Young, philosophical and feminist

Feminist icons take many forms

If I had a vote in whose name should be added to icons of the feminist pantheon, I’d be casting my ballot for Chinese philosophy professor Xiaojiao Cui.

I was introduced to Xiaojiao when I was looking for someone to teach me about the ancient Chinese text, the Tao de Ching. Within minutes of meeting Xiaojiao in a cafe in Beijing, I could see that beneath the warm and empathetic exterior, lies not only a fierce intelligence and an insatiable curiosity, but also a quiet determination to live a life of her own design.

Raised by a mother whose academic ambitions had been thwarted by the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and a father who was determined that his daughter should see the world, Xiaojiao has forged a path to become one of the few female professors to ever earn a position on the philosophy faculty at the prestigious Beijing Normal University.

Xiaojiao’s intelligence and determination took her, at a very young age, from China to the United States, where she studied at Dartmouth College and Cornell University, and she has quietly followed in the feminist footsteps of famous alumni such as Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and Toni Morrison.

I’m thrilled to bring you this fascinating conversation with a woman whose quiet strength and determination are inspiring to both her students and to the wider world.

And I’d love to hear from you too!

If anything in this episode inspires you to see the world a little differently or to expand your own horizons in any way, I’d so love to hear from you. Please click on the heart or drop a note in the comments… Like all good chats, this one with the wonderful Xiaojiao Cui can be used as a jumping off point for other stories, contemplations and conversations.

And if you’d like to talk about your own experiences of living away from your home nation, please let me know!

Let’s come together to share stories of the things we’ve witnessed, so that we can learn from one another and see that, despite the differences in the details of our stories, we’re all global citizens of one beautiful and intricately interconnected world.

With love and light

Michelle x

MUSIC: Defining Life, by Bill Conn

PHOTOGRAPHY: Michelle Neeling

Written and produced by Michelle Neeling

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