The primary intention of this (roughly drafted) paper is to explore the socio-dynamics of women in the United States with reference to Asian women, in particular. Their roles, priorities and expectations will be discussed and data will be presented, supported by facts and figures generated on a questionnaire circulated in Cole Village on the New Mexico State Campus (Las Cruces) among non-immigrant Chinese women. Before proceeding to the survey analysis portion of this paper, however, it is useful to present some historical insight into women, feminism and woman's role in American society over the last two hundred years

The United States is a major pioneer in terms of respecting femininity and feminism. In the early 1800s, in many cities, American women began to establish a series of women's clubs, such as the Female Improvement Society of Smithfield in the 1820s, the Ladies' Education Association of Jacksonville in Illinois in 1833, as well as, in 1868, the Sorosis Club in New York City (Cunninghan, 1978). They also established the New England Women's Club in Boston (Cunninghan, 1978).

But it has only been within the last three decades that women's studies courses have become popular at American Universities (Ozbay, 1990). These studies involve society, family, economics and psychology, as well as sexual issues that females universally confront. In recent years, universities have even designed specific curriculum materials related to women's studies in the United States. Most of these studies are about White and Black American women. Within this context, Davis, Sandoval , and Yung introduce the subject area of race and ethnicity in women's studies (Shirley, 1998).

However, as we know, the United States is an" immigrant country"; therefore, there are still other ethnic minority women in the United States. Asian women account for 5,435,000 among the population (Census, 1997). This means that Asian women represent approximately 2% of the entire population. Prominent Euro-American, as well as American women writers and scholars of color are, and have been, among others, Angela Davis, Judy Yung, Gloria Steinem, and Chla Sandoval. These women have founded what I would like to call the academic field of "U.S. Women's Studies". Until recently, this "field" had intermixed the contributions of non-white women with other social movements, had neglected the study of these communities and had remained culture specific. Immigrant-specific struggles in the United States have always been recorded with special care (Shirley 1998). However, records do not always show that ethnic minority women worked, and work, primarily in service positions and semi-skilled jobs. In reality, most managerial and professional jobs are given to white females. For ethnic women, the interaction of racism and sexism often makes them subject to dual discrimination (Wyche, 1993).

Additionally, ethnic minority women contribute more financial support then do Euro-American women for their family. Ethnic minority women have major responsibilities for their families and for housework, as well as for child care (Wyche 1993). However, there are only inadequate demographic studies depicting ethnic and socio-economic status of such women (Ballinger, Browing &Smith, 1987). Most main-stream Americans do not adequately understand what issues and problems confront these ethnic minority women who have different cultural backgrounds. Nor do they understand the concerns ethnic minorities have about their country and their own futures.

Now, let us turn to the subject of non-immigrant Asians in the United States, especially Chinese non-immigrants. Current studies in this area are deficient. Therefore, the purpose of this paper, as mentioned earlier, is to better understand and expand on the notion of (1) what non-immigrant Chinese married females feel, and (2) their different sentiments or reactions when confronted with the surrounding American culture, economic system, educational structure and family concept. The purpose is also to discuss these people's impressions and observations, and to explain the differences. In recent decades, there have been thousands and thousands of Chinese who visit the United States. Most of them are students and scholars as well as their spouses. Data available indicate that there were 570,000 Chinese females who visited the U.S. in 1997. They represented 3.4% of all the visitors (Census 1997).

In China, families are especially important and are usually stable. In contrast, in the United States, there are many problems dividing families. For Chinese females, when they come to the United States, they are subjected to many different cultural ideas and become dependant on their husbands, though they might have been very independent before. Due to the differences of environment and language, they begin to change psychologically. Undoubtedly, it is valuable to study their feelings when they are living and studying in the United States, because most female Asian immigrants have never experienced this life-style.

It is both appropriate and useful to examine the nature and "content" of Chinese women's feelings as they adjust to American life. What, in fact, are their priorities? On the basis of these observations and realizations, let us tentatively hypothesize that:

1. Non-immigrant Chinese women place a high priority on the health of their families.

2. These women are also concerned about the education of their children and themselves.

3. Moderately high priority is assigned by these women to their husbands' future careers.

To explore the validity of the foregoing hypotheses, and to obtain an indication of several other priorities among non-immigrant Chinese women in the American Southwest, the following survey methodology was utilized and results, recorded on Figure I, were generated. The sample used involved only 20 participants; no statistically significant results can be anticipated; although useful information can be, and was, produced.

