Sister Swing: A Celebration of Power and Camaraderie

Introduction
What was the good being a Wing if you couldnt fly?(p 7, Sister Swing)

Sister Swing explores the notions of self and sexuality among three sisters in their
resistance towards race, culture and gender that contends supremacy in their own respect.
The geographical transition from the East to the West in their respective journey conjours
a self-conscious resistance and bargaining power for the Wing sisters. Up and against the
patriarchal forces., the sisters take us through a journey of sisterhood, as migrs in a
foreign land. This novel metaphorically represent an escape from the homeland to the
west. Beyond the prescribed boundaries of Malaysian Chinese patriarchy, the sisters were
then transported into a journey of self-conscious resistance as diasporic women. Escaping
the traditions of the east, the Wing sisters hope to redefine self and sexuality. This paper
intends to trace the trails of the patriarchal forces that the Wing sisters managed to
escape, not knowing that their new lease of life in a foreign land would also be further
restrained. The escape is more of a psychological journey and transformation, the journey
itself is full of trajectory episodes that generate more resistance and bargaining .As a
diasporic Malaysian Chinese woman, the writer tried to redefine Straits Chinese identity
among the women, swinging between countries, resisting the patriarchal forces that
transcend boundaries of race, religion and culture. Sister Swing has a diasporic room of
its own.

Swinging in the homeland and out to the West.

The author conjours a journey of the three sisters in a hilarious but yet compounding way
of flight from the patriarchal forces in their home and outside in the world. The narrative
swings back and forth from sister to sister, with voices of the mother echoed through the
daughters. The novel is about the lives of three sisters, Yen. Swee Yin an d Paik and the
voices moves between them with a different tone and personality. The main voice is of
the second sister, which is rather loud, caught in the middle but yet so dominant. Swee
Yin, nicknamed Sister Swing, sees her flight out of her nest, the first sister to discover
love and has the freedom to free herself from the walls of tradition and patriarchy. She
even undergo a name change- Swee to Sue- in the process of her Americanization. The
girls are often been coaxed into believing that they are useless and their destinies are in
the hands of their father. Yen, the eldest sister exclaimed that in fact, although she denied
it later, she was willing to marry, eager to learn what a man might do to her and she had a
notion of something to be gained from an arranged marriage.Although third sister Peik is
their father;s favourite child, her actions and voice is marred by the forces impinge on
her. She bargained well with patriarchy, playing along he role well as a filial and obedient
daughter. With a terrifying father and the weak mother with the girls nanny, Peik
played her strategies well and is the apple of the fathers eye. The three sisters with their
distinctive voices explore the notions of flight, in search of a place beyond the prescribed
boundaries of the Malaysian Chinese patriarchy. Feeling trapped by Ah Kongs
chauvinistic attitude, the sisters fright of the fatherly figure have given them nightmares.
They were always thinking of ways to negotiate with him, especially using Peik to
represent them in ways that can work to their advantage. The body is also the central

theme in the narrative, as it is a site of power and struggle for freedom and autonomy as
well as power play between the sexes. Maznah Mohamad stated asked:
Does a confined sexuality mean that one is powerless in confronting
patriarchy? Could it ever be possible that even though ones sexuality is
openly and directly prescribed by males, one is not necessarily
disempowered?1
The sisters sexual awkwardness and inhibitions in the confines of the patriarchal home
make them explore their own bodies, which it is the sight of Yen and Swees naked
bodies that strikes Ah Kong dead. Swee exclaimed: No! What right he has to walk into
our bedroom every night? I tell you, he check our rooms when we sleeping. Maybe he
wont do it again after tonight. Were big girls now!(p15) Whether it is the cause of Ah
Kongs death, it is still up to the readers but the author has make it a fact that the
impinging patriarchal force has fallen. Though Swee managed to fly to the west, but her
life is still in a spiral emotional conflict in her quest for freedom, selfhood and a sense of
belonging. She does not seem to belong in the Swing family as the mother is the
second wife, and she had to fight for her identity when shes in America. Though Swee
does not need a new identity whilst in America, but her boyfriend thinks otherwise. With
her boyfriend, and with her new name- Sue, she hoped to be able to fit in better among
the whites but sad to say, the Harley and the other bikers including her boyfriend
represents oppression. The American men look at Asian women as a stereotype: Thats
how I like women. You are different, quiet, timid. So Asian.(p 40) Here, the author
portrayed the Asian women as a subdued race, without a voice but just a typical face.
What lies beneath such a quiet and timid face has yet to be discovered when and if
needed or confronted.

