Because of the one-child policy first put to action in 1979, there is a large shortage of females in China. By 2020, there will be an estimated 40 million men who won't able to find Chinese wives, and bachelors are extremely rare in China. Though abandonment and infanticide of baby girls by parents desperate to have a son have become increasingly rare, sex-selective abortion has become more frequent. Many people believe that if women become rarer, their social value will increase, which will lead to them having greater power, but in China, an imbalance of males and females can only be a bad thing.
In China's male dominant society, the majority of women who want to marry will be able to so, but within decades, millions of men will be unable to find brides. Rich men will have no trouble attracting brides and mistresses, but the poorer men will not, as women take the opportunity to "marry up". Some will marry much younger women, and others will get wives through unorthodox means such as human trafficking. In recent years, secret smuggling networks that rely on the long-distance of buying and selling women and teenage girls have formed. Usually girls are lured or purchased from families in poor areas, promised jobs, and then transported to villages where they are bought by poor men.
There are two different worlds in China: city life and village life. For many city girls in the "rich China", the one-child policy has been a benefit. To their parents, who have well-paying jobs, boys are no longer need to provide income, labor, and old-age support. In wealthy urban familes, girls are considered as good as boys. For many parents, daughters are actually deemed better than sons because they are emotionally closer to their parents and more willing to take care of them when they get old. In the competition to produce the perfect "quality" child, the daughters are given all the benefits, such as good education, health care, piano lessons, and private tutors in English.
Unfortunately for many village girls, the future looks more bleak. Sex-selective abortion has become very normal in rural China, and in some areas, up to 90% of second female pregnancies end in abortion. Girls who are allowed to live still receive education and health care, but lose these privileges if younger brothers are born. Fortunately, gender bias in countryside families are now changing. Many sons have abandoned their parents, rejecting their obligation to provide old-age support. Parents in some villages are investing in their daughters' education and health care so they'll be able to support them well in old age.
What makes life for Chinese women even harder is that most Chinese men expect them to look after home and family single-handedly, whether or not they have a job. That includes caring for ederly parents or relatives. Many Chinese men find it hard to cope with high-earning wives, so usually the wife has to lose her job, and it has already become more acceptable for women not to be working. If a woman's husband has a good job or has money of her own, she can now be a stay-at-home wife without facing social disapproval.
In China's male dominant society, the majority of women who want to marry will be able to so, but within decades, millions of men will be unable to find brides. Rich men will have no trouble attracting brides and mistresses, but the poorer men will not, as women take the opportunity to "marry up". Some will marry much younger women, and others will get wives through unorthodox means such as human trafficking. In recent years, secret smuggling networks that rely on the long-distance of buying and selling women and teenage girls have formed. Usually girls are lured or purchased from families in poor areas, promised jobs, and then transported to villages where they are bought by poor men.
There are two different worlds in China: city life and village life. For many city girls in the "rich China", the one-child policy has been a benefit. To their parents, who have well-paying jobs, boys are no longer need to provide income, labor, and old-age support. In wealthy urban familes, girls are considered as good as boys. For many parents, daughters are actually deemed better than sons because they are emotionally closer to their parents and more willing to take care of them when they get old. In the competition to produce the perfect "quality" child, the daughters are given all the benefits, such as good education, health care, piano lessons, and private tutors in English.
Unfortunately for many village girls, the future looks more bleak. Sex-selective abortion has become very normal in rural China, and in some areas, up to 90% of second female pregnancies end in abortion. Girls who are allowed to live still receive education and health care, but lose these privileges if younger brothers are born. Fortunately, gender bias in countryside families are now changing. Many sons have abandoned their parents, rejecting their obligation to provide old-age support. Parents in some villages are investing in their daughters' education and health care so they'll be able to support them well in old age.
What makes life for Chinese women even harder is that most Chinese men expect them to look after home and family single-handedly, whether or not they have a job. That includes caring for ederly parents or relatives. Many Chinese men find it hard to cope with high-earning wives, so usually the wife has to lose her job, and it has already become more acceptable for women not to be working. If a woman's husband has a good job or has money of her own, she can now be a stay-at-home wife without facing social disapproval.