"Saving Face" explores the experiences of being marginalized within an ethnic community and addressing “the multiple layers of minority status by examining intersections of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation”. The complexities and contradictions of these experiences are displayed using the changing identities of Wil and her mother as well as their defiance of norms. Throughout most of the film, Wil's mother is both constrained by traditional Chinese values and the enforcer of these values. She decides to marry a man that she does not love in order to please her father and regain her family's honour while also setting Wil up with men even though she already knew that she was interested in women. Moreover, Ma's character defies norms despite this emphasis on filial piety: she is autonomous as she is pregnant, explores the city alone, and rents a porn DVD. These contradictions demonstrate Ma's flexibility, negotiation, and social construction of her values.