Leiden University Student Repository

Benak, Anke (2022)

Coping with China’s Demographic Reality: How China’s younger generation of men deal with China’s demographic reality and its effects on marriage and Chinese masculinity

Master thesis | Asian Studies (60 EC) (MA)

For Chinese men, finding a partner has become a precarious struggle as there are approximately 30 million more men than women of 24-40 years old in China. Existing literature provides an insight into how this demographic reality affects men with a low social status, but how does China's younger generation of men deal with it? This thesis builds on data derived from interviews with eight male Chinese exchange students in the Netherlands. The data shows how my interviewees are willing to step out of the traditional path towards marriage, but are being held back by the consequences of China's demographic reality. The results should be considered with the limitations of this study, but despite these limitations, my research indicates the importance of researching China’s generation of younger middle to high-class men.

China

leftover men

leftover women

demographics

one-child policy

son preference

Author

Benak, Anke

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

History, Arts and Culture

Supervisors

Green, C.K.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en