Duringthisyear'sSpringFestivalperiod,thefilm"Hi,Mom"illustratedadaughter’simaginationofa"mom,letmeloveyouagain"story,whichchangedthethemeofsacrificingoutoflove"forchildren"into"formom".Thisfilmmovedalargenumberofaudiences.Thephrase"Momhadbeenamiddle-agedwomansincethedayIknewher"stroketheheartsofmanymothersandchildren,andmadeusrealizetheheavyweightwomenundertookinbeing“mothers”.Intheeyesofchildren,mothersaredefinedbytheparent-childrenrelationship.Achildhasamotherfromthemomentofbirth.However,mothersarenotbornasmothers.Theyusedtobeautonomousindividuals.Fromthemomentawomanbecomesamotherandbecomescloselyconnectedwithanotherhumanbeing,andduringtheprocessofprovidingunconditionallovetoherchild,shelearnedtoletgoofapartofherselftoembracemotherhood.Themovielettheprotagonisttravelbacktothetimebeforeshewasborn,andgaveherachancetogettoknowhermother,LiHuanying,asanindependentindividualwhowasyouthfulandbright.Afterhavingadaughter,Libecameaperfectmotherwhounconditionallylovedherchild.Butbecauseherchildgaveheralotoftrouble,andasLicompeteswithhercolleagues,thelightthatwasonceinherdimmed.Here,thedirector'spersonalfeelingsinthenarrativenotwithstanding,wewitnessthetensionbetweenthe“self”asanindependentidentityandthe“mother”asarelationalidentity.Beingamotherimpliestheextremecompressionofanindependentindividual’spersonalspace.Chinaisthecountrywiththehighestpercentageofworkingmomsintheworld.Inreality,weseewomendoingtheirbesttoachievetheirpersonalgoalsoutsidetheirroleasmothers.Themostcommonsupportsystemisintergenerationalsupport,wheretheeldergenerationmakesthesacrificetolettheirchildren,whoarethemostimportantlaborforceinthefamily,staycompetitiveinthejobmarket.Somefamilieshirehousekeeperstoreducedomesticburdens.Inaddition,evenwhensomemothershavetobecomehousewives,manyarestillsearchingforwaystobalancebetweenworkandfamily,suchasdoinge-commerceandgrouppurchasing.Wemustrealizeallthesemethodsarelimitedwithinthefamily.Theself-actualizationofwomenaftertheybecomemotherseitherhastotakethesacrificeofotherfamilymembers,orwomenthemselvesworkingtotheextreme,orsacrificewomenfromthelowerclasses.Thesealllackexternalpublicsupport.Howdowecreatemorepersonalspacesforwomenwhoaremothers?Thisisanissueforsocietyatlarge.Aspeoplearepursuingbetterlives,weneedinstitutionalandsocialenvironmentsthatarefriendliertochildrenandfamilies.Weneedtotreatchildrenasacollectivewealthofthewholesociety,andhenceprovidenurturingsupportwithmorepublicattributes.Thisalsoneedsustoreachadeeperunderstandingofgenderequality.Genderequalitydoesnotequatetothetwogendersbeingidentical.Instead,weneedtoseethedifferencesbetweenthegenders,andencouragebothgenderstotakeequalresponsibilityinlookingaftertheirfamily.Inthisnewdevelopmentalphase,weneedacooperativechild-rearingsystemthathasmorecommunalcharacteristics,takesrootinthecommunity,andhastheparticipationofmultipleagents.Thiswillencouragemorewomentobewillingto,andhavethecouragetobecomemothers.Itwillletourpopulationstructureimprovesustainably,andletwomenhavemorediverseandpracticalwaysofachievingself-actualization.Contributedby:ShiYunqing,ContractResearchFellow,CenterfortheStudyofXiJinpingThoughtsonSocialismwithChineseCharacteristicsforaNewEra,DeputyDirectorattheGenderandFamilySociologyResearchLabattheSociologyInstitute,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciencesDisclaimerAlldataandinformationprovidedonthissiteisforinformationalpurposesonly.en.gmw.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformationoranylosses,injuries,ordamagesarisingfromitsdisplayoruse.Allinformationisprovidedonanas-isbasis.