ABSTRACT
In the 1960s, rural families responded to the great demand for industrial labor by sending their sons and daughters to factories in cities like Taibei and Gaoxiong. Some years later, the sons would come back, knowledgeable about manufacturing processes and with business contacts, and use their family’s savings to set up their own factories. The daughters would return to get married, raise a family, and work part-time in nearby factories, workshops, or in their homes. Rural sons claimed a piece of Taiwan’s industry and got a leg up in a newly industrializing society, whereas rural daughters and housewives continued to play a supporting role in both home and industry. New capitalist social relations were laid on top of existing gender relations, transforming patriarchy and infusing it with new life.
