File this under the category of you learn something new every day. It seems that if you are an unmarried woman in China over the age of 25, you are what is known as a “leftover woman.”
Like in many other traditional Asian cultures, one is expected to be wed by a certain (usually young) age and pop out babies shortly thereafter. China is no exception, but as you’ll see in the news video below, more and more people are marrying at a later age or *gasp* not marrying at all. This can be partially attributed to longer life spans and the growing number of “independent” women who are more educated and have successful careers. Which is bad news for all those Chinese men already facing a shortage of Chinese women to marry.
But it gets even more detailed than that. Supposedly there are sub-categories of leftover women that breaks down as follows:
“Fighters”: A term used to describe women between the ages of 25-27 who still have a chance of finding true love.
“Doomed to be left”: Women between the ages of 28-31. Basically if you fall into this category you have little chance of finding a husband because you’re too busy focusing on other things like a career.
“Leftover fighting Buddha”: Women between the ages of 32-36. Same as “doomed to be left” but worse.
“Leftover goddesses”: Women over the age of 36. No explanation necessary.
Now, the article I linked to above only talks about leftover women, but the term also applies to men, though obviously guys don’t have exactly the same sort of ticking biological clock issue to deal with.
I know for my parents and their generation, the pressure for their kids to get married is still strong since they’re bound to that traditional way of thinking, but I’m curious if this is still a big deal with younger people who seem to be making a choice to hold off on marriage until later. Personally, I love leftovers so can’t say I see this as a bad thing. But I guess if you’re desperate, you can always check out one of China’s love supermarkets:
Girl power at any age! The men are the leftouts.
The REAL problem with this is there will not be any adult children to take care of the “old” people. And there will be fewer grandparents able to help care for grandchildren.
Both my wife & I got married “late”…..late 30s. I had other relationships (1 very long-term) before meeting my wife. Our daughter wasn’t born until I was 41. When I am already 60yrs old, she will just be finishing college. As it is, I barely have the physical energy to keep up with her (and still do other things that are required in daily life) now….I am not “20yrs old” anymore. I will be “lucky” if I get to see any grandchildren, let alone have the energy to play with them or help to care for them…..which means they will need “daycare”….which costs $$$$$…..which means the parents have to work and not spend time with their kids. ENDLESS/BAD CYCLE. REPEAT.
My mother does not have the energy or physical health to help take care of her granddaughter for more than 30mins.
It is a burden on future society for a few years (a decade or so) of temporary “freedom” to pursue one’s own goals/activities.
It was not my intention to get married so late, but “Cupid” sent me a few curveballs along the way. My wife (and many of her friends) all focused on their education/careers….many got married late, a few are STILL single.
I’m not saying what is right vs wrong, but the long-term affect on society is devastating.
YMMV.
Good Luck!! 8-D
“’til death do us part” means very different things when life expectancy is 80 and when it is 40. so of course there’s no big hurry to get hitched. These independent career girls would do just fine over here, no stigma.
[...] THE RISE OF THE LEFTOVER CHINESE WOMAN: [...]
Nice on the subcategories of “leftover girls”.
By the way, if you make mistake and instead of “sheng nv”, write “sheng niu” – then you are talking about “leftover cows” – maybe they also deserve a separate category
This kind of social caste exists only in transitional society when traditional value holds sway but younger people are living in reality. I doubt a 30 years old single woman will be considered a “left over” in China in say 10 years from now as there will be so many of them. I can’t imagine that a majority of Chinese women will be married by age 25 by next decade. As income level and urbanization climb upwards, women delay marriage and child bearing en mass. It’s a demographic fact.
The “left over” men on the other hand will be a real problem in China in the next decade.
I love this article. While the term “leftover woman” may not seem very desirable, I saw this as a positive post because the amount of women CHOOSING their life path has been increasing. If she wants to be married before 25, fine. If not, that’s fine, too!