Eros of International Relations: Self-feminizing and the Claiming of Postcolonial Chineseness

<b>A revisionist take on the concept of &#8220;self-feminizing&#8221; in the postcolonial global order.</b><br><br> Sovereign actors who have historically claimed to act on behalf of Chineseness often took advantage of the images of femininity thrust upon them by the West. <i>Eros of International Relations: Self-Feminizing and the Claiming of Postcolonial Chineseness</i> explores the much-neglected Chinese perspective in broader international relations theory. Using the concept of &#8220;self-feminizing&#8221;&#8212;the adoption of a feminine identity to oblige and achieve mutual caring as a relational strategy&#8212;this book argues that postcolonial actors employed gendered identities to survive the pressures of globalization and nationalism. Shih also illustrates the feminist potential for emancipation, as actors who self-feminize deconstruct the binaries of masculine competition and seek alternative strategies under the postcolonial global order.<br><br> &#160;