Towards equality: Pioneering women's exhibit in U.S.

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A rare exhibit is on display at the Chinese Historical Society of America’s Museum in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

I mentioned "rare" because when I told the museum's executive director, Jane Chin, that I've never heard of an exhibit that's solely dedicated to Chinese-American women, she corrected me by saying that there has been one before.

She recalled one… all the way back in the 1980s.

When I said that was "quite" some time ago, she laughed and agreed that what they're doing is indeed rare.

Chin explained as to why they decided to organize it, pointing out that women's contributions, especially Chinese-American women's contributions, are often overlooked. She described their contributions as often being an asterisk in the annals of history.

At the exhibit, you will find many examples of courage and strength.

You'll see write-ups and photos about Luella Louie, who worked as a riveter at Alameda Naval Air Base from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.

Margaret Gee (left), and Luella Louie (right) /CGTN Photo

You'll also learn about Margaret Gee, who worked as a welder and draftswoman before becoming the first Chinese-American woman to join the elite group of Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP). After that, Gee became a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The exhibit also takes us back, even tracing the very first Chinese woman to arrive in California, Maria Seise in 1848, and the very first American-born Chinese woman in San Francisco, Chew Fong Low, in 1869.

In 1900, most of California's Chinese women were born in the United States. But men still outnumbered women by the ratio of 10/1.

The exhibit also celebrates Chinese-American women who have become everything from scientists to philanthropists to artists.

For Kitty Tsui, the exhibit is a "double honor."

She is the granddaughter of one of the featured women – Kwan Ying Lin, a Cantonese opera star who toured major North American cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, as well as cities around the world.

Cantonese opera was hugely popular in California, especially with the large gender imbalance. Kwan Ying Lin was one of the most famous of them all. Despite that, Kitty said her grandmother barely talked about her celebrity days. It was only after her death that Kitty started to learn more about her popularity.

But like the grandmother, the arts played an important role in Kitty's life.

So much so that Kitty is also featured in the pioneering women's exhibit.

She is an activist and the first Chinese-American lesbian author who wrote the book The Words of a Woman who Breathes Fire.