Femininities in China The Mao Era: The iron girl(妇女能顶 半边天) 一 Masculised women physical power;both work and life;political participation 向大察铁姑 一 But traditional gender roles persisted (Croll, 1981;Parish Whyte, 1978,Stacey,1983) Iro Girls Conquer 上海通大 Red Cliff Island SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITYFemininities in China • The Mao Era: – The iron girl(妇女能顶 半边天) – Masculised women： physical power; both work and life; political participation – But traditional gender roles persisted (Croll, 1981; Parish & Whyte, 1978; Stacey, 1983)