Chinese women had a difficult life in California. Explain some of the ways their lives were restricted and how some of them were able to escape.

Chinese women in the nineteenth century lived a very difficult life in California. The first thing that made life difficult was the Exclusion Act passed in 1882 (Yung 1996). The passing of this act severely limited the number of Chinese women who were able to come to America. Most of the women who came into the United States at this time were either sold into prostitution, domestic slavery, or they came to join their husbands who were already in America.

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            Most women during this time were sold into prostitution. There were two options for women who became prostitutes, they would either work in parlor houses that were luxurious rooms located on the upper floors of a building in Chinatown (Yung 1996). These women were able to live in luxurious rooms as long as they did their job and did not upset the people who ran these businesses or their owners. The cliental for these parlors who usually well to do Chinese men or white gentlemen. The other option would be women who would prostitute in dark alleys. The cliental for these women would be laborers, teenagers, sailors, and drunks because they would charge a very low rate. Many of these women would live a very harsh life. Most women succumbed to venereal disease. “Once hopelessly diseased, they were discarded on the street or locked in a room to die alone” (Yung 1996).

         Another situation Chinese women were subjected to during this time was called mui tsai. In this situation, girls were brought from China to work as domestic servants in affluent Chinese homes or brothels (Yung 1996). Parents would sell their daughters into domestic service. Although there was usually a contract, there was no way to ensure that they were fully honored. Before the end of their servitude, young women could still be sold or taken into prostitution and never be able to obtain their freedom.

        Lastly, a woman during this time may become married. The wives held a high status compared to prostitutes and mui tsai women. These women live a very closed off life, normally their husbands were well off and they were meant to stay in the house all day. The only outside interaction they would have would be with their servants or hairdressers. Wives were closed off in the house and their only duty was to take care of their children. Of course, out of the other two options, this was the easiest life to live. However, it was still hard. Women in the household were still thought of as property, they did not have their freedom to do and go where they pleased.

        There were few possibilities given to women in order to escape. One option was Protestant mission homes that would help to rescue and rehabilitate prostitutes. In these mission homes, women were allocated household chores, taught Chinese and English, trained for employment, and encouraged to work for wages” (Yung 1996). This was created to help these women get out of their terrible situation and make a better life for themselves.

Taylor Labate 

Option 1:

Chinese women had a very difficult life in California. Their lives were restricted by being bound to being prostitutes or mistresses to their owners. Some women worked in brothels while others were sold to wealthy men to be their mistresses. Poor Chinese families sold their daughters to wealthy men and if they did not please their owners they were sent back to auction for resale. The Chinese women who worked in parlor houses often caught diseases because they were unable to turn any man down. If they did get a disease they were left to the street to die alone. There was no care for them as the owners deemed them as useless at that point. Some Chinese women were able to escape with lovers and runaway. Other escape routes for the women was suicide. They would take raw opium or drown themselves. Another escape route was to seek protection from authorities. The women would claim they were imported against their will and refused bail to stay in jail. The most positive escape for Chinese women during this time was Protestant mission homes. “They saw Chinese women as the ultimate symbol of female powerlessness, as exemplified in their domestic confinement, sexual exploitation, and treatment as chattel.” (Alexander, Block, Norton, 250). The mission homes left women with little opportunities. Although they were free of prostitution, they still had jobs. Chinese women in America had a lot of restriction, although some escaped, it was still restricted in other ways. 

Jamie Montanye 

Chinese women had a difficult life in California. During this time period “the first wave of Chinese immigrants to America in the mid-nineteenth century” (Yung 1996).  Although the Excusion Act was created shortly after. This limited the number of Chinese  women that were coming into this country only the privileged got in (Yung 1996). “Immigration Officials apparently operated on the premises that every Chinese woman was seeking admissions on false pretenses and that each was a potential prostitute until proven otherwise” (Yung 1996). They did not want to make it easy for Chinese women during this time to get into America. So, they found any way possible to limit the number of women coming in. Although in all honest many Chinese women who came to the US were either “sold into prostitution or domestic slavery, or they were coming to join their husbands” (Yung 1996). Immigrant Officials already figured that many women were prostitutes but this was because once they came to this country if they were not here with their husbands many were sold as prostitutes or laborers. These women were expected to do as they were told with no questions asked. They were expected to please their owners and if they did then they were to stay with their owners and be fed and housed. But, if they didn’t then they were most likely to be sent right back to be sold to a new master. And for the women who came to be with their husbands were expected quite similar stuff. They were expected to stay home. Very rarely did they leave the house. They were expected to do the cores around the house and take care of the children while the husband worked. They were to listen to their husband and do as told. The only difference between the slaves and the wives were that if they did not listen the wives could not be sold unlike the slaves. This was a very hard time for the Chinese women of America who were trying to make a life for themselves here. 

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