Beyond the homefront: Chinese women's agency, familial love, and sisterhood during the Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) transformed the lives of Chinese women, challenging and reinforcing traditional gender norms. This paper examines their resilience, agency, familial bonds, and sisterhood amid war, using testimonies and historical accounts from Terror in Minnie Vautrin's Nanjing and The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal. Through a gender-focused lens, it explores how Chinese women moved from domestic roles to resistance efforts, confronted sexual violence, and defied wartime limitations. By analyzing English-language sources, this study critiques male-centric narratives and highlights overlooked contributions of women. It emphasizes the importance of integrating these perspectives into broader historical and policy discussions, enhancing public understanding of gendered histories and contributing to scholarship in gender studies, historiography, and conflict resolution.