Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco

by Judy Yung

  Many firms have general regulations against employing them; others object to them on the ground that the other men employed by the firms do not care to work with them. Just recently, a Chinese graduate of Stanford University, who was brought up on the Stanford campus with the children of the professors, who speaks English perfectly, and who is thoroughly Americanized, was refused consideration by a prominent California corporation because they do not employ Orientals in their offices.67

  Occupational opportunities for American-born Chinese women were further circumscribed by gender. Economic pressures at home often forced girls to curtail their education and enter the labor force, where they worked at the same menial, low-wage jobs as their immigrant mothers. Domestic work was one such option. Protestant missionaries particularly encouraged Chinese girls to pursue this line of work because it prepared them for their future role as homemakers. They also regarded domestic work as "honest toil," unlike service in tearooms, restaurants, and clubs that "leads to many serious dangers for young and attractive Oriental girls."6s Here again, missionary women were imposing their Victorian moral values on Chinese women. Although great care was taken to place Chinese women in "respectable" Christian homes, many were unhappy in these positions, complaining about the low pay, heavy workload, intrusive supervision, and rude condescension they experienced on the job. Unlike Japanese women, few Chinese women wanted to make a career out of domestic work.69

  Compared to second-generation European American women, who were finding upward mobility in office and factory work, Chinese American women were not doing as well. When they tried to compete for office jobs outside Chinatown, they were generally told, "We do not hire Orientals," or "Our white employees will object to working with you." In many cases white establishments that hired them did so only to exploit their "picturesque" appearance or their bilingual skills in Chinatown branch offices. According to the sociologist William Carlson Smith,

  Chinese or Japanese girls on the Coast have been employed in certain positions as "figure-heads," as they themselves termed it, where they were required to wear oriental costumes as "atmosphere.". . . A merchant on Market Street in San Francisco said of the Chinese girls: "They dress in native costumes, they attract attention, and they can meet the public. That is why many of them are working as elevator girls and salesladies in big department stores, some as secretaries and others in clerical positions. One girl is a secretary in a radio station and she, too, wears Chinese dress."70

  Gladys Ng Gin and Rose Yuen Ow are examples of Chinese American women who were willing to work in teahouses, restaurants, stores, and nightclubs as "figure-heads." Their stories shed light on how second-generation women were able to use the stereotyped images of Chinese women in mainstream culture to their advantage. Although they recognized that they were being used as "exotic showpieces," young women like Gladys and Rose took the jobs because there were few positions open to them that paid as well. In most cases they were temporary jobs, because once the novelty wore off the women were usually let go.

  Although American-born, Gladys was practically illiterate in English as well as Chinese, her education having been interrupted when she was taken to China as a young girl. She therefore considered herself "lucky" when she found work as an usher at a downtown theater upon her return from China in 1918. She was only fifteen and did not know how to speak English. It didn't matter, she said, because all they wanted her to do was read numbers and take people to their seats. The one requirement was that she wear Chinese dress. For six months she was quite happy, because despite the trouble of constantly having to wash and starch the white Chinese dress she had to wear, she was making good money. But gradually, she and the twelve other girls were laid off one after another. In 192-6, after Gladys learned English, she got a job running an elevator at a department store downtown. Again she was required to wear Chinese dress, but the hours and wages were equally good, so she was willing to tolerate the inconvenience. "Worked nine to six, six days a week," she said. "Seventy-five dollars a month was very good then. I was considered lucky to have found such a see mun [genteel] job." This time she stayed on the job for over ten years.71

  Rose Yuen Ow, whose parents were quite open-minded (in spite of strong objections from relatives, her mother dressed her in Western clothes, refused to bind her feet, and allowed her to attend public school until she reached the eighth grade), was among the first in her generation to work outside the home in rgo9. She recalled facing more discrimination in the Chinese community than in the outside labor market. "The first place I worked at in Chinatown was a movie house," she said. "I sat there and sold tickets. The cousins immediately told my father to get me home." She was about fourteen or fifteen years old then, and her father paid no attention to this meddling. In 19 13, when she went to work at Tait's Cafe, a cabaret outside Chinatown, handing out biscuits and candy before and after dinner, "everyone talked about me and said I worked and roamed the streets." Men would even follow her to work from Chinatown to see where she was going. But despite what people in the community said about her, her father permitted her to continue working at the cabaret. Like Gladys, she was required to wear Chinese dress to provide atmosphere; otherwise, it was an easy job. And she was earning good money for the time-$5o a week.72

  Rosie later moved up the wage ladder by capitalizing on mainstream America's interest in Chinese novelty acts. Chinese performers who sang American ballads and danced the foxtrot or black bottom were popular nightclub acts in the 192os and 193os. Billed as "Chung and Rosie Moy," Rose and her husband, Joe, performed in the Ziegfeld Follies and in big theaters across the country with stars such as Jack Benny, Will Rogers, and the Marx Brothers. While the interest lasted, Rose earned as much as $zoo to $30o a week. She would never earn that much money again. With the exception of Anna May Wong, few Chinese American entertainers ever made it big in show business. Despite their many talents, racism prevented them from making a profitable career out of it.

