Gender components of Chinese vocal and stage art
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to determine the specific features of gender identity in Chinese vocal and stage art. In particular, to analyse the place and significance of femininity as a component of the image of “tribute”, the art of male travesty is considered in accordance with its place in Chinese opera culture. The research methodology is based on the fundamental principles of historical and cultural analysis, as well as an interdisciplinary and systematic approaches to the problem. The conceptual methodological core of the study is a systematic analysis of identity, as well as the concept of gender from the standpoint of its psychological state and social construction in art, rather than its physical and biological characteristics. The scientific novelty of the study is characterised by the fact that for the first time an attempt has been made to systematise the characteristic features of gender identity in the vocal and stage arts, from the standpoint of their characteristic of Beijing opera in accordance with femininity and muscularity in Chinese culture. Conclusions. As a result of the conducted research, it has been determined that the tradition of predominantly male cross-gender dressing in Chinese vocal and stage art performs a complex cultural function of constructing and broadcasting the type of femininity that was necessary for a patriarchal society with a rigid binary gender structure. In the process of its development, this art has become a reflection of the current state of cultural philosophy from its Confucian position. It is also noted that according to the Chinese culture, which has developed in opera, femininity or masculinity is not tied to the biological definition of gender, but is flexible in accordance with the general cultural aesthetic picture of the world
Keywords
Suggested citation
Copy citationReferences
Show all references[1] Erikson, Е. (2001). Identity: Youth and crisis understood. Kharkiv.
[2] Bem, S.L. (2013). The lenses of gender: Transforming the debate on sexual inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[3] Chong, T. (2003). Chinese opera in Singapore: Negotiating globalization, consumerism and national culture. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 34(3), 449-471. doi: 10.1017/S0022463403000420
[4] Cooley, C.H. (1998). On self and social organization. University of Chicago Press.
[5] Daphne, P.-W.L. (2006). Operatic China. Staging Chinese identity across the Pacific Palgrave. New York: Macmillan.
[6] King, T.J. (1992). Casting Shakespeare’s plays: London actors and their roles, 1590-1624. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[7] Kohlberg, L. (2006). Cognitive development analysis of children's gender-role concepts and relationships. Stanford: Stanford Publishing University.
[8] Lu, G. (1997). Modern revolutionary Beijing Opera: Context, contents, and conflicts. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press.
[9] Murdock, P. (1999). Social structure. New York: Macmillan.
[10] Siu, L.L. (2003). Cross-dressing in Chinese Opera. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
[11] Smetana, J.G., & Letourneau, K.J. (1984). Development of gender constancy and children's sextyped free play behavior. Developmental Psychology, 20(4), 691-696. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.20.4.691.
[12] Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C.(1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33-47).
[13] Tian, M.(2000). Male dan: The paradox of sex, acting and perception of female impersonation in traditional Chinese theatre. Asian Theatre Journal, 17(1), 78-97.
[14] 徐玲玲. 中国的三大国粹 // 四川统一战线. 2009. № 5. 第35页.