A Critique of Marriage Within China Through The Lens of Feminism

Within the traditional patriarchal ideology in China, feminism is gradually being accepted by the Chinese, especially Chinese women, and has brought benefits to women’s liberation today. However, inequality between men and women still exists. There is growing popularity among Chinese women artists to use their artistic status as their weapon to actively and effectively communicate the ideologies of feminism. However, their expression of feminism still mostly manifests through traditional artistic mediums. My research focuses on how wearable technology can depict and criticize gender inequality in Chinese marriage, and promote feminism. The garment design development is based on the results of a study I conducted about the perception of marriage equality in China, which revealed several areas of inequality in marriage. The final garment is designed for presentation, where movement and audience interaction are considered to enhance the opportunities of wearable technology to best communicate aspects of marriage inequality in China. My design research realises how ideologies of feminism, specifically marriage equality in China, might be advocated for through the design of contemporary garments and wearable technology.