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Eternal Mothers or Flexible Housewives? Middle-aged Chinese Married Women in Hong Kong

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Abstract

How do Hong Kong Chinese women position themselves in relation to this stigmatized social category of “si-nai” (middle aged-housewives) and the prevailing norms and values regarding women’s roles? The case of middle-aged, married women in Hong Kong provides empirical support for an alternative understanding of the identity of adult woman and helps to problematize conceptualizations of women’s identity as centered on their mother roles. The narratives of these twenty-six women show the fluidity of their roles as mothers (and wives). These roles change with reference to social context, life circumstances, and life course. Many middle-aged women have tried to resist becoming “mad housewives” and have learnt to be “flexible housewives” by actively decentering their role as mothers.

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Acknowledgment

I would like to thank the two research assistants, Ms. Helen Goh and Ms. Carmen Ng for helping me with coding the data.

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  1. Department of Social Work & Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

    Petula Sik-ying Ho

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Ho, P.Sy. Eternal Mothers or Flexible Housewives? Middle-aged Chinese Married Women in Hong Kong. Sex Roles 57, 249–265 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9255-8

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