world and the pain that many people are experiencing are like fashion items that white people change out of season. As one partner said at the sharing session, "Last year it was Iranian feminism, this year it is Palestine." In a society centered on white people, they have their own political agenda, and resources are invested more in these areas. On the stage of Western social movements, China's political and gender issues are so niche and inconspicuous that they are not worth buying. As Chinese feminists living abroad, it is difficult to obtain as much social resource support and space for action as black or refugee groups. Taking to the streets is a more challenging choice.

Because of this, Chinese feminists have to take the initiative to carve out a space of their own in a foreign enclave, unite with other issues, and compete with other issues. In order to gain influence and support locally, they have to partially change their action strategies and agendas to integrate themselves into the local political agenda.

Xiao O, a community organizer, said at the sharing session: "Because there are too few people who pay attention to Chinese speakers, the same people still come in the end, but I also know that it is difficult to reach (a wider group of people). The white-centric approach makes me feel disconnected and separated from them. Even though I really try hard to care about these issues and educate myself to pay attention, we have our own struggles, and this struggle (dilemma) has nothing in common (with them)."

Chinese activists need to pay attention to issues that the international community values, such as environmental protection and "the suffering of the third world that needs to be saved." However, what is happening every day in China, the uncertainty brought about by immigrant status and personal identity, puts Chinese diaspora activists in a gray area between the national and international. While pushing Chinese issues, traumas, and stories onto the world stage and street politics, they must also take into account local agendas. This is extremely challenging emotional, physical, and mental labor for Chinese activists.

On the other hand, Asians have always been a "model minority" in the Western world, so it is rare to see East Asian faces on the stage of street politics. It is even rarer to see street political activists from Taiwan, South Korea, Japan or Southeast Asian countries overseas. Because in these countries and regions, the constitution guarantees the right to gather, march and assemble on the street, and citizens can launch street politics on their own stage, participate in policy advocacy and influence decision-making. For example, in Japan this year, the Women's Day parade did not restrict the content of the slogans, and the parade itself focused on the intersectionality of identity, showing a very rich social issues such as disabled women and sex workers.

Yue lives in Japan and participated in the Women's Day parade in Tokyo this year. She said at the sharing session: "We appeared there like an enclave, borrowing that place." Chinese feminist activists lack space for radical political action in their own country, so they can only borrow the streets of other countries, appear vigorously, put up Chinese slogans, and let Chinese issues be seen by different societies and cultures.

For Chinese feminists in the diaspora, in addition to being marginalized by mainstream society as Asian immigrants, the greater challenge comes from the constant presence of the shadow of state power. Even if they are overseas, due to the uncertainty of visa status, their family and friends still live in China, and the cost of their actions is a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.

A girl who participated in the march in Madrid, Spain, shared that her community partners clashed with white photographers when they gathered at the beginning of the march because they did not want "greater exposure." It is difficult for white people to understand the refusal to be exposed - in a street political arena, every community hopes that their issues can get more attention - but for overseas Chinese activists, more attention also means greater danger.

Difficulties and hopes grow vigorously in the cracks

Even in the face of difficulties and obstacles, the feminist community remains vibrant and grows tenaciously in the cracks.

At the sharing session, Y, who participated in the Women's Day Parade in London, said: "Women are very vibrant. I think if anyone wants to organize an event in the future, they don't have to put too much pressure on themselves. You have to believe in your friends, believe in your female partners. Everyone is very creative."

In the UK, despite the world-class influence of the first and second waves of feminism, Women’s Day is not seen in business culture or daily life. It is not a national holiday. Even in London, which is more populous and more international, Women’s Day, which concerns the well-being of half the population, is no more valued by the public and capitalism than Pride Day.

Therefore, nothing special happened on Women's Day. There were no regional marches, and even very few activities and discussions in universities. A Chinese teacher gave a lecture on gender equality in China, which mainly presented basic information. A teacher of the Gender Studies Department of a university in London took his students to the Soho district to march.

Sporadic action, with little spark.

But Chinese feminists in London decided to hold their own march on the streets, walking from Trafalgar Square to the Chinese Embassy, ​​which is about half an hour's walk. Participants were invited by Y at the screening of Bad Chinese Women. The materials and banners were decided on the eve of Women's Day, and even the production site was a random empty classroom.

The Chinese Embassy is a place with strict security. At any time of the day, there are always three security guards at the door. If people gather for more than ten minutes, the police will come to inquire about the situation and ensure that no accidents happen. That day, although it was already night, several windows of the Chinese Embassy were still lit with several warm yellow lights. I don't know if there is anyone behind the glass, and I don't know how many women there are in that big house.

The girls decided to turn this protest against patriarchy and the country into a relaxed street party on Women's Day. Some people gave stand-up comedy on the street, complaining about the misogyny and phallic worship of power that prevailed in talk shows; others held up loudspeakers and shouted at the warm yellow glass windows, expressing sincere blessings for the women inside, "Happy Women's Day to you", "I wish you equal pay for equal work", "I wish you a promotion and a raise, and become the leader of your male colleagues". Everyone was closely connected, and when the British police came to question who the organizer was, everyone said unanimously that there was no organizer.

Y also said at the sharing session: "I want everyone to turn (the Women's Day parade) into a party, not to be so bitter and vengeful, and not to have the attitude of the men in the democracy movement. I just want to turn an abstract national regime into a concrete person."

In Barcelona, ​​Xingxing said their march was a "lackluster start", with some people dropping out and some joining in. Barcelona has always been a place where social movements are very active. A few years ago, the government led by Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau even directly proposed a "political feminization" strategy, trying to "incorporate gender perspectives into all areas of politics and society." However, the Chinese are an inconspicuous ethnic group in the local area and are more silent in political expression. Although there has been a recent rise in Chinese artists and talk shows, there has always been a lack of connections between Chinese feminists.

So Xingxing began to want to do something locally. In February, she posted a discussion poster on her WeChat Moments, and soon people joined in. Some people spontaneously promoted the march on social media, and some people made posters. On the weekend before March 8, everyone made banners and placards in the park together. Despite the unpleasant episode in the march later, Xingxing was still very happy to stand with everyone, and hoped to "take this opportunity to contact some sisters and look forward to doing more things."

At the online sharing session of "Patchwork", a girl wrote in the chat box that she still lacked the courage to go out on the streets. Everyone responded to her in the chat box, encouraged her, and shared their feelings at the scene. Some people said, "Courage is acquired through practice", and others said very frankly, "You will find that you are not alone at the scene, and the 'fear' is not just yours."

In the "borrowed space", Chinese feminists are cultivating an "enclave" where they can embrace and give warmth to each other even if they are far away from their homeland. As Yue said, "Many people are marching for the first time, and many people find it difficult to meet people in real life to discuss feminism, so it feels good to see each other."

(All names in this article are pseudonyms)

Note: Regarding the march initiated by Chinese feminists in London, the "Bass" website has a related report: " The London March 8th March of "Bad Chinese Women" ".