Mosuo Women - China

October 1995
In some parts of China girls are killed at birth but in the land the Chinese call the 'kingdom of daughters' womanhood is celebrated. High in the breathtaking mountains of south-western China, live the Mosuo tribe. The Mosuo maintain a society which is probably unique in the world. It revolves completely around women. Property is handed down from mother to daughter. In their language there is not even a word for 'father' and conventional marriage is unheard of. In the past the Chinese government tried to stamp out the Mosuo way of life but their culture is now flourishing again. The simple reason is tourism. The Mosuo live beside a beautiful lake, already a popular destination for Chinese tourists. But whether the culture survives remains to be seen - new-found prosperity and contact with outsiders has bought with it a clamour for a change for the Mosuo.

Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Mosuo
• tribe
• South
• China
• Tourism
• news
• documentary
• current affairs
• journeyman
• journeyman pictures

[xFlamingIcex]

I like how there are so many bitter men who are commenting on this because they feel inferior. It's quite sad. I hope one day we all reach an equal society.

[saristaa1]

@12235117657598502586 In Mosuo, there is no word for father or husband.  There are only brothers, cousins, uncles and nephews.

[raynarayskye]

I'll be back when there are some subtitles

[Haruhi072]

@Knepperify1 that may be true, but it has lasted for a long time, and it said the government has tried to abolish them before and it survived.

[Haruhi072]

@davidtres28 well, we shouldn't be gender blind. I think that we should just be gender accepting.

[Haruhi072]

this is so cool!

[Jaiyeson]

Scumbag Cao, at 5:54 the cousin to scumbag steve

[totalgoofchick]

The Good Wife brought me here .....

[Ieatbabyseals]

Seems like a sweet deal. I'd be more tempted to move there if the women were more Euro looking, but I'd think I'd feel funny about not spending time with my kids. Maybe that's just a cultural thing.

[LadyBludgeon]

@repracable You're future teller? How do you know there never will be? O-o

[LadyBludgeon]

@Monad01 Men have the power in the sense that they have more leisure time than women. The women are doing all of the farm & house work, so they don't have time, which is why the lady at the end of the doc talks about how the relationship bounds them to the property. I would still prefer to live in this culture than the typical western one, because in their society women & men rarely meet which means more freedom for the two. Less likely to bicker/fight as men & women in western societies.

[LadyBludgeon]

@LadyBludgeon Women in this culture do most of the work around the farm, since yard work or farming is viewed as a female occupation... i.e. nurturing/caring for the land to produce food/new life. Men work around construction. The work is shared with other men, family saves time & money. The women don't seem to complain over working more as long the men aren't around bothering them. Again, women & men do their thing & everyone is happy. No one is on each others cases. Sounds like Utopia to me.