Fincher focuses on the story of a small group of female activists known as the Feminist Five, who have been hounded by the authorities for innocuous acts such as trying to hand out stickers on International Women’s Day. She argues persuasively that the activism the five awakened is already challenging the authoritarian state, with more and more women taking control of their bodies and rejecting 'China’s patriarchal institutions of compulsory marriage and child rearing.'
In this revealing history, journalist Hong Fincher documents the nascent feminist movement in mainland China and the threats to its existence, a peril brought to global attention in spring 2015 with the jailing of the women’s rights activists known as the Feminist Five. Hong Fincher explores the riveting stories of these women, their histories, their work, the brutal treatment they received while imprisoned, and the ongoing harassment by security officials that exemplifies the Chinese government’s increasing crackdown on feminist activism and social media ... This is a fascinating and earnest book.
In her sprawling and detailed recent book, Betraying Big Brother, Fincher aims to tell the story of the women’s rights movement in China...Fincher bases her narrative on interviews with the Five and their allies, while supporting their stories with deep research into the roots of the government’s crackdown on feminism. The book also looks ahead, sizing up China’s emerging #MeToo movement ... Fincher’s obvious admiration for her subjects’ tenacity, strength, and bravery inspires her to believe that it will be impossible to stop the country’s latest feminist wave.
