Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire is a book edited by Sonia Shah, published in 1997. The work contains a preface by Yuri Kochiyama and a foreword by Karin Aguilar-San Juan. The book is divided into four parts: Strategies and Visions, An Agenda for Change, Global Perspectives, and Awakening to Power, consisting of a collection of 16 essays and interviews by Asian American writers, artists, and activists presenting their views on feminism.
The book describes Asian Women frustration with the mainstream feminist movement in the United States dominated by white women. It addresses the attitudes of Asian women on a wide variety of topics including insights on immigration, jobs, culture, and the media as it tells the history and formation of the Asian Feminist Movement.
History
First wave of Asian women The migration of Asian women to the United States first started in the 1800s. The first wave of Chinese immigrants were smuggled into the country and came to be known as prostitutes. The reputation generated as a result, led to a negative perception and attitude toward Asian American woman that would continue to plague them to this day. Eventually, in the late-1800s, anti-Japanese and Chinese movements were formed, and although the population of Asian immigrants was low, racism was virulent. The U.S. immigration law in pre-1960's allowed very few Asian men, and even fewer women into the nation, but women emigrated before this time were employed as either servants or laundress. Despite their lack of presence, Asian women had a negative effect on Asian men who were working. It enabled U.S. employers to pay Asian men less due to the fact they didn't have families to support as opposed to other laborers. During World War II, Japanese Americans lost all of their belongings and were put in internment camps in exchange. Women who tried to request leave were dismissed by government officials because of their status and reputation. As a result, Asian women fared many obstacles that left them oppressed. It wasn't until 1965 when the immigration act welcomed an influx of Asian immigrants into the states to fill job positions like physicians, doctors, and engineers, did it alter the face of Asian America and politics.
Asian movement Before the formation of the Asian feminism movement that is known today, there was the Asian American Movement. From the early 1950s to early 1960s, the civil rights movement was ensuing. Asian Americans were pulled into the campaign in support, but more importantly, to argue their own racial identity. The spark that led to the formation of the Asian movement was the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who motivated them to "demand access to policy makers and initiate advocacy programs for their own communities". It was later Malcolm X inspired the movement to reclaim traditions from earlier generations and strive for liberation instead.
In 1968, the first Asian collective movement began with the San Francisco State Strike. The action took place at a college campus, organized by minority groups made of Asians, Latinos, and American Indians, and more. The group fought for ethnic studies, open admissions, and a redefinition of the education system. Through this successful strike, Asian Americans were able to link their lives to the struggle of earlier generations of Chinese immigrants laborers, Japanese American concentration camp resisters, and others, while simultaneously liberating themselves from the oppressions society had placed on them. This event would initiate a series of other movements such as the anti-Vietnam war movement.
However, despite the goals of the Asian movement for social justice, equality, and rights, the campaign only focused on the liberation for Asian men. The Asian women, though their issues were the same, were excluded. Asian male activists believed that the women belonged to them, and nothing more. They rationalized after years of Asian women being excluded from America, and Asian men unable to seek sexual pleasure from them, they believed they had a right to utilize them however they wanted; not as people that should have rights, but as possessions.
This idea of subjugation sent a crackle through the Asian movement. As a result, the first wave of Asian women organizing formed. Women of the faction bonded together in response in attempt to reason with the men, but little results came into fruition. The Asian men would not change their attitudes, and the women that nursed together, couldn't garner support from fellow Asian women who were unwilling to help. The reason for this reluctance was because of the U.S. immigration law in 1965. At the time, many high-value professions needed to be filled in the U.S. economy, and as a result, the law allowed an influx of Asian women to take those roles and led them to be preoccupied with making money. Thus, many Asian women were primarily concerned with enhancing their status and opportunities instead of fighting for social justice.
1960s, '70s - Asian Feminism Movement As a result of the tension between Asian men and women, the women began to attend separate meetings together to discuss the challenges of the Asian American movement. It was later that they realized that the only movement going to represent them and their interests was an Asian Feminism Movement. Despite the lack of early support from fellow Asian women, the Asian feminism movement still went ahead. Members performed community activism by providing social services, making public presentations, and having their voice heard through media, and writing. In 1969, this resulted in the creation of Gidra, a monthly newspaper focusing on Asian feminism.
