Modern women in China and Japan: gender, feminism and global modernity between the wars

At the dawn of the 1930s a new empowered image of the female was taking root in popular culture in the West, also challenging the Chinese and Japanese historical norm of the woman as homemaker or geisha in the East. Through a focus on the writings of the Western women who engaged with the Far East, this book reveals the complex redefining of the self taking place in a time of political and economic upheaval. An appealing read for those interested in gender, cultural exchange and cultural borrowing, says Valentina Boretti. Modern Women in China and Japan: Gender, Feminism and Global Modernity Between the Wars. Katrina Gulliver. I.B. Tauris. 2012. 190 pages.