Is it fair to judge someone by their sex? Sexism is a problem common to both Chinese and American cultures, and as such they are met by most of the characters in the novel. The women were looked upon as an inferior being. They had little or no status in society, and little was expected from them. When they tried to stand up for themselves, they were discriminated. The Chinese culture was normally male dominated. The male was expected to do most of the work, and the woman was expected to stay at home. In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, Ann-Mei Hsu, Lindo Jong, and Ying Ying St. Clair are all women who grow up in a traditional China, where there is sexism. They deal with serious problems that harm their lives.
             Ann-Mei is oppressed in many ways. Her mother is invited to spend time at the home of a wealthy man named Wu Tsing. During the night, he comes into Ann-Mei's mother's room and rapes her. Despite emotionally scaring Ann-Mei, this reveals the lack of respect for a woman in China. Ann-Mei's mother is forced into to be his concubine because of her lack of power as a woman. She becomes the third wife. As a third wife, she has very little status in the home of Wu Tsing. Ann-Mei's family disowns her mother because by becoming a third wife, she has brought shame to her family. Ann-Mei is told to forget about her mother and move on in her life. Since rape is accepted in China, it makes it appear that what Ann-Mei's mother has done is wrong, and what Wu Tsing did was right or normal. Ann-Mei's daughter, Rose, obtains the disadvantages of being a woman because she feels that she can't make decisions. Their marriage was out of balance. Rose lacks the ability to be self-confident and this shows her dependence on a male.
             Secondly, Lindo Jong story shows how women were discriminated against. At the young age of twelve, Lindo is engaged to Tyan-yu. This is an example of t
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