Racism and sexism pervaded American society during the nineteenth century, creating unusual disadvantaged conditions for Chinese immigrant women. As a weak minority in an alien and often hostile environment and as a subordinate sex in a sexist society, Chinese women suffered from double oppression of racism and sexism. In addition, the Chinese cultural values of women's passivity and submission existed within Chinese communities in America, and affected the lives of these immigrant women. This work uses government document, historical statistics, accounts from newspapers and literature to examine the life experiences of Chinese immigrant women and American attitudes towards them, and to analyze the roots of the oppression of racism and sexism. / Master of Arts

Chinese female immigrants were active cultural contributors and participants in nineteenth century America, yet Americans often simplified their roles into crude stereotypes and media symbols. The early western accounts concerning females in China created the fundamental images that were the basis of the later stereotypes of women immigrants. The fact that a majority of the period's Chinese female immigrants became prostitutes fueled anti-Chinese feelings. This thesis investigates the general existence of Chinese prostitutes in nineteenth century America and how they were portrayed in the media. American attitudes toward white women and their images of Chinese women created the stereotype of all Chinese female immigrants as immoral. Thus, they became unconscious pawns of nineteenth century American nativist forces wanting to limit and prevent Chinese immigration based on prejudicial and racist attitudes.