China's gender gap leaves millions of single men

[n2doc]

Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:55 AM ET | content provided by AFP

The skewed birth ratio could lead to difficulties for men with lower incomes in finding spouses, as well as a widening age gap between partners.

More than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without spouses in 2020, state media reported on Monday, citing a study that blamed sex-specific abortions as a major factor.

The study, by the government-backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, named the gender imbalance among newborns as the most serious demographic problem for the country's population of 1.3 billion, Global Times said.

"Sex-specific abortions remained extremely commonplace, especially in rural areas," where the cultural preference for boys over girls is strongest, the study said, while noting the reasons for the gender imbalance were "complex."

Researcher Wang Guangzhou said the skewed birth ratio could lead to difficulties for men with lower incomes in finding spouses, as well as a widening age gap between partners, according to Global Times.

Another researcher quoted by the newspaper, Wang Yuesheng, said men in poorer parts of China would be forced to accept marriages late in life or remain single for life, which could "cause a break in family lines."

more:

http://news.discovery.com/human/china-birth-rate-single-men.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. This is a perfect example of something that seems good for the individual

(having a son to take care of you in your old age) is bad for the society as a whole (millions of men who will die as bachelors).

[LeftHander]

2. time for a huge ass war....nt

[Webster Green]

3. Dumbass fucking country!

Who could have predicted that getting rid of girl babies might cause a shortage of women?

Idiots! :crazy:

[bullwinkle428]

4. From the Department of "Who didn't see this coming?"

[Romulox]

5. The same situation obtains in India. What's the traditional "solution" for millions of young men

with no prospects?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dNDcHtiKdf4/SurP8iE-bpI/AAAAAAAAF4k/PLPr_iBno_Y/s400/Chinese+army.jpg

+



=

?

[Selatius]

7. A cold war between India and China, perhaps? They're gonna be big players in the 21st Century. nt

[Romulox]

10. No, a cold war doesn't reduce excess population. A hot war is needed for that. nt

[Selatius]

6. Abortion + culture that devalues women = lotta lonely guys running around.

In the end, it's probably good for the planet anyway. Resource depletion and eco-system collapse is a bigger and bigger problem everyday in addition to pollution.

[Orsino]

9. This would seem to be a self-correcting problem.

A generation or two of men with reduced access to women will come to a greater esteem (of some sort) for women.

[Mojorabbit]

19. That was my first thought. nt

[blondeatlast]

8. Well, duh. nt

[KittyWampus]

11. this results in women having more clout.

[tonysam]

12. No, it doesn't.

It means women are WORSE off because they are scarce.

What a great "deal" the "one-child" policy is for cultures which devalue women.

[Johonny]

13. seems trending that way

regardless of what others have said. I know many Chinese women that if educated have much better opportunities to marry up and obtain jobs.

[blondeatlast]

14. How long until this easily-foreseeable crisis balances out? nt

[kiva]

15. My guess is that there will be a large number

of female immigrants to China in the next few decades. With China's increasing economic power, there will be millions of women from poorer countries who will be willing to/pushed into the role of imported bride.

[seabeyond]

17. forced prostitution and sex slaves seems to be china's answer. nt

[Spike89]

16. Much of the problem is economic

As the article points out, the biggest differential is in rural areas. What it doesn't go on to detail is why that is so. From a 1st World perspective, the answer may seem obvious--those rustic bumpkins are ignorant sexists. I'm sure some are, there are people with those attitudes everywhere, but another reason may explain why the problem is so widespread. Farm work is notoriously physical labor, especially for poor farmers who don't have access to tractors, harvesters, or other machines. Some may not even be able to afford oxen or other draft animals. In those circumstances, pure muscle mass is of more survival value to the family than anthing else--and of course, males are more likely to be capable of pulling a plow.

Improve the economy and get tractors or even draft animals onto the farms of those families and the equation balances out and then you can begin to break down and deal with the unfair gender social conventions.

[jmowreader]

18. How to solve this

Modify the one-child policy to allow for a second child if the first one's a girl.

[LibertyLover]

20. Even as I was rejoicing that the Chinese authorities approved us

to adopt a little girl 6 years ago, I was already aware of this statistic. In the end, we decided to go ahead and adopt her because historically when this happens in a country, it's rarely a good thing for women. Already China is seeing an uptick in cases of abduction, forced marriage and virtual slavery of women, and it will only get worse.

[no limit]

21. Well thats one way to get their population under control