This book explores young people's experiences of, and views on, dating, gender, sexuality, sexual hegemony and violence within dating relationships. Based on interviews and focus groups conducted in Beijing over a decade, and focusing especially on dating violence, the book reveals provides insights into a wide range of issues of gender and sexuality in contemporary China. It shows how young Chinese people's attitudes and behaviors are changing as urban China develops rapidly, and how their experience of dating violence and meaning-making are affected by age, gender, location and class.

About the Author

Xiying Wang is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Development and Public Policy at Beijing Normal University, China.

Reviews

"Gender, Dating and Violence in Urban China is a tour de force. With a passionate feminist eye, Xiying Wang lays out the everyday, seemingly 'trivial' forms of violence that infuse heterosexual dating relationships in urban China today. Her complex analysis demonstrates how everything from the ongoing rapid socio-economic transformations in China, changing gender and sexual norms and ideals, the often inseparable relationship of love and violence, and gender inequality in China fuel dating violence. A well written, well researched study that will inspire a public conversation." - Lisa Rofel, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Co-Director, Center for Emerging Worlds, University of California, Santa Cruz

"In this courageous and important book, scholar-activist Xiying Wang, a pioneer in the study of dating violence in China, takes us inside the intimate relationships of young Chinese to see the dark underside of the nation's celebrated "romantic revolution." Through first-hand portraits of "sassy girls," "tender boys," and other surprising subjects, she challenges the myths surrounding Chinese sexuality, offering a theory of Chinese intersectionality to explain how individuals navigate their sexual worlds. In charting the human costs of China's unfinished gender and sexual revolutions, Wang delivers what is at once a compelling academic study and a feminist call to action." - Susan Greenhalgh, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University

"Gender, Dating and Violence in Urban China is a compelling read and offers many important insights on violence in heterosexual dating culture in contemporary China. It is thoroughly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about gender, sexuality, love and violence in urban China today." - Seagh Kehoe is a PhD candidate at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham

Her book on Gender, Dating and Violence in Urban China goes... well beyond that provocative topic itself. Being informed by a Chinese feminist perspective and well versed in Western feminist literature, she questions and undermines with her findings a set of assumptions people usually connect with gender relations
in China. - Bonnie S. McDougall is Honorary Associate in the School of Languages and Cultures at The University of Sydney, specializing in modern Chinese literature and translation studies.

Book Information
ISBN 9780415810333
Author Wang Xiying
Format Hardback
Page Count 238
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 476g