ISBN:
9780198033233
Language:
English
Pages:
1 online resource (255 pages)
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als
Parallel Title:
Print version Embracing the East : White Women and American Orientalism
DDC:
305.4/0973
Keywords:
Women, White Race identity
;
East and West History
;
Women, White Ethnic identity
;
Orientalism Social aspects
;
Public opinion
;
Asia ; Foreign public opinion, American
;
Asia ; In literature
;
East and West ; History
;
Orientalism ; Social aspects ; United States
;
Public opinion ; United States
;
Women, White ; Race identity ; United States
;
Women, White ; United States ; Ethnic identity
;
Electronic books
;
Asia In literature
;
United States Race relations
;
United States Ethnic relations
;
Asia Foreign public opinion, American
Abstract:
As exemplified by Madame Butterfly, East-West relations have often been expressed as the relations between the masculine, dominant West and the feminine, submissive East. Yet, this binary model does not account for the important role of white women in the construction of Orientalism. MariYoshihara's study examines a wide range of white women who were attracted to Japan and China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and shows how, through their engagement with Asia, these women found new forms of expression, power, and freedom that were often denied to them in otherrealms of their lives in America. She demonstrates how white women's attraction to Asia shaped and was shaped by a complex mix of exoticism for the foreign, admiration for the refined, desire for power and control, and love and compassion for the people of Asia. Through concrete historicalnarratives and careful textual analysis, she examines the ideological context for America's changing discourse about Asia and interrogates the power and appeal--as well as the problems and limitations--of American Orientalism for white women's explorations of their identities. Combining the analysisof race and gender in the United States and the study of U.S.-Asian relations, Yoshihara's work represents the transnational direction of scholarship in American Studies and U.S. history. In addition, this interdisciplinary work brings together diverse materials and approaches, including culturalhistory, material culture, visual arts, performance studies, and literary analysis.
Abstract:
Intro -- Contents -- A Note on Japanese and Chinese Names -- Introduction -- PART ONE: Materializing Asia -- 1 Asia as Spectacle and Commodity: The Feminization of Orientalist Consumption -- 2 Visualizing Orientalism: Women Artists' "Asian" Prints -- PART TWO: Performing Asia -- 3 "When I Don Your Silken Draperies": New Women's Performances of Asian Heroines -- 4 Racial Masquerade and Literary Orientalism: Amy Lowell's "Asian" Poetry -- 5 "Side by Side with These Men I Lie at Night": Sexuality and Agnes Smedley's Radicalism -- PART THREE: Authorizing Asia -- 6 "Popular Expert on China": Authority and Gender in Pearl S. Buck's: The Good Earth -- 7 Re-gendering the Enemy: Culture and Gender in Ruth Benedict's: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y.
Note:
Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources
URL:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kxp/detail.action?docID=241282
URL:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kxp/detail.action?docID=241282
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