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On the Edge of Respectability: Sexual Politics in China's Tibet

On the Edge of Respectability: Sexual Politics in China's Tibet positions 10:3 © 2002 by Duke University Press positions 10:3 Winter 2002 that long, damp day of our visit, I was reminded of how the performance of such a local and Tibetan-marked unity critically relied on the maintenance of hierarchical differences in gendered sexuality, differences that, in the contemporary context, could produce seemingly absurd contradictions (to an outsider) as well as greatly unequal moral and physical burdens for men and women. That day the tent was set up as most Tibetan domestic space is, with the stove and utensils associated with women’s cooking and cleaning on one side and the ornate cushions, table, and festive foods associated with men’s hosting and recreation on the other. Drolma, the family’s daughter-in-law in her late twenties, had married in from a neighboring region.3 She bustled about helping her mother-in-law cook and serve refreshments. Meanwhile, her father-in-law, her husband, and her husband’s closest male friend affectionately lounged against one another on the cushions, keeping each other warm under wool blankets and intermittently napping, telling jokes, and playing cards. My husband and I, as guests, perched on the cushions opposite the men. But as the day wore on, we became increasingly uncomfortable, not http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png positions asia critique Duke University Press

On the Edge of Respectability: Sexual Politics in China's Tibet

positions asia critique , Volume 10 (3) – Dec 1, 2002

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References (42)

Publisher
Duke University Press
Copyright
Copyright 2002 by Duke University Press
ISSN
1067-9847
eISSN
1527-8271
DOI
10.1215/10679847-10-3-575
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

positions 10:3 © 2002 by Duke University Press positions 10:3 Winter 2002 that long, damp day of our visit, I was reminded of how the performance of such a local and Tibetan-marked unity critically relied on the maintenance of hierarchical differences in gendered sexuality, differences that, in the contemporary context, could produce seemingly absurd contradictions (to an outsider) as well as greatly unequal moral and physical burdens for men and women. That day the tent was set up as most Tibetan domestic space is, with the stove and utensils associated with women’s cooking and cleaning on one side and the ornate cushions, table, and festive foods associated with men’s hosting and recreation on the other. Drolma, the family’s daughter-in-law in her late twenties, had married in from a neighboring region.3 She bustled about helping her mother-in-law cook and serve refreshments. Meanwhile, her father-in-law, her husband, and her husband’s closest male friend affectionately lounged against one another on the cushions, keeping each other warm under wool blankets and intermittently napping, telling jokes, and playing cards. My husband and I, as guests, perched on the cushions opposite the men. But as the day wore on, we became increasingly uncomfortable, not

Journal

positions asia critiqueDuke University Press

Published: Dec 1, 2002

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