剩女 - Leftover Ladies

Do you know what “剩女” means in Chinese? “Leftover ladies” or “sheng4 nv3” in Chinese, has become a buzzword in the Chinese language. They are well-educated, well-paid and independent. They are also referred to as “3S women:” single, seventies (most were born in the 70s) and stuck.

剩女 - Leftover ladies

Just in Beijing, the capital city of China, the number of leftover ladies has surpassed 500,000. These women choose career and single life over marriage and family, which reveals an individualistic trend over family values, experts say. The increasing prevalence of shengnü in China has boosted the number of shengnan – leftover men – which is adding further demographic pressure to a country where young men significantly outnumber women. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, by 2020 one in five Chinese men will be unable to find a wife – “a figure unprecedented in a country at peace,” The Economist noted.

China Economic Net suggested in February 2009 that the increased number of single people may in part be driven by “traditional perceptions about marriage” The stereotype of a strong man with a weak woman still dominates many people’s minds. A successful woman wants to find a more successful man. While a successful man’s ideal wife is not necessarily successful but gentle and virtuous.

Modern society provides Chinese women with more opportunities than their mothers’ generation to realize their individual value. While they are working hard and pursuing lives that their mothers could only dream of, they suddenly realize that they have become part of a group that men may not want to marry.

“剩女” is an interesting buzz word to learn if you are learning Chinese, but some people, especially the feminists, consider this word as insulting. Because the character 剩 means “spoiled” or “leftover” in Chinese. What’s your opinion towards the the phenomenon of “剩女”?