Each sister has her own inhibitions and bargaining power. A daughter has no right(p10)
but Yen, the outspoken sister showed her dissatisfaction when Ah Kong bristles tickled
her cheek and she even stuck out her tongue out to Ah Kong in defiance. Aiyoh! Dont
come so close, Kong-kong! she cried, slapping at her cheek. Your hair is so itchy!
Itchified!(p5), Yen exclaimed. She even questioned the infringement of her privacy
when Ah Kong peeped into their bedroom at night, What right he has to walk into our
bedroom every night? Though Yen looked more helpless than Swee, Yen does not
struggle with her identity or sexuality. Swee, on the other hand has difficulty recognizing
her body as a part of herself, and she seeks Ah Kongs affirmation. She wanted to run
after Ah Kong to explain to him that she and Yen were simply learning about our
bodies but she was shameful to bring up the subject or even to show her face to him
after that incident. She felt guilty and thinking that Ah Kongs ghost would harm her
made her flight to America more justified and quickened. Though Ah Kong is no more an
oppressive force, but having to wear black for a mourning period of three years
represents another form of oppression. Three years of mourning exists in the Confucian
culture as a sign of respect and filial piety. Even in her struggle not to be singled out and
to affirm her new American identity, Yen and Swee had to negotiate between the East and
the West in their quest for selfhood in their journey in a foreign land. Swee said:
Remember, Mama warned me Ah Kongs ghost would follow me to
America if I do not wear black for threes years? The three years have
passed and I still have not gone shopping for new clothes because in New
York my classmates are always dressed in black and I fit right in. 2

Swee is trying to negotiate with the patriarchal forces that still impinge on her life even
though shes free in America. It is clear that she may be yearning for a male significant, a
father figurre. F. Tolan, (2006) in her article Feminism in Literary Theory and Criticism
quotes De Beauvoir disputing that the woman is always situated as the other to man. This
is where the female characters are unmistakably treated s the other by the male
characters. Ah Kong is undeniably as example of a male patriarchal being that simply
alienates the females feeling and existence. He treats the wife just as an object, who
cooks for him, warms his bed and succumbs to his whims and fancies. The situation is
slightly different in Swees character. Initially, she accepts or seems to accept and
tolerates her Ah Kong, but she too demonstrates some form of resistance to the
annoyance of her mother. Your mother is simple like rain water. That was why I married
her for her virtue. You should learn from her if you wish to find a good husband. That
terrified me.

Conclusion
The bond that the three sisters shared reflected a force that is to be reckoned with,
although they may looked submissive, but circumstances have proved them otherwise.
The narrative has bestowed on the readers a sense of belonging, to the family, to the land
we come from, thats where we can stand and proudly state our presence. The self is
always in search of identity and belonging, wherever it may be, the changes are inevitable
but the renewed self will find solace in their dreams, fulfilled or otherwise. The sisters
maintained their links to their country of origin, traveling back and forth between

Malaysia and America, as the body is always in flight. Even though the sisters managed
to escape from the clutches of their father, but even after his death, Swing is still haunted
by his memory, even after she has left for America. Ah Kongs ghost appears in Swings
dreams, reminding her of the patriarchal society she escaped from when she left home.
Perhaps, her concern now is more of her identity as an American or the other.

See Maznah Mohamad , Poststructuralism, Power and Third World Feminism in Kajian Malaysia, Vol. XII, No. 1&2 Jun
/December 1994
2
Sister Swing, pg 230.

References
Thrusfield, M. V. 2005. Veterinary Epidemiology. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science.
Western Australia. Environmental Protection Authority. 1998. Industrial Infrastructure and Harbour
Development, Jervoise Bay. Bulletin 908. Perth: EPA.
Wiens, J. A. 1983. Avian community ecology: An iconoclastic view. In Perspectives in Ornithology, ed.
A. H. Brush and G. A. Clark, 355-403. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maznah Mohamad. 1994.Poststructuralism, Power and Third World Feminism. In
Feminism: Malaysian Critique and Expereince, Kajian Malaysia Vol.XII,
No. 1&2 Jun/December 1994,ed Maznah Mohamd and Wong Soak Koon
Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia
Shirley Geok Lin Lim. 2006. Sister Swing.Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions