The Women's Kingdom (2006)- a film by Xiaoli Zhou- Part 2 di 2

A film by Xiaoli Zhou, Produced by Xiaoli Zhou & Brent E. Huffman

China/US, 2006, 20 minutes, Color, DVD, Mandarin, Subtitled


Keepers of one of the last matriarchal societies in the world, Mosuo women in a remote area of southwest China live beyond the strictures of mainstream Chinese culture enjoying great freedoms and carrying heavy responsibilities.

Beautifully shot and featuring intimate interviews, this short documentary offers a rare glimpse into a society virtually unheard of 10 years ago and now often misrepresented in the media. Mosuo women control their own finances and do not marry or live with partners; they practice what they call "walking marriage." A man may be invited into a womans hut to spend a "sweet night," but must leave by daybreak. While tourism has brought wealth and 21st century conveniences to this remote area, it has also introduced difficult challenges to the Mosuo culture from pollution in the lake, to the establishment of brothels, to mainstream ideas about women, beauty and family. This finely wrought film is a sensitive portrayal of extraordinary women struggling to hold on to their extraordinary society.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Documentary
• Asia
• China
• Anthropology
• Sociology
• The
• Women's
• Kingdom
• mosuo
• Xiaoli
• Zhou
• matriarcato
• Matriarchy

[lmollot]

imagine mosuo women farmers have more legal rights freedom than so-called educated superior white women-see also iroquois women in grandmothers longhouses-and umoja women s village-prevent rape of women and children

[and86rea19]

@lmollot Ok . I think that a society like this, could be better also for man!

[lmollot]

@and86rea19 YOU are so right- but in most culture religious leaders make so much money from marriage - that they harass unmarried mothers- to punish by taking away her child-and men want marriage for forced sex and too many children -but men here dont care and want wifes payccheck and a cook cleaner etc-men get a servant when woman lives with him-also doctors tell women that children need a father-or will be criminals-law says fathers have equal rights to child and to force child to visit him

[and86rea19]

@lmollot I'm non entirely agree with you. It's true that religious leaders (and often also lawyers, social workes, psychologysts, governement istitutions, and more...) make so much money from marriage, but in many cases is a business also for women(for example maintenance checks in case of divorce, and similar benefits).

So marriage, when love ends(or when there has never been), it is cheat also and mostly for men!

[lmollot]

@and86rea19 i agree that men may feel burdened for paying to help support the child-but most men dont pay and go to europe with new girlfriend and buy new house-while mothers dont even get minimum pay just welfare & b/c theres no womens communal lands -mothers/kids forced to live in violent drug infested ghettos-in my case and many my friends if we complain that fathers dont obey court order to pay-government come take our kids to sell to adoption or give to father-big problem here in n. america

[and86rea19]

@lmollot ok, but for example in italy there are many cases divorced fathers, who have become poor, and can no longer see their children. So I think that a society like that Mosuo, may be easier(and may cause less suffering), for all the people, also for Men!

But I think that change our society, similar that Mosuo's, is practically an utopia...

Thank you for comments, and sorry for my imperfect english

Bye Andrea

[omitnot]

it is true... for women, even freedom is full of tragic choices.

[happohassa]

Thank you for these videos. I'm watching them for a class and quite frankly it's very informative where I had no info before. If that makes sense.

[TheQueenIsWithin]

I am really glad about seeing this...I will consider this community as places to go for vacation!

[tru2000tube]

Ho visto il video. Veramente interessante

[jaybeth24]

Thanks for uploading, i'd missed watching this in my anthropology lecture....

[lmollot]

@and86rea19 HI -thanks for making mosuo on internet-your english is better than mu chinese-lol- i agree that mosuo is easier for all especially men -if they dont insist on having servant or if they can accept that the grandmothers make the best parents b/c of experience- is it the grandmothers house which supports the children-give food and clothes?here even when fathers dont support child- the law give them rights to visit-mu husband lied to judge he had no job/money- then he got NEW car-rebel