Eternal mothers or flexible housewives? Middle-aged Chinese married women in Hong Kong

Sex Roles

Volumn 57, Issue 3-4, 2007, Pages 249-265

  Ho, Petula Sik Ying ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG   (Hong Kong)

Author keywords

Heteronormativity; Housewife; Identity; Motherhood

Indexed keywords

EID: 34547808862     PISSN: 03600025     EISSN: 15732762     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11199-007-9255-8     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Archer, S. (1991). A feminist's approach to identity research. In G. R. Adams, T. P. Gullotta, & R. Montemmayor (Eds.), Adolescent identity formation (pp. 25-49). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
2. Arendell, T. (2000). Conceiving and investigating motherhood: The decade's scholarship. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 1192-1207.
3. Bartky, S. (1990). Femininity and domination: Studies in the phenomenology of oppression. London: Routledge.
4. Bassin, D., Honey, M., & Kaplan, M. M. (1994). Introduction. In D. Bassin, M. Honey, & M. M. Kaplan (Eds.), Representations of motherhood (pp. 1-25). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
5. Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
6. Burkitt, I. (2004). The time and space of everyday life. Cultural Studies, 18, 211-227.
7. Burns, A., & Leonard, R. (2005). Chapters of our lives: Life narratives of middle and older Australian women. Sex Roles, 52, 269-277.
8. Caplan, P. (1989). Don't blame mother: Minding the mother-daughter relationship. New York: Routledge.
9. Census and Statistics Department (2006). Women and men in Hong Kong: Key statistics. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.
10. Central Intelligence Agency (2006). CIA-The world factbook-Hong Kong. Retrieved December 21, 2006, from https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ geos/hk.html, December 19.
11. Chan, S. Y. (2003). The Confucian conception of gender in the twenty-first century. In D. Bell & H. Chaibong (Eds.), Confucianism for the modern world (pp. 312-333). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
12. Chan, C. Y. Z., & Ma, L. C. J. (2002). Family themes of food refusal: Disciplining the body and punishing the family. Health Care for Women International, 23, 49-58.
13. Charmaz, K. (2005). Grounded theory in the 21st century: Applications for advancing social justice studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 507-535). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14. Cheal, D. (1991). Family and the state of theory. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
15. Chodorow, N. (1990). Gender, relation, and difference in psychoanalytic perspective. In C. Zanardi (Ed.), Essential papers on the psychology of women (pp. 420-436). New York: New York University Press.
16. Coontz, S., & Parson, M. (1997). Complicating the contested terrain of work/family intersections: A review essay. Signs, 22, 440-452.
17. Derrida, J. (1976). Of grammatology (G. C. Spivak, Trans.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
18. Derrida, J. (1996). Remarks on deconstruction and pragmatism. In C. Mouffe (Ed.), Deconstruction and pragmatism (pp. 77-88). London: Routledge.
19. Dill, B. T. (1994). Across the boundaries of race and class: An exploration of work and family among Black female domestic servants. New York: Garland.
20. Elvin-Nowak, Y., & Thomsson, H. (2001). Motherhood as idea and practice: A discursive understanding of employed mothers in Sweden. Gender & Society, 15, 407-428.
21. Forcey, L. R. (1994). Feminist perspectives on mothering and peace. In E. N. Glenn, G. Chang, & L. R. Forcey (Eds.), Mothering: Ideology, experience, and agency (pp. 355-375). New York: Routledge.
22. Garey, A. L. (1999). Weaving work and motherhood. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
23. Gergen, K. (1997). Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
24. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
25. Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 191-216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
26. Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (1997). The new language of qualitative method. New York: Oxford University Press.
27. Hartsock, N. C. M. (1998). The feminist standpoint revisited and other essays. Boulder, CO: Westview.
28. Harvey, N., & Halverson, C. (2000). The secret and the promise: Women's struggles in Chiapas. In D. Howarth, A. J. Norval, & Y. Stavrakakis (Eds.), Discourse theory and political analysis: Identities, hegemonies and social change (pp. 151-167). Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.
29. Hattery, A. (2001). Women, work, and family: Balancing and weaving. London: Sage.
30. Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
31. Ho, P. S. Y. (1999). Developing a social constructionist therapy approach in working with gay men and their families in Hong Kong. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, 9, 69-97.
