BY: JESSICA BEUKER
In China, women over the age of 27 are referred to as “sheng nu”, which literally translates to “leftover women”.
According to NextShark, respecting one’s parents is seen as the most important thing in Chinese culture. And not getting married is perceived as a sign of disrespect towards one’s parents. Unmarried women are seen as incomplete and deemed failures.
In China, women over the age of 27 are referred to as “sheng nu”, which literally translates to “leftover women”.
One in five women aged 25 to 29 is unmarried, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. The proportion of unmarried men is much higher, but they don’t receive pressure to the same extreme – and the pressure is in fact, extreme.
One woman, Chen, is single and enjoying life in Beijing, away from her conservative parents. “They don’t want to take me with them to gatherings, because they don’t want others to know they have a daughter so old but still not married,” she told BBC News. “They’re afraid their friends and neighbours will regard me as abnormal. And my parents would also feel they were totally losing face, when their friends all have grandkids already.” Chen’s father threatened to disown her if she wasn’t married before the end of the year.
The proportion of unmarried men is much higher, but they don’t receive pressure to the same extreme.
According to BBC News, the All-China Federation of Women posted an article back in 2011 that stated: “Pretty girls do not need a lot of education to marry into a rich and powerful family. But girls with an average or ugly appearance will find it difficult. These girls hope to further their education in order to increase their competitiveness. 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.”
A mini-documentary posted by SK-II, as part of their “Change Destiny” campaign, centres around the stories of “leftover women” and their families.
“We always thought our daughter had a great personality. She’s just average looking, not too pretty,” says a mother in the video. “That’s why she’s leftover.” Her daughter sits right next to her as she says this, holding back tears.
The video takes a positive turn however, as the women decide to attend the marriage market – an event where parents post ads in the hopes of finding potential suitors for their sons and daughters – on their own to post powerful messages of self-love.
The women attend the marriage market – an event where parents post ads in the hopes of finding potential suitors for their sons and daughters.
You can watch the heart-wrenching video in full below:
Image sourcing: nextshark.com
