Betraying Big Brother

“Construing the everyday relationship of women to society as an inherently violent one—Mao characterizes it as a relationship of daily rape—Mao concluded that women such as Miss Zhao (thus, most women in China) could not develop individuality in life, but could only assert free will in death by suicide,”

Li often says that “our bodies are our battleground” (drawing inspiration from Barbara Kruger’s 1989 black-and-white photographic silkscreen of a woman’s face, Your Body is a Battleground) in her campaigns against gender-based violence. Li’s prolonged abuse while growing up demonstrates how this saying is literally true for her—just as it is for so many other women in China and globally.

I recall one conversation with Li Maizi in 2016, when we spoke about how so many women in China are sexually assaulted, yet very few come out publicly about their experience. “In China, rape culture is so strong that almost no one dares to admit they’ve been sexually assaulted because they’re terrified of being blamed for it,” she said.

I recall one conversation with Li Maizi in 2016, when we spoke about how so many women in China are sexually assaulted, yet very few come out publicly about their experience. “In China, rape culture is so strong that almost no one dares to admit they’ve been sexually assaulted because they’re terrified of being blamed for it,” she said.

Most Chinese men lack even the most basic understanding of sexual harassment, so it was really important for us to go public and push back against [the lawyer]. Otherwise he might do something even worse in the future,” says Teresa.

Within the human rights and LGBTQ rights communities, male activists often showed that they did not truly see women’s rights as human rights. Several of the feminist activists I interviewed complained about the sexism of men who were rights activists. They told me that male-dominated rights groups often covered up other men’s sexual harassment under the guise of preserving “unity.” But some feminists—including Xiao Meili, Zhu Xixi, and Zhao Sile—wrote public condemnations of the rights lawyer’s misogynistic abuse.

You’re the only one who feels that he sexually harassed you; other people disagree,” the man told Teresa, saying that the lawyer would be reprimanded but remain with the organization. “We’re not judges who can sentence him to death with one ruling. We need to give him another chance. You need to be patient and give him more time,” he said.

Misogyny has no political boundaries; supposedly progressive, male activists have throughout history revealed deep-rooted sexism by silencing, belittling, and even abusing the women within their own civil rights movements.

“The sisterhood offered me a safe place where I could be myself and feel secure,” she said. “That feminist solidarity rescued me.”

There was no way she would ever agree to change her dissertation topic just because of pressure from a male chauvinist security agent, she thought.