Gender Disparities in Mo Yan's 'Frog'

“What is a woman born to do?”

Frog is a novel that explores the most culturally taboo subjects. From late term abortion to the brutality of family planning, Mo Yan exposes China’s history with ruthless honesty and complete love. This essay will analyze the way women are valued within this novel and the quotation “When all is said and done a woman is born to have children” (205). This essay will focus on the argument that women are perceived as less than human, based on the depiction of paid surrogate mothers, the value of male babies over female ones, the shame of being an infertile women, and the overall language used.

In book four of the novel Frog women are reduced from human to incubator. It is in this section that we hear the first mention of surrogate motherhood. Whether or not this pays any resemblance to modern day China, Mo Yan paints an image of women being only as valuable as their wombs. The façade of the ‘bullfrog farm’ is revealed as Xiaopao learns of his cousin’s illegal business. “To put it nicely, it’s a surrogate mother centre. Not so

nicely, he hires women to have babies for other women who cant have them” (265). This quotation exemplifies the value of reproduction. “Surrogate mother center” has a positive connotation. The following statement quickly undercuts this positivity. Women are hired to have babies and this evokes a moral battle within the reader. Bearing children arises naturally, but the act of paying for an heir on the ‘black market’ is illegal.
Paying women to grow a child insider her body is demeaning. She is deduced to live stock because she is compensated for her offspring. “The surrogate women are all beautiful, healthy, unmarried college graduates with terrific genes. You can stay with one until she’s pregnant with your child” (266). The mention of ‘genes’ suggests images of eugenics and other unethical reproductive rights issues. Women are being referred to as their ‘genes’ like they are pedigree dogs. The language here implies that females are objects or possessions that can be acted upon. She is something that can bring you sexual pleasure and a child for a price. Often women are described in terms of money. Language examples include the following “Its not cheap.” “I’ll give you a money saving hint…” and “Inexpensive surrogates” (267). These are all illustrations that speak to the claim that women are being degraded within this chapter. Women are viewed solely as ovens – a means to a purpose. When it comes to procreation women and their roles are reduced to animals for breeding.
Other examples in which women are degraded within this chapter are the way boy children are prized. Throughout the book we are constantly reminded that male children mean heirs and girl babies are financial burdens for their parents that provided little to no honor for their families. In previous chapters we have seen this depicted in the way Chen Bi treated the birth of his second daughter. Within this chapter these thoughts are finalized in the following quotation. “It’s not right for a special man like you to not have a son… Its actually sort of a sin” (266). Although Xiaopao has a successful daughter his life is somehow viewed as unfulfilled because he lacks a son. This dishonor doesn’t just come from within, but external forces shame him for not having a male heir too. A very specific case that quantifies the value of boys over girls is the amount of money paid to surrogate mothers who bore sons. “…Fifty thousand for a boy and thirty for a girl…” (267). Here males are almost twice as valuable. Not only are women degraded in the act of bearing children, but also in the pure fact of their gender.
Another depiction is the way the novel belittles Little Lion’s obsession with motherhood.

Renmei mirrors her, from prior chapters. Both women are seen as child crazed women who are going against their better judgment in order to have children. They are viewed as irrational and Little Lion is described as having an “Insane desire for a child” (268). These women are products of their environments. The men in their lives have shaped them. Renmei is quoted in this section of the book and attests to this feeling “Why don’t I create a son for you Xiaopao?” (268). These two intelligent women only value themselves based on their ability to bear children. Little Lion’s obsession with having a baby is even crazier because she understands the repercussions of an unregistered child. She was a huge advocate for China’s family planning programs. This character flaw only proves how deeply she devalues herself for being

barren.
The final way the novel portrays an oppressed view of woman is the language it utilizes. Often we hear references to woman as “the pot” to cook meat. This reference to Chen Mei is a sample. “Chen Mei, in whose womb my child is growing” (302). Chen Mei is not the most important reference is this sentence. She is a side notion. Instead it is her womb, and most importantly, the child that Xiaopao is most concerned with. Chen Mei and her wellbeing are not even referenced. “She’s a tool you’re renting for a while” (288). This is the worst and most obvious example of language that undervalues women and only finds significance in their ability to have babies. Chen Mei is a tool, an object that can be acted upon. Not only is she referred to as a tool; she is also regarded as something that can be owned, or rented.
We attribute these sorts of debasing human rights violations to a time “other” than now. But an article written in August of 2014 states that China is still experiencing a large number of people seeking black market surrogacy (upwards of 10,000 births a year). “Some women think they must have a child or their husbands will divorce them.” Is a quotation pulled straight out of the text of the article that matches to the theme of this essay.
Frog is a fantastic, magical feat. It picks through history with a fine tipped comb. It brings a face to stories we have only dreamed about hearing. Throughout this essay surrogate motherhood is explored, as well as the debasement of women in this field. Later the intensely cultural favoritism of male babies over female ones represents the thesis and the degradation of women. Lastly the issue of fertility and language creates a final crux of the claim.