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Iron Girls also known as,_________, were Chinese women in Maoist China who participated in traditionally masculine fields of work, such as physical labor and industrial work. Images of these women were widely proliferated in propaganda art during the Cultural Revolution*, although this depiction predated the cultural revolution, where they were seen as symbols of gender equality.

The relative equal opportunities of women in labor was a deviation from traditional Chinese models where there was a large gendered division of labor. After the death of Mao Zedong* the idea and depictions of Iron Girls would be heavily mocked and the Chinese government would encourage women to take up traditionally female roles.

Qing Empire
Under the Qing Empire, and to a degree the Republic of China, labor was heavily gendered* which was exacerbated through practices such as footbinding and the civil service exam. Upper class women were expected to spend the majority of their time inside the home where they were tasked with managing the household. Girls of these households would generally be educated in fields such as weaving and art which were seen as advantageous traits to have when it came time for arranging  marriage. Boys were expected to spend the majority of their time studying for the civil service exam and were educated by tutors and even their educated mothers. Men who passed the civil service exam were often away from home as official government work required for men to travel to outside provinces. For lower class families the gender stratification was not as wide. Most lower class men and boys could not afford the lessons needed to pass the civil service exam and women did not have their feet bound as tightly as privileged women. In many farming families women would often work alongside their male family members despite having bound feet.

Maoist China
Under Mao’s government, many of the social structures and laws surrounding women and marriage were discarded and replaced with a system that emphasized the similarities between men and women. The 1950 Marriage Law would outlaw many of the previous systems of marriage such as arranged marriage and concubinage. In addition to this, it made obtaining a divorce easier for both genders and equalized the distribution of property after divorce.

Creation of the Iron Girl
Liberation and equality for women, according to Mao, could be reached chiefly through the labor of women and by freeing them from the traditional family structure. The ability of women to perform the same tasks as men was emphasized and the “Iron Girls” who took up traditional masculine roles, such as electricians or tractor drivers, were celebrated by Chinese media. However, the vast majority of Chinese women still didn’t work in these traditionally masculine fields and continued to work in areas such as textiles, which were historically dominated by women. Although the rhetoric of the “Iron Girls” helped women achieve praise and prominence in fields they were typically excluded from, it’s main goal was not to address women’s issues or liberation. Feminism was considered bourgeois by the Chinese government and the industrialization and development of the state were the primary motivating factors for the state to push for further inclusion of women in “masculine” jobs.

Art
In art the Iron Girl was typically depicted as a large muscular woman who was usually in depicted performing traditionally masculine forms of work, such as construction. In addition to this there was also a subset of this art that depicted women in military garb and holding Mao's Little Red Book which was widely disseminated during the Cultural Revolution.

Post-Mao Era
The death of Mao ushered in China's Reform Era where many Maoist economic and social reforms were altered or repealed. The role of women in Chinese society would again change, this time towards a more biological determinist view and the belief that women had an essential femininity and were fit for certain tasks and unfit for others (Evans). The image of the Iron Girl would be abandoned and the state would advocate for women to take up roles as wives and mothers (Evans)(Hershatter). In addition to this the introduction of Capitalism into the Chinese economy would alter gender relations between men and women in particular when it came to property ownership (Hershatter).

Feminist Critiques
Despite seemingly preaching gender equality and the abolition of traditional gender roles many scholars see the role of the Iron Girls anti-feminist (Honig) (Wenqi, Fei) (Roberts). While the policies and rhetoric of Maoist China preached complete gender equality and the ability of women to take up any role in society, this was also coupled with the neglect of uniquly female issues (Honig) (Wenqi). Issues such as these were typically regarded and Bourgeois and counter revolutionary. This can be seen in the the dissolution of the Women's Federation. While on a surface level the image of the Iron Girl is one of equality and gender abolition, many scholars see it as an erasure of femininity and the establishment of gender equality on the basis of masculinity. (honig) (roberts).