Class Consciousness
Imbued in Chinese society is the idea of "門當戶對", where male and female of the same socioeconomic status should marry each other. In modern day society, this traditional mindset has lessened. Instead it is generally accepted for men to marry down, though the opposite - women marrying down - is not widely accepted. It is due to this discrimination. men have a larger variety of mates to choose from, whereas a woman's option is more limited. Especially for women with high socioeconomic status - as in the case of "leftover women". Aptly stated by Ni Lin, Shanghai talk show host, "This leads to a phenomenon in which A-grade men marry B-grade women, B-grade men marry C-grade women and C-grade men marry D-grade women. Only A-grade women and D-grade men can't find partners.” (Takada & O'Callaghan, 2013)
Education
Coupled with the one-child policy, education for women have been on the rise.
As all families can only have one child, the family's resources are all concentrated on this single child regardless of their sex. In modern China, one of the goals of the government has been to raise the quality of the population and education has been one of their main focuses. (Wofford, n.d.) In this case, since intellectual attainment is strongly emphasized, and the family has only one child to raise, girls have a higher probability of attaining a high education level than in a traditional family where they have male siblings to compete with.
With high education attainment, many Chinese women are thus economically independent. Unlike the past, where women had to marry in order to survive; Nowadays, marriage has become a choice rather than a necessity. Leading to the delay of marriage among Chinese women.
As all families can only have one child, the family's resources are all concentrated on this single child regardless of their sex. In modern China, one of the goals of the government has been to raise the quality of the population and education has been one of their main focuses. (Wofford, n.d.) In this case, since intellectual attainment is strongly emphasized, and the family has only one child to raise, girls have a higher probability of attaining a high education level than in a traditional family where they have male siblings to compete with.
With high education attainment, many Chinese women are thus economically independent. Unlike the past, where women had to marry in order to survive; Nowadays, marriage has become a choice rather than a necessity. Leading to the delay of marriage among Chinese women.
Double Standard and Stigmatization
Double standard are applied to unmarried men and women in China. While unmarried women are stigmatized and labeled as a “leftover women”, unmarried men are not attached to any such derogatory terms. In fact, unmarried men with high socioeconomic status are boasted as “diamond bachelors” (鑽石王老五) while women who are pursuing or have gained a doctoral degree instead of spending time to attract suitors are disgracefully labeled as “female PhD”. (Laccino, 2014) These terms are highly gender biased which unduly harass unmarried women.
In fact, the one child policy in China has engendered a high skewed gender ratio of 118 men to 100 women. The situation is expected to further deteriorate in the coming years. (Teo, 2013) Therefore, the scenario of more unmarried men than women in expected to continue, and the stereotype of “leftover women” is thus, also unlikely to disappear and will continue to be a nightmare for unmarried women in the future.
In fact, the one child policy in China has engendered a high skewed gender ratio of 118 men to 100 women. The situation is expected to further deteriorate in the coming years. (Teo, 2013) Therefore, the scenario of more unmarried men than women in expected to continue, and the stereotype of “leftover women” is thus, also unlikely to disappear and will continue to be a nightmare for unmarried women in the future.
Social Media
In China, there is a dating show called “Fei Cheng Wu Rao” (also known as "非誠勿擾" or "If You Are the One") that has gained popularity in Jiangsu. This type of TV show is prevalent within China, where the TV schedule is filled with similar dating shows that focus on leftover women and often show them in a negative manner. Similarly, advertisements around China have also played a role in exerting pressure on leftover-women to get married. ("Too good for you: China's 'leftover' women", 2013)
Though the dating shows are helping leftover women expand their social circle and thus increasing their chance of finding their life-time partner. A lot of the time these shows overly emphasis leftover woman as a group of people who only wish to gain popularity and is materialistic, serving to further stigmatize them in modern society. Where "leftover women" carry the connotation of being well-educated, high-income but more importantly (and detrimentally), as materialistic and picky.
With such large amount of propaganda against leftover women being released to the public through the media, the negative image of "leftover women" would be deeply rooted in public's mind. Many single women and their families are thus pressured as they try to distance themselves from the term of "leftover women", which in turn may push them to join dating shows on TV in order to be married and escape the label of "leftover women".
Though the dating shows are helping leftover women expand their social circle and thus increasing their chance of finding their life-time partner. A lot of the time these shows overly emphasis leftover woman as a group of people who only wish to gain popularity and is materialistic, serving to further stigmatize them in modern society. Where "leftover women" carry the connotation of being well-educated, high-income but more importantly (and detrimentally), as materialistic and picky.
With such large amount of propaganda against leftover women being released to the public through the media, the negative image of "leftover women" would be deeply rooted in public's mind. Many single women and their families are thus pressured as they try to distance themselves from the term of "leftover women", which in turn may push them to join dating shows on TV in order to be married and escape the label of "leftover women".