Married Chinese females who are students or students' spouses at New Mexico State University (NMSU) live in the NMSU family housing area known as Cole Village. In April of 1999, these students were asked to complete a questionnaire containing detailed questions about their current concerns and views related to the United States. Out of 20 participants, 10 persons were mothers who had either one or two children; the other 10 persons had no children. The subjects' ages were from 24 to 35. Their careers had been those of doctors, nurses, educational employees and accoutants in China, before they came here. They were educated to a much higher level than the average Chinese female. When they came to the United States, their status were F-2. Their husbands were/are research assistants or teaching assistants at NMSU. Now, some of them have become housewives, and some of them are full-time students in the United States. Their views and priorities are different than F1 single independent females students. The views and interests of the (dependent) wives differ from those of their husbands, as well.

The survey questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section asked questions about their careers and educational backgrounds. The second section inquired about their opinions concerning the United States and its educational, environmental and cultural systems. The final section was about their own development and their family plans for the future.

The responses from participants were sincere, because this questionnaire, unlike other regular survey questionnaires that include multiple-choice items, was developed mainly on the basis of verbal interaction. Therefore, it was more like a conversation between two good friends which contained personal experiences, thoughts, and plans for the future.

The answers to the questions were varied; all 20 respondents confirmed that family (90%) was important among all 20 married Chinese females at NMSU. The second priority was education (80%), consisting of their own education and their children's education. Thirdly, their husbands' career development (75%) seemed a high priority for these women.

The remaining results are displayed on Figure I, below, which reflects the respondents' feelings with respect to the items asked on the questionnaire.

Priority ...............Strongly Positive............... Moderately Positive .......Weakly Positive

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Family              90%                  10%                 0%                   
Personal Health     60%                  30%                 10%                  
Religious           70%                  10%                 20%                  
Influence                                                                         
Husband's Future    75%                  25%                 0%                   
Local Environment   50%                  30%                 20%                  
Family Education    80%                  20%                 0%                   
Need                60%                  30%                 10%                  
Transportation                                                                    
Hospital Care       40%                  10%                 50%                  
Economic Status     70%                  30%                 0%                   
Sports              30%                  50%                 20%                  
Concern about       50%                  30%                 20%                  
Crime                                                                             
Green Card          70%                  20%                 10%                  
Language            70%                  15%                 15%                  
Acquisition      

Note: The percentages displayed above are derived, by simple arithmetical calculation, from raw numerical responses to the questionnaire circulated among (only) 20 non-immigrant Chinese women in April 1999 at NMSU. No attempt at statistical precision, or formal accuracy, has been made at this early stage of data collection and analysis.

There are certainly many similarities among Chinese non-immigrant women's priorities in the United States when compared with American women, although the above results do not provide such a comparison. Some of the common factors, such age of first marriage, for example, were not requested on the survey questionnaire, which had a different purpose, but by consulting the Statistical Record of Women Worldwide (1991, p. 578) it can be seen that American women marry at the mean age of 23.0 years and that Chinese women marry only slightly younger at 22.2 years of age. So, the questionnaire distributed at NMSU, obviously, did not attempt to reproduce research already accomplished. What it did contribute, however, was some additional insight into the priorities, hopes and expectations of non-immigrant Chinese women on campus, most of whom were dependent on their husbands to some degree.

Notably, the results indicated transference of these values from China to the new environment. Non-immigrant women are thinking not only of their families' futures in the United States, of course, but also back in China.The values, expectations and priorities expressed on Figure 1 are clearly reflective of the conditions which these women realize exist in the PRC and take into account conditions also present in the United States where many of these priorities are similar. Incidentally, the three hypotheses were supported by the results obtained, but the pool of respondents (N = 20) is not sufficient to claim any level of statistical significance.

Although only 20 non-immigrant Chinese women were available for this survey, results can be viewed with considerable interest by those analyzing trends in women's studies, feminism or immigrant patterns. This concise study, while limited in scope, can serve as a beginning or starting point for future research in this critical area of examining non-immigrant Asian women arriving in the United States for the first time. University officials, as well as demographic experts could expand the approach utilized in this survey by contacting a wider subject pool and by modifying the questions to reveal results that may be somewhat more conclusive and hence, useful to professionals in the disciplines of women's studies, immigration and family values.