5 Reasons Why Millions of Chinese Men Can’t Find Wives
Its booming financial state and fast-paced life helped it overtake America as the largest
economy in the world in 2014.
Currently one of the world’s largest countries area-wise, and the single most largest country
population-wise, China is home to about 1.4 billion people.
So what’s the big problem?
Well, there’s a majority of men, and not enough women!
This seemingly well-off country has some sad open secrets.
With the ratio of boys to girls being 118:100 as compared to the worldwide ratio of 103:107,
the excess of Chinese men has resulted in many lonely hearts who are not able to find
wives.
The country’s gender discriminating traditions, general preference to have sons by parents,
and the one-child policy introduced after the mid-twentieth century, have all led to
an abundance of single men and a relative scarcity of Chinese women.
Although seemingly a forward nation, the Chinese still try and adhere to traditional ideas
and values even in these modern times.
Marriage and family life are important to most.
Marriage markets, places where parents advertise features and qualifications of their adult
children in hopes to find a suitable match, are still set up in big cities like Beijing
and Shanghai.
The markets are, however, not as successful nowadays, thanks to the gender imbalance,
and the declining popularity of arranged marriages.
Number one: China’s Dark Side - Selective Female Abortions
The unusual male-to-female ratio of the Chinese population is not a mere coincidence.
The traditional mindset of Chinese families was tested after the implementation of the
one-child policy in response to a population surge post World War II, which only allowed
a single child per couple.
Couples, or just the dominant men who wanted sons instead of daughters, made common the
practice of selective female abortions.
While the world pretty much let nature run its course and decide the number of males
to females, China saw a great spike in male births and female abortions since the introduction
of this policy.
Although determination of fetal sex is now banned in China, some families continue to
get samples tested in other countries illegally, for fear of having to raise a girl instead
of a boy.
The policy itself has received severe criticism, with much talk about ‘cruel disposal of
a second child’ in case it is conceived.
Number two: Chinese Patriarchy And Gender Imbalance
Traditionally, many Chinese families have preferred having a son over a daughter.
The male dominant societies have considered sons to be superiors, and daughters to be
burdens.
As the Chinese philosopher, Mencius, outlines it, as a child a woman was to be subordinate
to her father, in adulthood to her husband, and in old age to her son.
The onset of the one-child policy in China meant that each couple had a single chance
at having a son.
This lead to the abortion of about a million female fetuses each year and a yearly abandonment,
or even trafficking, of tens of thousands of baby girls, until the policy was modified
to a two-child policy in 2016.
It is still debatable whether the forced abortions have ended after this policy relaxation.
As a result of the policy and preference of sons by the majority of Chinese couples, boys
were more common in Chinese households than girls, 118 to 100 on average, and in some
areas, as many as 130 boys to 100 girls.
The policy, however, was successful in terms of controlling population growth since the
average number of children per woman in China went from 2.1 to 1.4 post policy.
Number three: Poor Plus Illiterate Equals Lonely
China may be a thriving nation in terms of economic growth, but it’s a fact that the
country has its fair share of poverty, with about a 100 million Chinese people having
to survive on only $1 per day.
This scarcity has led to the poor and illiterate struggling in vain to find brides.
As it is, the country is known for being materialistic, with over 71% of its natives judging their
success by the things they own.
Obviously, most people tend to marry well and assess the financial background of potential
partners before making a commitment.
This is why Chinese women do not prefer grooms from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
As it is, expecting someone who is already struggling to get by on a poor income to start
and support a family would be unrealistic.
However, it is a notable fact that not just women are choosy when looking for a partner.
In fact, both men and women are still judged and rejected incidentally on the basis of
color, height, physical appearance and education.
Number four: Rising Numbers of Work-Oriented Females
Times have changed, and so has the percentage of female literacy and employment.
Although seemingly stereotypical, it is a generally accepted fact that most women determined
to build a career would not have marriage or motherhood high on the priority list.
With a greater number of career-oriented, educated Chinese women who value their independence
and are not in any hurry to get married, the already scarce number of available brides
gets even lower.
However, most men are also preferring educated females as potential wives, so this fact might
add a bit of balance to the situation.
Number five: Future Projections
From the year 2030, it is estimated that only one out of four Chinese men will ever be able
to find a bride.
It is also expected that a steady decline in Chinese population will be seen from the
same year.
Speculations have arisen that homosexuality might even become common in the country, as
less women become available and the high numbers of single men persist.
These millions of unmarried men and the resulting low birth rates are expected to soon make
China an aged nation, with over a quarter of the population being over 65 by the year
2050.
The lack of young people in the near future is predicted to cause the country’s economy
to suffer a great blow.
It is adequate to say that the nation has led itself into a fix with a gloomy future
just around the corner.