Later, one of the most important milestone's occurred in April 1971, at the Vancouver Indochinese Women's Conference event, where marginalized women from all over North America from respected liberation movements met with Indochinese women in "exchange of information, solidarity against United states, imperialism, and what it was doing". In 1971, women activists from universities and communities came together to form the Asian Women's Center, its mission to tackle community concerns. This resulted in the creation of the International Women's Day, a celebration to bring together the many Asian groups in the neighborhood. A year later, another organization was formed; the Little Friends Playgroup based out of Los Angeles in helping the Chinese community in Chinatown. That same year, the first Asian Women Studies course at UCLA was implemented as a result of the San Francisco Strike in 1968 and the community of Asian women in the area.
While there were many progressions made in the early years of the movement, there soon came an ideological development that halted its momentum. There was a growing debate between the women in the Asian feminism movement as to whether they identified themselves more to the feminism movement or the Asian American Movement. At the time, there was a rebellion against the Asian American Movement for its male chauvinism, yet there was a strong alliance to stay connected due to the intersectionality they shared as a race. On the other hand, the mainstream feminism movement was known as "anti-male", an idea Asian women did not want to be associated with since it wasn't consistent with their ideals. The dispute to whether feminism was defined as "someone who believes in women's rights and equality" or a battle between men and women was a topic of discussion in its early days in determining their agenda and action.
1976, '80s - Regression In the late 1970s, the Asian feminism movement took a turn for the worse. In 1976, International Women's Day had its least successful outing after three years. That year, the AWC (Asian Women's Center) had decided to include other marginalized groups and Third World women with the intent to learn to understand and form alliances with one another, however, given the lack sensitivity and experience between the different groups of women, it caused more division than cooperation.
That same year, an economic crisis was occurring. Many Americans blamed greedy corporations and President Regan, who was president at the time for the situation. In return, these big corporations who were losing profits, began to put the fault on the democratic surges in the previous decade, where many existing systems of authority in universities, businesses, and politics suffered because people no longer had the same obligation to follow them, and as a result, problems of control and order arose.
In response to this complication, President Ronald Reagan incorporated Reaganomics, where businesses no longer had the government on them, taxes were reduced for the rich, and social programs were cut for the poor. As a by product, many poor neighborhoods suffered that included Asian Americans, Latinos, and African American populations, the latter group being most affected of all. Though the Asian feminism continued, the setback caused Asian women to focused their attention on surviving day-to-day from poverty and hate crimes.
1990s - Revival The status on Asian women changed at the start of the 1990s. Asian women that had been initially in high demand to the workforce were no longer needed. In exchange, cheap labor pools now lead the charge of employment for Asian women where working conditions are horrible, pay has been degraded, and the protection for workers are non-existent. In other words, the policies that once benefitted Asian women when they were needed professional professions have disappeared, but the legal rights that have always plagued Asian women are still present and working against them.
However, as a silver lining, Asian women activists have sprung up in response, and support for Asian women feminism have increased. One of the responses that was formed was the Asian Immigrant Women Advocates or AIWA to combat the labor movement and helped "secure $15,000 in back wages for Asian immigrant seamstresses who had been stiffed by their employer, Lucky Sewing Company". Other organizations have formed and others have been revived after previously being dormant, but all have the same agenda to represent Asian American women's interests. Before the 1990s, there had been thirty years of activists combating racism, sexism, media stereotypes, hate crimes, and U.S. imperialism, but it wasn't until enough support was garnered did the face of Asian political movement appeared.
Origin The title Dragon Ladies originated from Empress Tsu-hsi, who ruled China from 1898 to 1908. As a tyrant, she was known as the Dragon Lady because of her cold-blooded ways to kill anyone who challenged her authority; methods included poison, forced suicide, and strangling. The book is titled after Dragon Ladies to represent the Asian American feminist movement not as a cold-blooded creature, but as an embodiment of power to fight for representation, justice, and equality for the Asian American women.
Dragon Ladies was published after the mainstream feminism movement, and Asian American movement failed to represent the issues and interests of Asian American women. Therefore, the book sets out to "describe, expand, and nurture the growing resistance of Asian American women and girls and their allies" by bringing together the reactions of female Asian Americans. Shah sees the work as contributing to an understanding of "a growing social movement and an emerging way of looking at the world" resulting from racism and patriarchy in American society and as well as U.S. aggression against Asia.
Book The book is divided into four parts, each focusing on a different purpose, they are:
Strategies and visions