32. Ho, P. S. Y. (2001). Breaking down or breaking through: An alternative way to understand depression among women in Hong Kong. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 10, 89-106.
33. Ho, P. S. Y. (2006). The (charmed) circle game: reflections on sexual hierarchy through multiple sexual relationships. Sexualities, 9, 547-564.
34. Ho, P. S. Y. (2007a). "Money in the private chamber": Hong Kong Chinese women's way of planning for their retirement. Affilia, 22, 1-15.
35. Ho, P. S. Y. (2007b). Desperate housewives-The case of "Si-nai" in Hong Kong. Affilia (in press).
36. Ho, P. S. Y., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2002). The things girls shouldn't see: Relocating the penis in sex education in Hong Kong. Sex Education, 2, 61-73.
37. Ho, P. S. Y., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2005). Beyond the vagina-clitoris debate: From naming the sex organ to the reclaiming of the body. Women's Studies Forum International, 28, 523-534.
38. Ho, P. S. Y., Wong, D. H. W., Cheng, S. L., & Pei, Y. X. (2005). The real deal or no big deal-Chinese women in Hong Kong and the orgasmic experience. Issues in Contemporary Culture and Aesthetics, 1, 177-187.
39. Holloway, S. D., Suzuki, S., Yamamoto, Y., & Mindnich, J. D. (2006). Relation of maternal role concepts to parenting, employment choices, and life satisfaction among Japanese women. Sex Roles, 54, 235-249.
40. Holstein, J. A., & Miller, G. (1993). Reconsidering social constructionism: Debates in social problems theory. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
41. Howell, L. C., & Beth, A. (2002). Midlife myths and realities: Women reflect on their experiences. Journal of Women and Aging, 14, 189-204.
42. Hunter, S., Sundel, S., & Sundel, M. (2002). Women at midlife: Life experiences and implications for the helping professions. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
43. Jacobs, J., & Gerson, K. (1997). The endless day or the flexible office? Working hours, work-family conflict, and gender equity in the modern workplace. Philadelphia: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
44. Johnston, D. D., & Swanson, D. H. (2006). Constructing the "Good Mother": The experience of mothering ideologies by work status. Sex Roles, 54, 509-519.
45. Koo, L. (1995). The (non) status of women in traditional Chinese society. Hong Kong Psychological Society Bulletin, 14, 7-37.
46. Kroger, J., & Haslett, S. J. (1991). A comparison of ego identity status transition pathways and change rates across five identity domains. Journal of Aging and Human Development, 34, 303-330.
47. Kwok, S., & Wong, F. K. D. (2000). Mental health of parents with young children in Hong Kong: The roles of parenting stress and parenting self-efficacy. Child and Family Social Work, 5, 57-65.
48. Lai, A. C., Zhang, Z., & Wang, W. (2000). Maternal child-rearing practices in Hong Kong and Beijing Chinese families: A comparative study. International Journal of Psychology, 35, 60-66.
49. LeBlanc, R. M. (1999). Bicycle citizens: The political world of the Japanese housewife. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
50. Lee, C. K. (1998). Gender and South China miracle. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
51. Lee, S. (1999). Fat, fatigue and the feminine: The changing cultural experience of women in Hong Kong. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Comparative Cross-Cultural Research, 23, 51-73.
52. Lee, W. K. M. (2002). Women employment in colonial Hong Kong. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 30, 246-264.
53. Lee, K. J., Um, C. C., & Kim, S. (2004). Multiple roles of married Korean women: Effect on depression. Sex Roles, 51, 469-478.
54. Leonard, V. W. (1996). Mothering as a practice. In S. Gordon, P. Benner, & N. Noddings (Eds.), Caregivings: Readings in knowledge, practice, ethics, and politics (pp. 124-140). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
55. Logan, J. R., Bian, F., & Bian, Y. (1998). Tradition and change in the urban Chinese family: The case of living arrangements. Social Forces, 76, 851-882.
56. Luk-Fong, Y. Y. P. (1999). 'In search of a hybrid guidance curriculum for Hong Kong primary schools', paper presented at the 16th Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Educational Research Association, 20-21 November.
57. Luk-Fong, Y. Y. P. (2005). A search for new ways of describing parent-child relationships: Voices from principals, teachers, guidance professionals, parents and pupils. Childhood, 12, 111-137.
58. Marcia, J. E. (1987). The identity status approach to the study of ego identity development. In T. Honess & K. Yardley (Eds.), Self and identity: Perspectives across the life span (pp. 161-171). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
59. Marecek, J. (2003). Mad housewives, double shifts, mommy tracks, and other invented moralities. Feminism & Psychology, 13, 259-264.
60. McMahon, M. (1995). Engendering motherhood: Identity and self-transformation in women's lives. New York: Guilford.
61. Miller, M. (2005). The feminine mystique: Sexual excess and the pre-political housewife. Women: A Cultural Review, 16, 1-17.
