Dreams of Flight: The Lives of Chinese Women Students in the West

Fran Martin's book Dreams of Flight explores how young Chinese women negotiate competing pressures on their identity while studying abroad, highlighting how emerging forms of gender, class, and mobility transform the basis of identity for a generation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2022
Publisher: Duke University Press

In her captivating book, Dreams of Flight, Fran Martin delves into the intricate dynamics of young Chinese women as they navigate the multifaceted pressures surrounding their identity while pursuing higher education abroad. On the one hand, unmarried middle-class women from the single-child generations are actively encouraged to cultivate their professional human capital through international education, shaping themselves into independent, cosmopolitan, and career-driven individuals. However, on the other hand, the enduring influence of strong neotraditionalist state, social, and familial pressures from the post-Mao era exerts a powerful pull, urging these women to prioritize marriage and family by the age of thirty. Martin embarks on a profound exploration of these women's motivations for studying in Australia, unraveling the embodied and emotional experiences they encounter in the urban landscapes, the virtual realms of social media, low-skilled and professional employment, romantic relationships, religious practices, Chinese patriotism, and the transformative journey of self-understanding that study abroad brings. Through vivid storytelling, Martin vividly illustrates how emerging forms of gender, class, and mobility are reshaping the very foundations of identity for an entire generation of Chinese women. This thought-provoking work sheds light on the complex interplay between tradition, modernity, and individual aspirations, offering a profound insight into the evolving landscape of gender roles and social dynamics in China.

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 239 x 160 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478014935