ABSTRACT
The lifting of martial law in Taiwan in 1987 was followed by the emergence of a variety of social movements, including a feminist movement committed ‘to change the status quo of gender relations’ on the island (Ku 1989: 12; see also Ku 1989; Lin 1994). In addition to pressing for the revision of laws that discriminate against women, members of the movement have demonstrated in the streets to protest against child prostitution, wife abuse and sexual harassment in the schools and workplace. While some feminists argue that efforts such as these have set in motion a reconfiguration of ‘values about the sexes’ (Lin 1994: 7), most agree that ‘traditional constraints are still strong and ubiquitous [in Taiwan and] equal partnership for women and men … remains a distant objective to work toward’ (Ku 1988: 186).
