Locating Chinese Women: Historical Mobility between China and Australia

Draws together Australian historical scholarship on Chinese women, their gendered migrations, and their mobile lives between China and Australia.

This edited collection draws together Australian historical scholarship on Chinese women, their gendered migrations, and mobile lives between China and Australia. While the number of Chinese women in Australia before 1950 was relatively small, their presence was significant and often subject to public scrutiny. Moving beyond traditional representations of women as hidden and silent, this book demonstrates that Chinese Australian women in the twentieth century expressed themselves in the public eye, whether through writings, photography, or political and cultural life. Their remarkable stories are often inspiring, and sometimes tragic, serving to demonstrate the complexities of navigating female lives in the face of racial politics and imposed categories of gender, culture, and class. This collection also offers a comparative perspective, connecting women’s experiences in Australia with those in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.