In the novel, Eat a Bowl of Tea, Loui Chu explores the concept of gender. Chu examines the role that males and females play in a bachelor society that is New York’s Chinatown of post-WWII.

The term, ’bachelors,’ applies to those men who left their wives in China and provided for them in America. Usually, these men would reunite with them for the purpose of childbearing. The distance and lack of family unity, however, caused these men to self-indulge in things such as gambling and sleeping with prostitutes.

In fact, the big city forces them to live dissipated lives, being that it represented temptation and evil influences. There are many temptations in a big city and New York City is the worst, explains Wing Sim, Ben Loy’s cousin. Men who gave into temptation were not commended, but it was socially accepted for them to have an affair.

This bachelor life, however, soon came to end when brides started coming to America. This broke a major barrier and changed Chinatown’s lifestyle. Men finally had the opportunity to be with their brides or wives in the same location. Ben Loy, for instance, was lucky to have his wife, Mei Oi by his side as opposed to leaving her in China like his father, Wah Gay did with his mother, Lau Shee.

But prior to Ben Loy’s marriage, it is important to note how this marriage came to be. First, the marriage is arranged between Wah Gay and Mei Oi’s father, Lee Gong. Then, Ben Loy and Mei Oi are introduced. They like each other enough to marry so it’s not necessarily an arrangement of sorts. They’re not force into marriage.

The interesting thing, however, is that while this arrangement takes place, Lee Gong has to first meet Ben Loy and decipher the kind of man he is. He needs a first impression so that he could give Mei Oi away to a good husband. When he visits him at the China Pagoda, Wing Sim tells Lee Gong that Ben Loy is a good man and fit to be his daughter’s husband.

Lee Gong judges for himself. He observes Ben Loy mindfully. He likes his fast and deliberate gait, how cautious and conscientious he is, and how he’s not a lazy or sloppy man. He knows, or better yet, he thinks Ben Loy is a good young man. But throughout the novel, one comes to find out that Lee Gong’s impression of Ben Loy is not true in its entirety.

Yes, Ben Loy is a hard worker and is respectful even to his father in law, but Lee Gong was not aware of Ben Loy’s pleasure-seeking lifestyle. And though he appeared to be a good son in law and a good man, it was not necessarily true. Now, it is important to note the significance of how Chinese society views men.

First off, in China, men are highly valued. It is a man-dominating world. And as Wah Gay puts it, “Chinese people always like boys” and when it comes to grandchildren, that’s who they prefer the most. Having a family man is important.

Chu emphasizes the significance of just that —family. He builds upon what it means to carry on the family name, how a family’s reputation is vital in Chinese culture, and how it was a man’s responsibility to get married or at least, that’s what the tradition was. Wah Gay celebrates Ben Loy’s contribution as such, being the family man. His desire for his son to have children is so that he can maintain the traditional values and ideals of their culture.

As for the women, much was expected of them. They were to be loyal, virtuous, and uphold their domestic duties. Much like the traditional women, they were expected to be honorable and pure. And though they weren’t superior to men, whether politically or socially, they were not neglected. Instead, they played a major role in the Chinese family.

After all, women had a purpose and they were recognized for it. For instance, before Ben Loy leaves to China, his father tells him how important it is for his mother that Ben gets married soon. His father not only loves his wife, but he values her. In fact, he urges Ben Loy to not disobey her. This is an example of how men or ‘bachelors’ urged their children to show their mothers respect the same respect they did to their fathers.

Wah Gay also recognizes how much Lau Shee has suffered. He understands how much pain it caused her to have her husband and son away in America. He says his mother is crying day and night for his long return and in some way, wants to ease her pain. But aside from that, he also recognizes that Ben Loy needs his mother’s blessing for the marriage, not just only the blessing of his father.

In terms of arranging Ben Loy’s and Mei Oi’s marriage, one sees how important the role of women is in arranging a marriage. Certainly, men have a huge say, but women also do. For instance, Lau Shee’s sister and Mei Oi’s aunt plays a major role in terms of arranging a time and place for Ben Loy and Mei Oi’s family to meet.

As to how women were seen, there were two types of women. There was the jook sing girls and the good women. The jook sing were no good. They were useless. As for the good women, they weren’t temptresses or had multiple affairs. In the case of Mei Oi, for instance, who had an affair with Ah Song, one sees how she takes on the role of ‘man.’ It was not socially accepted for women to have an affair. If they did, they were looked down upon and judged for it.

Moreover, Mei Oi’s affair places emphasis on Ben Loy’s lack of manhood. Even though he loved her, he does not do a good job in pleasing her. This causes her to find comfort on someone else and cheat on him. It is because she thinks he didn't love her that she cheated. She figures that because he does not touch her or shows affection, she is nothing to him. But of course, the lack of communication clouds her judgment.