The global crisis has eroded western men’s allure on the mainland
David Eimer 5 April 2009
Foreign men on the hunt for mainland brides could be disappointed this year.
The results of two surveys out last week reveal that most women have lost interest in westerners as potential husbands.
According to the polls, the number of mainland women who hope to marry a foreigner has plunged from 42 per cent of those surveyed last year to 16 per cent.
Not only that, but almost 20 per cent fewer women approve of tying the knot with someone from overseas.
That decline has not been caused by a new-found patriotism.
Instead, it is due to the global financial crisis. With western economies in turmoil, foreign men are simply no longer that attractive.
Before September’s banking meltdown, the list of the most desirable foreign men had Americans in second place and Britons in seventh.
Now, with both countries mired in recession, British men have dropped off the list altogether and Americans are down to fifth place.
It is men from Australia, which has been relatively unaffected by the slump, who are now seen as the most eligible.
“I think security is very important to women. They’re looking for quality of life and so, of course, the economic status of their future husband is very important. At the moment, because of the financial crisis, that puts foreigners at a disadvantage. They might lose their jobs, or have debts,” said Fang Fang, a relationship specialist at hongniang.com, the dating site that conducted the two surveys.
The number of mixed marriages had been rising steadily until the economic slowdown: there were 400,000 last year. But the crisis has also affected mainland men, as women become more ruthless in their dating habits.
Stories abound on the internet of attractive female students who are avoiding over-crowded job fairs in favour of signing up with match-making websites.
Marriage to a wealthy man, so the logic goes, would surely be more fun than unemployment - a prospect that awaits many of the 6 million-plus students who will graduate this summer.
Then there’s the new phenomenon of the jingji shiyongnan, or economically fit man. These are men who have stable but unglamorous professional jobs, like teachers and engineers, which make them less likely to become victims of the recession, in contrast to businessmen or those in better-paid but riskier areas like finance.
Since the crisis, increasing numbers of women have been looking for such partners, who are also perceived as being less prone to straying or splurging - a trend long associated on the mainland with credit-card-happy westerners. Cynical foreigners, who believe mainland women are interested only in the size of their wallets, will see the survey results as confirmation of their worst prejudices.
Academics, meanwhile, have been quick to blame the materialistic nature of mainland society for the rise of the jingji shiyongnan and the pragmatic way women are approaching marriage in these turbulent times.
But according to Wang Xingjuan, the founder of the Maple Women’s Psychological Counselling Centre in Beijing, people should not be shocked by the way women place financial security above love and romance.
“China is a developing country, and there’s still a big economic gap between China and the west. I think it’s reasonable that some women want to improve their lives by marrying someone who is richer than them, whether they’re foreign or Chinese,” she said.
In fact, women on the mainland are no more money-obsessed than British females were in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the novels of Jane Austen and her contemporaries, most female characters assess the suitability of the men on offer by the size of their estates or their prospects.
Mainland women do the same, and it is hard to criticise them: mainland society is currently rather similar to Austen’s Britain.
There is no social security system of any note, and very little state care for the old, while even the few with state pensions find they have lost much of their value.
Everyone pays for health care and education, one reason why mainlanders are keen savers compared to westerners.
At the same time women, despite being proportionally better-represented in universities, still face prejudice in the workplace, which makes it harder for them to afford everything the state does not provide.
Given those obstacles, it is no wonder many women place a higher premium on the contents of a man’s bank account than on finding true love.
Gong Haiyan, the founder of Jiayuan.com, the mainland’s biggest matchmaking agency, said: “I think the lack of a social security system means it is important to find a partner who is financially secure, especially in the cities.
“In the future, when China becomes richer and social security is better, people will think more about love.”
But until that happens, the pragmatic attitude towards marriage will pose a problem for the authorities.
Such is the surplus of men on the mainland, thanks to the traditional Chinese preference for male children - yet another example of the way the dice are loaded against women - that, by 2020, an estimated 30 million men will have no choice but to remain single all their lives.
