BBC story on China's 'leftover women' sparks global debate

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-03-02

A woman checks out a match-making activity list
in China. (Photo/Xinhua)

A recent BBC report on China's "leftover women" — unmarried female professionals in their late 20s and early 30s — has sparked a heated international debate about female stereotypes.

Nearly 700 comments were posted online after the article was published on the BBC's website on Feb. 20, with many Western readers finding it difficult to understand why Chinese people tend to stigmatize educated, professional women who have not yet settled down with a husband by the age of 27 or older — including the women themselves.

The BBC article cited an online Chinese report, which said that Chinese women who are less attractive often hope to increase their "competitiveness" through higher education.

"The tragedy is, they don't realize that as women age, they are worth less and less. So by the time they get their MA or PhD, they are already old — like yellowed pearls," the Chinese report stated, adding the fact that Chinese men tend to choose women who are younger and less educated than them as wives poses more challenges for these well-educated single women.

One female American reader said in the comments section of the BBC article that the idea of women aged 27 years or over 30 years being less competitive than their younger peers is a concept inconceivable in her culture, while a man said he believes it is chauvinistic to discuss "leftover women" but not men who are in a similar situation.

Asian readers, meanwhile, especially female ones, related to the issue better than their Western counterparts. A Japanese reader said a similar situation occurred in Japan during the 1980s, with women over the age of 25 years becoming less desirable as candidates for marriage.

A reader from South Korea said it is sad that women are labeled as such, noting that her fellow countrywomen aged over 30 are experiencing the same social pressures, which make them eager to find a husband before that age. The reader believed, however, that the rush to get married before 30 has also led to a higher divorce rate.

The label of leftover women, one reader said, once again reflects the conflicting and awkward role of modern women, who divide their time between careers and family.

Reporting on the BBC article, Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao newspaper concluded that most Chinese women are likely to agree with the assessment of one so-called leftover woman, who was quoted by the BBC as saying: "A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women."

Some readers, however, took China's leftover women phenomenon in stride. As one male netizen commented: "This article gives me hope that I may soon fulfill my adulthood dream of marrying an intelligent, financially independent, emotionally secure, non-overweight woman who will not look down on my aspiration to become a house-husband. All I need to do now is learn to speak Mandarin and move to China."