Writing the Nonya:
Fireside chat with Josephine Chia
Thoughts and Reflections by Vivian Lim, Co-Founder of GEN
As part of our Around the Tok Panjang collaboration with NUS Baba House, I had the immense pleasure of moderating a fireside chat with the remarkable author, Josephine Chia. We took a deep dive into the rich portrayal of Peranakan women in literature, a subject Josephine masterfully brings to life in her writing.
Josephine’s stories are like a lovingly crafted patchwork quilt, each piece woven with the colourful threads of her Peranakan heritage and kampong upbringing. At its centre lies the Peranakan woman. Her experience comes to life through the central Peranakan female character, the intricate dance of domestic relationships, and the bittersweet tug-of-war between tradition and the relentless march of urbanisation in Singapore.
“She doesn’t know that I cannot be separated from Ma, even though we are 10,000 miles apart. Ma and I share the same soul space.” ‘
- from Frog under a Coconut Shell.
Negotiating the feminine identity of Nonyas in her work
In our discussion, Josephine talked about having to explore the evolving expectations, stereotypes and assumptions about the Nonya across time in her book Frog Under a Coconut Shell. The book is an homage to her mother who fought for her daughters’ education despite her own parochial experience in a small kampong. By navigating the tensions between her understanding of her mother’s story and her own lived experience growing up as a Nonya in a different era, Josephine’s portrayal is able to reveal the many layers of Nonya womanhood across different eras. Her stories show how time, place, and personal experience shape these identities, reminding us that the Nonya experience is as fluid as it is complex.
Beyond generational differences, Josephine spoke powerfully on the different social classes of Peranakans, which intersects with the female Peranakan experience. Her work reminds us of the need to transcend one-dimensional popular representations of Peranakan women, to reveal their multifaceted and nuanced realities.
Stories we tell as a community: the power of fiction
Josephine’s inherently nostalgic work harks back to her Peranakan roots, but they don’t only speak to the past but also to the present and future.
Fiction narrates history; socio-historical context and setting influence narratives in literary works. In My Mother-In-Law’s Son, Josephine’s story of a Peranakan woman trapped in an abusive marriage but is constrained by the limitations of women in her time to take positive action, is set against the backdrop of 1949 -1950 Singapore that is just recovering from the onslaught of the Japanese War. It’s a narrative that doesn’t just tell us what happened—it invites us to consider what could have been and what still might be.
But fiction, as Josephine reminded us, is not just about narration – fiction gets us to ask questions; it creates spaces for observations of life, the contradictions, the ironies, the negotiations. Through an exploration of the protagonist’s fight against her oppressors, My Mother-In-Law’s Son shows how people going through difficult circumstances can be susceptible to revolutionary ideas. It makes us rethink gender stereotypes and expectations.
Josephine reminds us once again of the power of fiction and literary works to bridge GENerational and GENder differences. We as a community must continue to share our stories to question, interrogate and overcome these differences. Josephine Chia’s work is a shining example of how storytelling can do just that—bridging gaps, fostering understanding, and illuminating the rich diversity within the Peranakan experience.
