The policy was gradually relaxed: in 2015, all married couples were allowed two children; by May 2021, three; and just two months later, all restrictions were lifted. However, decades of the one-child rule have left China grappling with low fertility rates, an aging<\/a> population, and a severely distorted sex ratio. Today, rather than discouraging procreation, the government is desperately trying to boost birth rates. But generations of only children, raised in a world without siblings, show little interest in rebuilding the nation\u2019s population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Roseann Lake notes in her book Leftover in China: The Women Shaping the World\u2019s Next Superpower,<\/em> the gender disparity was particularly pronounced in rural areas during the policy\u2019s enforcement. There, having a male heir was crucial \u2013 not only for farm labor but also to \u201cbring home\u201d a wife who would care for his aging parents. An old Chinese proverb captures this sentiment: it is more profitable to raise geese than daughters. Since newlyweds traditionally live with the husband\u2019s family, raising a daughter is akin to \u201ctilling someone else\u2019s field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More girls were born in large urban centers, where parents held more progressive views. As only children, these daughters were raised with privileges historically reserved for boys. Families invested heavily in their education, sending them to extra classes and even abroad. Christy Yang, interviewed by Lake, admits that despite its many evils, \u201cChina\u2019s one-child policy had an unexpected outcome. It forced parents to value their daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite China\u2019s surplus of at least 30 million adult men, most eligible bachelors inhabit a world utterly foreign to urban Chinese women. The nation\u2019s matrimonial market is bifurcated into two parallel realities: the countryside, where young men fruitlessly seek brides capable of rural life and farm work, and the metropolises, where women vie for the few men meeting their exacting standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lake observes that in the West, most women now marry men with less education than themselves. This trend bypasses China. Young Chinese women \u2013 financially independent, well-educated, and rich in life and work experience \u2013 refuse to \u201cmarry down.\u201d Accustomed to being the apple of their parents\u2019 eye, they expect similar treatment from a husband. Financially self-sufficient, many prefer to wait indefinitely for an ideal partner, risking spinsterhood rather than compromising. Bachelors wait in the countryside, but women are loath to relinquish urban lifestyles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We recommend:<\/strong> https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/misconceptions-about-large-families-time-to-dispel-them\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nBetter to Raise Geese than Daughters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Leftover Women Refuse to Marry Down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n