  The double bind of sexism within the Chinese community and racism in the larger society also made it difficult for women who tried to enter and succeed in the business and professional fields. When white firms did hire Chinese American women, it was usually for the purpose of attracting Chinese business to their branch offices in Chinatown. Such was the situation for Dolly Gee, who had to fight both race and sex discrimination in order to establish a career in banking. At a time when there were few business opportunities for women in Chinatown, Dolly was regarded by her contemporaries as an exceptionally successful career woman. With the help of her father, Charles Gee, a prominent banker, she got her first experience working at the French American Bank in 19 14 at the young age of fifteen. As she told the story, her father was initially hesitant to recommend her for the job because she was female:

  Early in 1914 I heard him say that another bank, the French American, desired to expand its savings activities and that there was a need for such a service in Chinatown. He said it was a fine opportunity for a young man, and regretted he had no son ready to take it up and follow in his footsteps as a banker. I immediately pointed out that although he had no son old enough, he had an energetic and ambitious daughter. I could see no reason why I could not take on the job and bring credit to my house, and he could advance no reason against it that I would listen to.73

  When Dolly was introduced to the head of the bank, he raised objections to both her age and her gender. "I am surprised that you would consider allowing your daughter to go to work, like a common laborer," the bank manager said. "In two or three years she should be married, according to your custom." "It's true she is only fifteen years old," replied her father. "But you'd better take her on. I'll never hear the last of it if you don't. If she fails, it will be out of her head and no harm will be done." That challenge drove Dolly to prove herself. She canvassed Chinese households and refused to budge until she got an account or two from each family. She later recalled:

  Naturally I met opposition because of my sex and my y
outh. This was before the [Second] World War, remember, before even American girls had invaded the business world to any significant extent. But I did get accounts, even among horrified elders who shook their heads at me while shelling out. Second-generation Chinese, born in this country, were more amenable.74

  In 1923, when the French American Bank opened a branch in Chinatown, Dolly became the manager. And in 1929, when the bank merged with the Bank of America and the branch office moved to a new location, she was retained as manager. She hired an all-female staff of bank tellers to work under her and operated on the principles of trust and personal service to the Chinese community. As the first woman bank manager in the nation, Dolly Gee built "a brilliant record for herself in banking," according to one corporate publication.75 Despite her abilities to draw deposit accounts and run an efficient branch, however, she was never promoted to a higher position outside Chinatown.

  Unable to find jobs except in Chinatown, many Chinese American women who were high school graduates and bilingual worked as clerks and salespersons in local gift shops and businesses. Although these jobs were better-paying and more prestigious than domestic work, they seldom compensated women for their education and skills or led to higher positions of responsibility. Women who worked at the Chinatown Telephone Exchange, for example, had to know not only English but also five Chinese dialects and subdialects, memorize 2,200 phone numbers, and handle an average of 13,000 calls a day. 76 Until the 1906 earthquake led to the rebuilding of Chinatown, only male operators had been employed at the Chinatown Exchange. Because of the low pay and customer complaints about the men's gruff voices and curt manner, however, they were replaced by women, who had more pleasant voices and accommodating ways-and who, when dressed in Chinese clothing, also proved to be tourist attractions. In the 19 zos, telephone operators, working eight hours a day, seven days a week, earned only $4o a month, compared to $ 5 o a month earned by housekeepers and $ 6o a month by clerks and stock girls. Yet the limited number of jobs open to them and the family atmosphere of their work environment both still made employment as a telephone operator desirable for second-generation women.77 Indeed, Chinese telephone operators were grateful for their jobs and seldom complained about the dress code or the working conditions, which other female operators deemed unsatisfactory.78

  The few college graduates who had professional degrees also found themselves underemployed and confined to Chinatown because of racism in the larger labor market. Many an engineer and scientist ended up working in Chinese restaurants and laundries. As was true for black professionals, white employers would not hire them, and white clients would not use their services.79 When Jade Snow Wong went to the college placement office for help, she was bluntly told, "If you are smart, you will look for a job only among your Chinese firms. You cannot expect to get anywhere in American business houses. After all, I am sure you are conscious that racial prejudice on the Pacific Coast will be a great handicap to you."80 Later, frustrated by the limited role of a secretary, she sought advice from her boss about a career change and discovered that Chinese American women like her also had to contend with sexism. Her boss said,

  Operator working the switchboard at the Chinatown Telephone Exchange, 19 20S. (Courtesy of the Telephone Pioneer Communications Museum)

  Don't you know by now that as long as you are a woman, you can't compete for an equal salary in a man's world? If I were running a business, of course, I would favor a man over a woman for most jobs. You're always taking a chance that a woman might marry or have a baby. That's just a biological fact of life. But you know that all things being equal, a man will stay with you, and you won't lose your investment in his training. Moreover, he's the one who has to support a wife and family, and you have to make allowance for that in the larger salary you give him. It's not a question of whether he's smarter than a woman or whether a woman is smarter than he. It's just plain economics!R"

  Aware of both racial and sex discrimination in the job market, Jade Snow took the accommodating route by pursuing writing and ceramics, two fields in which she thought she would not have to compete with men or be judged by her race. These creative channels also allowed her to meld unique styles of expression that utilized both her Chinese and Western sensibilities. Her books, Fifth Chinese Daughter and No Chinese Stranger, addressed her experiences as a Chinese American woman; her pottery combined Chinese classic lines with Western functional forms. She also chose to set up shop in Chinatown, where she could attract the tourist trade. By making the best of her circumstances, she found an economic niche and became both a recognized writer and ceramicist.

