© Columbia University Press
Chopsticks Only Work in Pairs: Gender Unity and Gender Equality Among the Lahu of Southwestern China
Paper, 256 pages, 15 figs. & 1 chart
ISBN: 978-0-231-11957-3
$31.00
/ £18.00
January, 2003
Cloth, 256 pages, 15 figs. & 1 chart
ISBN: 978-0-231-11956-6
$80.00
/ £47.00
"Du has written a rich ethnography that will be of interest to students and scholars of South-East Asia, China and Chinese minorities." — Emily Chao, The China Quarterly
"This book is delightfully readable and as the same time thought-provoking, full of lively and sensitive ethnography...Finely written." — Hayami Yoko, Asian Folklore Studies
"A very powerful ethnography." — Charles F. McKhann, Anthropos
"Shanshan Du has documented a remarkably egalitarian gender ideology among the Lahu people of Southwestern China. . . . The book is both an ethnographic contribution to the study of the area, and another piece for the puzzle of the question of gender egalitarianism." — Sherry Ortner, Columbia University
"Shanshan Du brilliantly captures the everyday practices of Lahu gender relations and pushes, in one broad stroke, the study of gender equality and inequality in new and compelling directions. It is destined to be a classic." — Ralph Litzinger, Duke University
"A fascinating examination of the logic of gender equality among the Lahu of Southwest China. . . . Du's careful ethnographic mapping is part of a growing body of fine-grained anthropological analyses putting to permanent rest the universal male dominance thesis of early feminist anthropology." — Peggy Sanday, University of Pennsylvania
"A compelling symbolic and social analysis of a rare society characterized by gender equality. Engagingly written, this book is an important contribution to feminist scholarship and to the theoretical debate on gender asymmetry, offering new ways of thinking about human diversity and promoting equality between women and men in our own society." — Carolyn Sargent, Southern Methodist University
"A wonderful treatment of one of the central issues in anthropology: the meanings and manifestations of gender equality. . . . Du has uncovered a marvelously intriguing society that is organized around. . . . the pair bond." — William Jankowiak, University of Nevada