In response to the one child policy in China, I wanted to also share this video I found which speaks of the societal pressures in Chinese culture to marry fairly young. It saddens me how women are negatively viewed if they’re not married by their late 20’s. These women are seen as “leftovers” and incomplete–as if these women are not worthy of respect and love without validation from a man.
Coming from a Chinese background myself, I still see these cultural pressures from my own grandparents in how they talk about my future after college in regards to marriage. Although being respectful of their opinions, it was hard for me to watch this video because I did not know it was to this extreme for other young women. I cannot imagine the feeling of being deemed unworthy by my own family simply because I haven’t found someone I want to marry–or someone who would want to marry me.
I had never heard of the “Marriage Market” until this video. It’s where parents post flyers of their sons/daughters, and its where they go to essentially find a husband for their daughter or a wife for their son. On these flyers are facts about yourself, like if you own a car or a house, or how much money you make, as if those things are the best reasons to marry someone.
Make sure to read the article and watch the video with subtitles!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/china-leftover-women-sk-ii-video_us_570547d6e4b0537661887453