Becoming Ayi: Chinese female domestic workers' transformation from docile bodies to wilful subjects.
The term 'Ayi' (Auntie) has often been used in a less discriminatory way than 'Baomu' (Nanny, Maid) to describe female domestic workers from outside the immediate family. Research into the development of the concept of ayi interrogates the identity construction and transformation of female domestic...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Gender Studies Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 217 - 235 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Feb2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=191332418&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 191332418 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09589236 JGS jtl: Journal of Gender Studies issn: 09589236 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Feb2026 vid: 35 iid: 2 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 191332418 10.1080/09589236.2025.2474665 ppf: 217 ppct: 18 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T db: hlh ui: 191332418 – @attributes: type: P db: hlh ui: 191332418 tig: atl: Becoming Ayi: Chinese female domestic workers' transformation from docile bodies to wilful subjects. aug: au: Chen, Zhen Troy Kuang, Xianwen Liu, Xi affil: Department of Media, Culture and Creative Industries, School of Communication & Creativity, City, University of London, London, UK Department of Media and Communication, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China Department of China Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China su: Gender inequality Patriarchy Cultural production Women household employees Chinese women sug: subj: Gender inequality Patriarchy Cultural production Private Households Janitorial Services Women household employees Chinese women keyword: Becoming Ayi docile body female domestic worker neoliberal post-socialist China wilful subject Becoming Ayi docile body female domestic worker neoliberal post-socialist China wilful subject ab: The term 'Ayi' (Auntie) has often been used in a less discriminatory way than 'Baomu' (Nanny, Maid) to describe female domestic workers from outside the immediate family. Research into the development of the concept of ayi interrogates the identity construction and transformation of female domestic workers as part of the emergence of a post-socialist market economy. To understand the lived experiences of this social group which could provide us with insights into gender equality issues in China, we have collected and analysed data from in-depth interviews and focus group with female domestic workers from rural backgrounds. Existing research suggests that ayi has become a split-subject, anchoring a historical moment within the fast urbanization process in a patriarchal and neoliberal post-socialist China featured by intertwined social inequalities. The idea of 'becoming ayi' provides a new conceptualization and contextualization of identity negotiations and cultural production intersecting region, the rural–urban divide, class, and gender where female subjects have usually been viewed as either passive or active. The conceptualization of 'becoming ayi' works as a necessary intervention that replaces the previous binary oppositions between subject and other, agency and victimization, central and peripheral to better understand the identification of female domestic workers in contemporary China. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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