  Their experiences paralleling those of black professional women, Chinese American women who were the first to enter professions had trouble establishing careers for themselves, even in female-dominated occupations like teaching and nursing. When Alice Fong Yu appeared before the examination board of the San Francisco School District, they asked her pointed questions not usually asked of white candidates, such as "How [in what language] do you dream? ,82 Although she was hired as a schoolteacher, she was deliberately kept out of the classroom and assigned the tasks of an assistant principal, but without due recognition or compensation. In addition, she was overworked and asked to perform duties beyond her classification. As the only Chinese-speaking teacher, Alice was called upon to counsel, translate, and act in the capacity of clerk, nurse, and social worker to the ioo percent Chinese student population at Commodore Stockton Elementary School.

  Her sister Mickey Fong also faced difficulties in entering and advancing in the nursing profession. First, her application to the Stanford School of Nursing was rejected because at the time Asians were not permitted to enroll. Next, upon graduation from the San Francisco Hospital School of Nursing, she was discouraged from taking the public health nurses' examination: "they said I was Chinese and how would I get along with the white community." Then, a minimum height requirement of 5 feet 2 inches stopped Chinese women like her who were short from taking the examination for field nursing. Only after protests by both European and Chinese American doctors, the Chinese Six Com panics, and Chinese American Citizens Alliance was the requirement waived for her and then stricken from all examinations. Finally, when it came time for Mickey to take the supervisor's examination, she had an equally hard time with the Civil Service Commission. "The Commission people were quite prejudiced," she recalled. "They didn't seem very friendly or encouraging. One of them said, `How do you think that you could supervise American nurses!' in that tone of voice." With a great deal of pluck, Mickey retorted, "Well, if I'm qualified, and if I pass the examination, I don't see why not." Mickey did pass the examination, but chose to continue working as a public health nurse in Chinatown until she moved to Washington, D.C., with her husband in 1945.83

  Racial and gender barriers also made it difficult for the first Chinese American women who chose medicine as their profession. Considered "men's work," being a doctor was popular among Chinese Americans for status reasons and also because they could work as doctors in their own communities should their services not be welcome in the larger society. The few Chinese women who held medical degrees inevitably had to establish their practices in Chinatown, though even there they were not always accorded the same respect as male doctors. Dr. Bessie Jeong, for example, had to omit her first name in public listings in order to attract patients who might be prejudiced against female doctors. "If they see `Bessie,' they hesitate, even women sometimes, to go to a woman doctor," she said. "So I put B. Jeong' and before they know it-it's kind of embarrassing to turn and run, you know-they sit down and I try to make them feel at home with me."84 Dr. Margaret Chung initially moved to San Francisco to escape discrimination in Los Angeles against single women, although she also wanted to serve the Chinese community. Being young, female, and non-Chinese-speaking, however, she found it difficult to gain the trust of Chinese patients there. Not until she proved her surgical skills and commitment to community service did Chinese patients begin coming to
her.85 Dr. Rose Goong, an obstetrician/gynecologist, had less trouble finding Chinese clients, largely because Chinese women were still reluctant to see male physicians. But she was also popular because she was known for being available around-theclock to her patients and for providing free postnatal care to mothers and their babies.86

  An alternative to unemployment or underemployment in America for the second generation was to seek work in China. Many middle-class parents, fired by nationalist sentiment and aware of discrimination in America and of China's need for professional and skilled personnel, en couraged their children in this direction. Jade Snow Wong's father tutored all his children in Chinese studies because he believed that "a Chinese could realize his optimum achievement only in China. "87 Although Jade Snow never fulfilled his plan, her older half-sister Esther spent a number of years teaching in China. Similarly, Alice Fong Yu was encouraged by her parents to pursue college with China in mind. "We were all told to get an education and go back to help the people in China. They knew we weren't wanted here," she said.18 Alice did not go to China either, but a handful like Florence Chinn Kwan, Lilly King Gee Won, Rose Hum Lee, and Flora Belle Jan did. Florence found work teaching English and also served on the board of the YWCA; Lilly was professor of English at the Shanghai Foreign Language Institute for sixteen years until she retired in 1974; Rose worked for government bureaus and American corporations in Canton until the escalating war with Japan forced her to return to America; and Flora Belle found work as a journalist with a number of English-language publications.