In China, as women become more independent,
some are choosing to become single moms.
We met up with three women
who are redefining what a modern family means.
One who posted an online ad asking for sperm.
One who flew abroad for an IVF procedure.
And one who went ahead with her unintended pregnancy,
despite the odds.
What drives their decisions?
What challenges do they face?
Earlier this year,
Beijing-based artist Alan posted this ad online.
She had already put up four others looking for a husband.
But eventually, she realized she didn’t need a husband.
All she needed was sperm.
Alan hopes her video can spark more discussions
about the reproductive rights of single women.
The issue entered the spotlight
four years ago with this Chinese celebrity.
45-year-old Xu Jinglei
is one of China’s top actresses and directors.
She is also the first celebrity
to openly talk about freezing her eggs.
Xu has helped normalize discussions of sex and reproduction
outside of marriage,
subjects that were once taboo.
And young people in particular seem to be in line with Xu.
In one survey,
almost 9 out of 10 people under the age of 40
said it was okay for a single woman to have kids.
Zhan Yingying, an advocate for single moms’ rights,
helped conduct the online survey with 2,800 people.
Last year, the number of newborns in China hit a 50-year low.
After enforcing a one-child policy for over three decades,
China is now allowing people to have a second child
to encourage more births.
And this is making life a bit easier for single moms.
In the past,
it was difficult for them to get their children
into the household registration system,
which works like a national ID.
Single moms who could not produce a marriage certificate
had to pay a hefty fine before they could register their kids.
But China is still hesitant to fully endorse single parenthood.
Dr. Xia Yanping, an OB/GYN physician
at a women and children’s hospital in Shanghai,
explains that she cannot help unmarried women
freeze their eggs or perform an IVF procedure.
One of them is 38-year-old Xiaogunzhu.
She had to travel to California three times to have a baby girl,
once to extract her eggs,
once to implant an embryo,
and the last to give birth.
I asked her how she picked her daughter’s dad at the sperm bank.
Although Xiaogunzhu had the full support of her mom,
one of her biggest challenges was getting her dad on board.
Xiaogunzhu went to top universities in China and the U.S.
She describes herself as a strong, independent woman,
which makes it hard to find a partner in China.
As women become more independent,
some are also rejecting the notion
that if they accidentally get pregnant,
they should marry the father.
43-year-old Chris is one of them.
Three years ago, she found out that she was pregnant
the day after she broke up with her boyfriend.
This is also the approach Alan wants
to take when she has a child in the future.
I think this is one of my favorite videos
that I've produced at Goldthread.
It was very interesting for me
because I'm also a woman in her early 30s,
so I think reproduction is a topic that is very close to my heart.
It's also very challenging for me because
even though I've done these very in-depth interviews
with a few women,
I feel like the topic is so broad and deep
and there's so much more to say about it.
A 10-minute video really can't capture it all.
This episode wraps up the first season of
the "What's It Like" series.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you and subscribe to @Goldthread2.