A comparison between the depiction of leftover women in the media to leftover women's self-portrayals in the PRC

The prevalent phenomena of "leftover women" has gained increasing attention from the media and different scholars in Chinese society. The term "leftover women" refers to urban and professional women who remain unmarried by the time they are in their late twenties or early thirties. This phenomena frequently addresses questions pertaining to why such working women are not married, whether they are willing to marry and their attitudes towards marriage. The Chinese media has also produced many dramatic television series reflecting the situation and marital prospects of leftover women. Within the media, these women are stigmatised as money-worshipers, snobbish or picky. However, it has become evident that leftover women present themselves online as economically and spiritually independent entities who prefer compatibility over financial security in their romantic relationships. Upon comparing depictions of such women in the media to their self-representations, this paper makes a twofold...Show moreThe prevalent phenomena of "leftover women" has gained increasing attention from the media and different scholars in Chinese society. The term "leftover women" refers to urban and professional women who remain unmarried by the time they are in their late twenties or early thirties. This phenomena frequently addresses questions pertaining to why such working women are not married, whether they are willing to marry and their attitudes towards marriage. The Chinese media has also produced many dramatic television series reflecting the situation and marital prospects of leftover women. Within the media, these women are stigmatised as money-worshipers, snobbish or picky. However, it has become evident that leftover women present themselves online as economically and spiritually independent entities who prefer compatibility over financial security in their romantic relationships. Upon comparing depictions of such women in the media to their self-representations, this paper makes a twofold argument: on one hand, media representations controlled by the dominant male discourse are criticising women for being money-oriented and picky so they become losers in the marriage market. On the other hand, women have realised their right to freely choose their own partners and decide when to get married. Hence, the discourse of leftover women actually represents a conflict between traditional patriarchy and potential burgeoning of a women's rights movement in the PRC.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

A comparison between the depiction of leftover women in the media to leftover women's self-portrayals in the PRC