‘We are like the interrelation of Yin and Yang’: gender relations between male and female practitioners in the Tai Chi practice field in China

This study examines contemporary gender relations and the logic of their construction in Tai Chi (a mixed-sex sport) within China’s mass sport field. Based on participant observation of three Tai Chi groups and semi-structured interviews with fourteen practitioners, the findings reveal three significant features of gender relations in this practice field: ‘the crossing of gendered interaction boundaries’, ‘the dissolution of hierarchical gender differences’ and ‘the blurring of gender oppositional lines’. From a constructivist perspective, this relational formation is tightly linked to practitioners’ interpretation and enactment of Tai Chi culture. First, the participants internalize the Confucian ethos of the ‘Doctrine of the Mean’ as a guiding principle for male-female interaction, laying a foundation for harmonious coexistence. Second, on a technical level, they promote the establishment of an egalitarian relationship between male and female practitioners by adhering to the comprehensive value system of ‘Yin and Yang Harmonization’ and Kung Fu Philosophy (Gong Fu Lun). Third, they practice the traditional Chinese concept of the ‘for oneself’ principle. By returning to the authentic self through physical and mental cultivation, the male and female practitioners collectively break through the shackles of traditional gender norms, achieving individual free development. These results offer insights into how Tai Chi, as a mixed-sex sport, may be further leveraged to explore and realize its potential in reshaping gender structures and reducing gender antagonism.