Sexuality and Survival: Women’s Agency in Amy Tan’s Select Novels

Abstract

In the fields of gender studies and contemporary Chinese American literature, Amy Tan's books The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement are some foundational works. The paper examines the complex ways Amy Tan uses mother-daughter relationships, intergenerational narratives, and the experiences of women in patriarchal and immigrant contexts to investigate gender, sexuality, and female subjectivity. The analysis explores how Amy Tan's works portray resistance to gendered oppression, the negotiation of identity and sexuality, and the pursuit of agency and liberation throughout generations using feminist, intersectional, and gender studies lenses. Amy Tan's literature exposes the empowerment that comes from writing, remembering, and recounting stories while also questioning patriarchal conventions and traditional notions of womanhood. The intricate performances of gender and sexuality, the reclamation of speech, and the development of female consciousness are essential survival and self-realization techniques. This study highlights concerns of cultural transmission, sexuality, and intergenerational trauma, demonstrating Amy Tan's enduring influence on feminist literature.