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For ‘leftover’ single women in China, Lunar New Year brings dread of facing their families
Jan 30, 2019, Washington Post
Spare a thought for the single Chinese woman this Lunar New Year holiday.
The remonstrations over their unwed status and the pressure on them to get married are so intense that some of these “leftover women” — the name for women not married by their late 20s — are searching for ways to avoid this family badgering.
Some are asking their bosses for extra work during China’s biggest holiday, which falls on Feb. 5 this year. Others are inventing boyfriends.
But still, the pressure mounts. Hospitals are reporting a spike in young people seeking treatment for anxiety.
“I was so afraid last year that I didn’t go home. I don’t want to go home this year either, but there’s no way to avoid going back,” said Emily Liu, a 31-year-old who works at a state-owned enterprise and will return to her hometown of Dalian next month.
“My parents say, ‘Your classmates have children, you don’t even have a boyfriend,’ ” she said. “This is the only topic when I am back home, and they even mobilize all the relatives. The pressure is too great.”
Women are considered “leftover” in many parts of Asia if they haven’t married by their mid-20s.
But China’s economic gains over the past few decades and the creation of a huge middle class have led many women to pursue careers instead of getting married early. Or at all.
