In charting the transformation of patriarchal forms in twentieth — century China, Stacey (1983:181, 254) describes a close connection between political agendas and family and household forms in a rather different context. Unlike in Iran, it was not western reforms that were under attack but feudal practices as embodied in Confucian patriarchy. While claiming that China’s family policy was essentially developed ‘behind the back of its revolutionary theory’, she nevertheless describes its success as a consequence of political acumen whereby the previous system was not simply denounced but new or modified forms introduced through a complex process of accommodating, exploiting and then reforming the traditional values of the peasantry. China’s socialist revolution, argues Stacey (1983:258), accelerated some pre-revolutionary processes of family change, but also decelerated or reversed others.
Family reform was recognized as crucial to the socialist agenda in China and was self-consciously oriented towards eliminating the feudal system and introducing, supporting and indeed enforcing a new ‘democratic family’ system for the ultimate end of stimulating the productive forces (Stacey 1983:176). The marriage law identified the family as the basic unit of socialist development, and a new family morality was stipulated as the means by which it should operate (Stacey 1983:187, 230).
Molyneux (1985) shows how state-sponsored refutation of feudal patriarchal forms similarly occurred in a number of socialist countries, arguing that while ostensibly—or even genuinely—based on concern to ensure greater equity in society, they were directed towards not so much a liberatory project with respect to gender relations as the freeing of women’s labour for productive work, while also ensuring that women assumed responsibility for their reproductive role. What was defined as feudal patriarchy was strongly denounced and it was replaced by the nuclear family. Overt oppression in families was eliminated but complementary gendered roles prevailed. In such cases the state defined, attempted to codify and frequently policed a form of family and parenting deemed ideologically acceptable, but also consistent with needs of economic development.