Abstract
In this compact yet detailed book, Wong presents a compelling account of how the ideal of “able-responsible man” who can create wealth and assume a multitude of family responsibilities stratifies men both publicly and privately and affects the lives of people in Nanchong, Sichuan. China’s economic growth started in the early 1980s and accelerated into the new millennium. This growth came with liberalization by reforming policies. As more opportunities were created within the society, there emerged a host of problems in the post-Reform years, ranging from rising social inequality and corruption to materialism and family instability. The political leaders saw these trends as a threat to the system of traditional values—for example, filial piety and respect for authority—which was critical for keeping social and moral order. As Maoism and Marxism no longer offered useful guidance for its citizens, the state had to promote a new set of ideologies. Since the 1980s, wealth has been a legitimized factor defining masculinity, but to govern, it has had to cultivate responsibility and reconfigure the model of masculinity as a critical part of its nation-building project.
The construction of ideal masculinity is driven by the state’s control and propaganda efforts, but its legitimization requires complicity of the populace. By drawing on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity as “a cultural ideal that legitimizes and naturalizes the interests of powerful men, and which creates hierarchical relationships among men and between the two genders” (11), Wong is after cultural expressions of the hegemonic masculinity under the rule of Xi Jinping. She inquires what is expected of men as father, son, husband, and son-in-law in various settings, how do men of different backgrounds react to those expectations, and how are their lives impacted as a result? The book is based on the ethnographic fieldwork Wong did from 2013 to 2014 in a predominantly migrant city that (despite being second largest city in Sichuan) is perceived to be low-key and with enterprising opportunities for those with limited means. It is worth noting the author’s focus on the middle and lower-middle class.
With rich ethnographies of migrants and their parents, children, etc., Wong illustrates how hegemonic ideology of able-responsible weighs on men at different life stages: teenage boys (chapter two), bachelors (chapter three), and family men (chapters four and five). At various stages, men in Nanchong have a hard time living up to the normative male model. Yet rather than resigning to themselves for their apparent failures, these men craft alternative strategies to be a man of honor. It is difficult attaining the able man ideal, which means getting into a top school for teenage boys and creating wealth for grown men. The responsible man ideal is more negotiable. Men can be responsible not only as the breadwinner but by doing housework and child care, by arbitrating family conflicts involving in-laws, as an affectionate partner, etc. One area of difficulty for men in the study is emotional connection with their significant other. Women are Westernized and demand their partner’s affection, but men seemingly struggle with the emotive aspect of commitment. The grievances of men are often directed toward the notion of women who want to have it all and demand their (future) spouse to be the responsible provider and display the modern attributes of being caring, romantic, and egalitarian. Yet, as Wong clarifies, the able-responsible male model builds on patriarchal values (see chapter six for statesmen’s roles in constructing the model of masculinity that is Confucian and patriarchal). Her female informants, despite their willingness or reality of sharing financial responsibility with their spouse, agreed that it is unmanly for a man not to have a steady job, and one in particular with a successful career (Gu in chapter four) exhibited stereotypically traditional gender attitude.
Despite its caveats discussed in depth, Wong considers the able-responsible man model essentially benevolent. Wong partly attributes this positivity to women’s role in shaping the ideal that benefits them because of its emphasis on men’s family responsibility. This positive take might generate debate among scholars of hegemonic masculinity. As Wong’s case studies in chapter five show, men in lower classes are often lodged in extremely complex (and demeaning) extended family relationships, making it impossible for them to shoulder familial duties in a respectable way. The chance of becoming a responsible family man in China seems so closely tied to one’s class position. The able-responsible man ideal is thus primarily to motivate the middle class, which is Wong’s focus. Precarious employment is increasingly prevalent across societies including China, and can potentially erode the legitimacy of the able-responsible male ideal. Regardless, Everyday Masculinities is an important work to be read by researchers interested in families and gender relations in contemporary China. Given its high readability, it is also appropriate for undergraduate courses on family and gender in anthropology, sociology, and Asian studies.