In recent years, China’s Generation Z women have undergone significant changes in their concept of marriage. More and more young women are choosing to delay marriage or even not get married. According to a 2021 survey of urban residents between the ages of 18 and 26, about 44% of women said they had no plans to get married.
Going into today’s society, Gen Z women seem to have more initiative regarding marriage. More and more young women are choosing to get married later or not at all, and career priority and self-realization have become the mainstream narrative. On social media, “singlism”, “relationship shame”, and “staying married and not having children” have become buzzwords, and we think that marriage is no longer an option, but is this really the case?
In my research, I found that many women are not “choosing not to get married in the midst of freedom”, but rather choosing to opt out in the midst of restrictions. They see that marriage still means sacrifices: career interruptions, discrimination in the workplace, the default assumption of family responsibilities by women, and the investment of long hours of emotional labor. What’s more, the non-married face disappointment from parents, skepticism from relatives, social alienation – “Aren’t you too picky?” , “It’s too late if you don’t get married,” “You’ll regret it later.”
All of this forces us to recognize that “not getting married” today still requires courage, and is still not a lifestyle that is widely blessed. Before the elimination of structural oppression, the “freedom not to marry” of Generation Z women is more like a passive defense than active sovereignty.
The self-combing women of a hundred years ago were silently struggling under social oppression, while today’s women are making rational choices in the midst of expectations and fears. Times are progressing, but the problem is still not over.
Reference:
Ng, T., 2022. Why are China’s Gen Z women rejecting marriage and kids more than their elders? South China Morning Post. [online] 9 Jan. Available at: https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3162221/why-are-chinas-gen-z-women-rejecting-marriage-kids-more-their
Silva, S., 2021. Gen Z women in urban China say ‘I don’t’ to marriage. Canvas8. [online] 3 November. Available at: https://www.canvas8.com/blog/2021/november/gen-z-women-in-urban-china-say–i-don-t–to-marriage
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