Dr Sandy To will present a free talk at the History Museum, 7pm this Thursday about the ‘leftover women’ (‘Sheng Nu‘) phenomena in China. Dr To is a Teaching Consultant at the Department of Sociology of HKU. Her PhD, from Cambridge University, explored Chinese professional women’s marriage views and partner choices…
Constraints and Strategies in Chinese Professional Women’s Marriage Partner Choice
The increasing number of highly educated, unmarried women in China over the past few decades has given rise to the sheng nu or ‘‘leftover women’’ phenomenon. This study is the first that investigates the phenomenon from the sheng nus’ point of view, which differs from existing superficial media accounts that portray them as liberated city singles who are not interested in marriage, or women with overly high expectations for marriage partners who are to blame for being ‘leftovers’ in the marriage market. Using the Grounded Theory Method, I found that the majority of Chinese women wanted to get married, but were precluded from doing so by the “patriarchal constraints” of Chinese society. In this talk, I will discuss these constraints that sheng nu face in their quest for marriage in modern Chinese society, and the “partner choice strategies” they adopt.
If you cannot attend, Hong Wrong will be filming the talk and sharing it in full.
Government sign stating: “For a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family, please use birth planning.”, via Wikicommons
Dr Sandy To
Infographics from a Jiayuan (dating website) survey, translated by Offbeat China. Click here for more.
