Politicizing Motherhood

I found this reading to be very refreshing. Among all the other readings, this was the first that showed the empowerment of women through real jobs that did not stem from the usually assumed role as a housewife. For example, the Chinese women were able to raise up to an equal position as their husbands as they proved their worth as solid bread earners for their family. In addition, for once, the jobs the women gained were outside the realms of promoting their sexuality as women through mainstream ideals such as beauty or entertainment like dancing. It was also interesting to see how women balanced their two main duties as mothers and workers. They had to adjust the entire arrangement of the family by having less children who are of closer age to one another. Also, they had to start to diverge from the role of a sole caretaker as they were forced to leave their children in daycare, if possible. It is rare to see an incident of when Asian women united to fight for a right that they rightly deserved because in the other readings, the women never vocalized their opinions in public, but rather hid behind the shadows of their husband or bonded with other women as they kept it within the world of the Asian mothers. However, in this scenario, the mothers are able to take their case to public and win. It was very empowering as an Asian American to read this as it revealed a whole other side to the Asian American women in history other than a silenced individual who had no other way to redeem herself as an individual outside the publicized images of an exotic beauty.