Invisible Australians : Chinese Australian women's experiences of belonging and exclusion in the White Australia Policy era, 1901-1973

Abstract

This thesis moves beyond patriarchal accounts of Chinese Australian settlement and experience in the White Australia Policy era (1901-1973) by providing an analysis of the presence and lived experiences of Chinese Australian women in this historical period. Through a historical geography approach that is deeply rooted in postcolonial feminist epistomologies, this research aimed to understand the lived experiences of Chinese Australian women as remembered and told from their own perspectives, while also providing a revised account of their demographic characteristics as officially recorded in government records. Qualitative data for this research were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with nineteen Chinese Australian women who lived throughout the White Australia Policy era, while quantitative demographic data were collected from historical census records for the period between 1911 and 1966. This research makes substantive contributions to Chinese Australian research as well as feminist historical geography in Australia more broadly. By illustrating the presence of Chinese Australian women throughout the period, this research challenges androcentric accounts of the 'bachelor society' of Chinese Australian men, patriarchal understandings of Chinese migration, and ethnocentric understandings of national identity and belonging in the White Australia Policy era. By presenting an examination of Chinese Australian women's lived experiences across a range of spaces and social contexts (e.g. home, school, work, and neighbourhood) and with acknowledgement of their various subject positions as gendered, classed, and racialised individuals, this research also brings to light the diversity and complexity of Chinese Australian women's lives in regards to identity, maintenance of 'traditional' Chinese culture, and experiences of belonging and exclusion. The postcolonial feminist approach utilised therefore provides an alternative lens through which to examine Australia's Chinese past and move towards a more inclusive understanding of Chinese Australian communities and experiences in White Australia. This research also highlights one way in which postcolonial and feminist research can be conducted when research 'subjects' lie outside the researcher's own class, racial and privileged position.

Date of Award	2014
Original language	English