The Effect of Ideology in Gender Role Definition: China as a Case Study

Male and female roles are defined by soeiety in aecordanee with eultural values and dominant ideologies. But gender-role definitions do not remain constant over time. When dominant ideologies clash with eultural values, gender-roles may be redefined. To illustrate this, the present paper eompares gender-role expeetations in China before the revolution and after the establishment of the soeialist system, espeeially during theCultural Revolution (1966-76). Family roles, work roles, and other role expeetations for females in these two periods are examined. The study eoncludes that politieal ideology strongly influenees gender-role definitions and expeetations in soeiety. The redefinition of gender-roles tends to be more effeetive when it is eonsistent with the dominant ideology and soeial values. Gender-role expeetations are an important refleetion of the dominant ideology of society at any partieular period of time.