Hum, Fern
Over 130 interviews with Chinese Canadian women were conducted for the book Jin Guo: Voices of Chinese Canadian Women. Produced in 1992 by the Women’s Book Committee of the Chinese Canadian National Council, Jin Guo was intended to fill the gap in historical accounts of Chinese Canadian women’s history. Researchers traveled across Canada to interview Chinese Canadian women of various ages and backgrounds. The book’s authors, Amy Go, Winnie Ng, Dora Nipp, Julia Tao, Terry Woo and May Yee, organized the book around themes and patterns that emerged across multiple interviews – feelings of isolation and culture shock upon arrival in Canada, memories of parent-child relationships, the importance of education, the working lives of women, discrimination, cultural identity, marriage and dating, family life, perspectives on aging and retirement, and examples community activism. The interviews conducted for this project are stored at the Multicultural History Society of Ontario’s archives. This collections database includes a large cross-section of interviews conducted for Jin Guo – in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
In a six-part interview, Fern Hum comments on her upbringing in Sudbury, Ontario, and the development of a Sudbury Chinese Women’s Group; attending Ryerson to study diet and nutrition, and her involvement with the Ryerson Chinese Students Association; her struggles to speak and understand the Chinese language; how she and her husband try to be progressive role models for their children; and how she incorporates Chinese heritage and culture into her life.
Fern was 35 years old at the time of the interview; she has 2 children with her husband Doug, and has 2 brothers, 2 sisters, and a half-sister. Her family settled in Sudbury, Ontario, where her father owned a restaurant, then later opened a small store that sold Chinese foods, herbs, and dry goods.
After high school, Fern moved to Toronto, Ontario and graduated from Ryerson University as a dietician. While in school, Fern became a member of the Ryerson Chinese Students Association, and reflects on feeling alienated from her Chinese heritage because her ability to speak and understand Chinese was limited. Fern also offers some insight into her relationships with some of the men from the Chinese Students Association she had dated.
Fern contrasts her parents’ more traditional marriage with her own marriage, noting how she and Doug try to equally share all the responsibilities and activities within their household.
Relating on Chinese traditions and culture, Fern says she and her husband are working to ensure that their children grow up with an understanding and appreciation of their Chinese heritage.
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