Organizer: Sandra C. Taylor, University of Utah
Chair and Discussant: Thi Thanh Nguyen, Nguoi Viet Review
This panel addresses several issues of contemporary importance in Viet Nam in the period from 1954 to the present. Each deals with gender, self-perceptions, but the papers differ according to the discipline of the participant. They have in common the theme of the relationship between gender, ideology, and ongoing debates within Viet Nam over what was, to the winners, a revolution.
The paper by Sandra C. Taylor considers the so-called long-haired warriors of the years 1957-75: their interaction with male combatants (Americans and Vietnamese), their self-perception, and the impact of communist ideology on their determination to win the revolution. The paper by Miriam Frenier seeks to understand the role of Buddhism in contemporary Viet Nam as it pertains to women's belief system and freedom to worship. The paper by Linda Yarr concerns a contemporary issue: to what degree do laws written for and about women in fact give them legal rights?
All papers are part of ongoing projects and should be considered as works in progress.
Sandra C. Taylor, University of Utah
Women played a significant role in Vietnam's successful socialist revolution. This paper seeks to explore the ideological foundations of their support for revolutionary activity, especially in the context of traditional Confucian prescribed roles.
Second, the paper will examine the nature of women revolutionaries, the roles they played, and the way in which men regarded them. Their exploits as liaison operatives, intelligence operators, nurses, cooks, and fighters will be touched upon, using as source material oral histories conducted in Vietnam as well as relevant secondary material.
Third, the paper will conclude with a comment on Vietnam's honoring of its women heroines. It is the author's belief that once victory was achieved, women resumed their traditional roles as wives and mothers, subordinate to men. New roles they took, such as physicians, were not particularly honored by the new regime, and they were not allowed to take roles in the government, with one notable exception. Rather, they were relegated to power within the Women's Union, an organization that had operated since 1930. Although powerful, this organization deals only with females and does not attempt to compete in the male sphere.
Miriam D. Frenier, University of Minnesota, Morris
The Buddhist faith is a complex belief system in which women have always played a role. As it was accepted in Vietnam, gradually a female concept of a goddess mother, the special protector of women, emerged. This female figure, whose role in the original Buddha legend is vague, has emerged as a potent force in Vietnam, which allowed the re emergence of Buddhism as part of its opening in 1985.
This paper seeks to outline Vietnamese Buddhism, to define what a Lady Buddha is, to explore the origins of the Lady Buddha in the Vietnamese belief system, and to unravel the manner in which it functions in socialist Vietnam today. The paper explains the function of the Boddhisattva and shows that the Lady Buddha is viewed as a Boddhisattva, sharing gender traits that are both female and male. Source materials include oral interviews conducted in the Saigon area of Vietnam, as well as books written by contemporary Vietnamese authors.
Linda J. Yarr, The American University, Washington, DC
Since the struggle for independence, the leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has professed its commitment to realizing equality between the sexes. One yardstick of the seriousness of this commitment is the series of constitutional and legal provisions designed to support equal treatment of women in the home, work place, and arena of public life. At the same time, responding to strong cultural norms, protective legislation and family policies have been enacted to secure the welfare of women as mothers.
The rapid changes brought about by the new economic renovation policies have both opened certain opportunities for women and presented new constraints and challenges to the implementation of the state's goals in achieving gender equality. This paper will analyze the development of legal provisions on behalf of women and investigate the current trends that are working both for and against the official goals.
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