62. Ng, W. C. (1999). What do women want? Giving university women in Hong Kong a voice. Feminism & Psychology, 9, 243-248.
63. Ng, C. W., & Ng, E. G. H. (2005). Hong Kong single women's pragmatic negotiation of work and personal space. Anthropology of Work Review, XXV, 8-13.
64. Ngo, H. (2002). Part-time employment in Hong Kong: A gendered phenomenon? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13, 361-377.
65. Norton, T. R., Gupta, A., Stephens, M. A. P., Martire, L. M., & Townsend, A. L. (2005). Stress, rewards, and change in the centrality of women's family and work roles: Mastery as a mediator. Sex Roles, 52, 325-336.
66. O'Donnell, L. N. (1985). The unheralded majority: Contemporary women as mothers. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
67. Oberman, Y., & Josselson, R. (1996). Matrix of tensions: A model of mothering. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20, 341-359.
68. Ong, A. (1999). Flexible citizenship: The cultural logics of transnationality. London: Duke University Press.
69. Pearson, V., & Wong, D. K. P. (2001). A baseline survey of student's attitudes towards gender stereotypes and family roles. Hong Kong: Equal Opportunities Commission.
70. Pun, S. H., Ma, J. L. C., & Lai, K. C. C. (2004). In search of perfect motherhood for imperfect childhood-Experiences of 22 Chinese mothers. Child and Family Social Work, 9, 285-293.
71. Robertson, J. (1998). Takarazuka: Sexual politics and popular culture in modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
72. Rogers, S. J., & White, L. K. (1998). Satisfaction with parenting: The role of marital happiness, family structure, and parents' gender. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 293-308.
73. Ruddick, S. (1994). Thinking mothers/conceiving birth. In D. Bassin, M. Honey, & M. M. Kaplan (Eds.), Representations of motherhood (pp. 29-46). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
74. Sandywell, B. (2004). The myth of everyday life: Toward a heterology of the ordinary. Cultural Studies, 18, 160-180.
75. Scarr, S. (1998). American child care today. American Psychologist, 53, 95-108.
76. Schwandt, T. A. (2000). Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: Interpretivism, hermeneutics, and social constructionism. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 199-213). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
77. Shek, D. T. L. (1996a). Perception of the value of children to Hong Kong parents. Journal of Psychology, 130, 561-569.
78. Shek, D. T. L. (1996b). Midlife crisis in Chinese men and women. Journal of psychology, 130, 109-119.
79. Shek, D. T. L., Tang, V. M. Y., & Han, X. Y. (2005). Evaluation of evaluation studies using qualitative research methods in social work literature (1990-2003): Evidence that constitutes a wake-up call. Research on Social Work Practice, 15, 180-194.
80. Short, S. E., Chen, F., Entwisle, B., & Fengying, Z. (2002). Maternal work and child care in China: A multi-method analysis. Population and Development Review, 28, 31-57.
81. Smith, D. (1990). Texts, facts, and femininity: Exploring the relations of ruling. London: Routledge.
82. Spain, D., & Bianchi, S. M. (1996). Balancing act: Motherhood, marriage, and employment among American women. New York: Russell Sage.
83. A. Strauss & J. Corbin (Eds.) (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
84. Su, B. (1996). Women's marital status: Past and present. Beijing Review, 11, 18-19.
85. Tam, S. M. (1999). Private practice and gendered power: Women doctors in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
86. Teng, J. E. (1996). The construction of the "traditional Chinese woman" in Western academy: A critical review. Signs, 22, 115-151.
87. The Women's Foundation 2006 The status of women & girls in Hong Kong The Women's Foundation Hong Kong The Women's Foundation (2006). The status of women & girls in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Women's Foundation. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from http://www.thewomensfoundationhk.org/english/ research_status.html.
88. Thoits, P. (1992). Identity structures and psychological well-being: Gender and marital status comparisons. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 236-256.
89. Tsang, A. K. T., & Ho, P. S. Y. (2007). Lost in translation: Sex & sexuality in elite discourse and everyday language. Sexualities (in press).
90. Tutty, L., Rothery, M., & Grinnell, R., Jr. (1996). Qualitative research for social workers: Phases, steps, & tasks. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
91. Wang, X. Y., & Ho, P. S. Y. (2007). My sassy girl: Women's aggression in dating relationships in Beijing. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 623-638.
92. Whitbourne, S. K., Zuschlag, M. K., Elliot, L. B., & Waterman, A. S. (1992). Psychosocial development in adulthood: A 22-year sequential study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 260-271.
93. Yau, O. H. M. (1995). Consumer behaviour in China. London: Routledge.