An army of bitter bachelors - in addition to the hordes of unemployed migrant workers and graduates - raises the potential for social unrest.
But there is little sign that Beijing has made the connection between women being picky about who they marry and the lack of a social security system.
Until the government starts making proper provision for the welfare of its citizens, love will remain a luxury few women can afford.
1 comment:
Foreign mates sliding off the marriage radar
The global crisis has eroded western men’s allure on the mainland
David Eimer
5 April 2009
Foreign men on the hunt for mainland brides could be disappointed this year.
The results of two surveys out last week reveal that most women have lost interest in westerners as potential husbands.
According to the polls, the number of mainland women who hope to marry a foreigner has plunged from 42 per cent of those surveyed last year to 16 per cent.
Not only that, but almost 20 per cent fewer women approve of tying the knot with someone from overseas.
That decline has not been caused by a new-found patriotism.
Instead, it is due to the global financial crisis. With western economies in turmoil, foreign men are simply no longer that attractive.
Before September’s banking meltdown, the list of the most desirable foreign men had Americans in second place and Britons in seventh.
Now, with both countries mired in recession, British men have dropped off the list altogether and Americans are down to fifth place.
It is men from Australia, which has been relatively unaffected by the slump, who are now seen as the most eligible.
“I think security is very important to women. They’re looking for quality of life and so, of course, the economic status of their future husband is very important. At the moment, because of the financial crisis, that puts foreigners at a disadvantage. They might lose their jobs, or have debts,” said Fang Fang, a relationship specialist at hongniang.com, the dating site that conducted the two surveys.
The number of mixed marriages had been rising steadily until the economic slowdown: there were 400,000 last year. But the crisis has also affected mainland men, as women become more ruthless in their dating habits.
Stories abound on the internet of attractive female students who are avoiding over-crowded job fairs in favour of signing up with match-making websites.
Marriage to a wealthy man, so the logic goes, would surely be more fun than unemployment - a prospect that awaits many of the 6 million-plus students who will graduate this summer.
Then there’s the new phenomenon of the jingji shiyongnan, or economically fit man. These are men who have stable but unglamorous professional jobs, like teachers and engineers, which make them less likely to become victims of the recession, in contrast to businessmen or those in better-paid but riskier areas like finance.
Since the crisis, increasing numbers of women have been looking for such partners, who are also perceived as being less prone to straying or splurging - a trend long associated on the mainland with credit-card-happy westerners. Cynical foreigners, who believe mainland women are interested only in the size of their wallets, will see the survey results as confirmation of their worst prejudices.
Academics, meanwhile, have been quick to blame the materialistic nature of mainland society for the rise of the jingji shiyongnan and the pragmatic way women are approaching marriage in these turbulent times.
But according to Wang Xingjuan, the founder of the Maple Women’s Psychological Counselling Centre in Beijing, people should not be shocked by the way women place financial security above love and romance.
“China is a developing country, and there’s still a big economic gap between China and the west. I think it’s reasonable that some women want to improve their lives by marrying someone who is richer than them, whether they’re foreign or Chinese,” she said.
In fact, women on the mainland are no more money-obsessed than British females were in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the novels of Jane Austen and her contemporaries, most female characters assess the suitability of the men on offer by the size of their estates or their prospects.
Mainland women do the same, and it is hard to criticise them: mainland society is currently rather similar to Austen’s Britain.
There is no social security system of any note, and very little state care for the old, while even the few with state pensions find they have lost much of their value.
Everyone pays for health care and education, one reason why mainlanders are keen savers compared to westerners.
At the same time women, despite being proportionally better-represented in universities, still face prejudice in the workplace, which makes it harder for them to afford everything the state does not provide.
Given those obstacles, it is no wonder many women place a higher premium on the contents of a man’s bank account than on finding true love.
Gong Haiyan, the founder of Jiayuan.com, the mainland’s biggest matchmaking agency, said: “I think the lack of a social security system means it is important to find a partner who is financially secure, especially in the cities.
“In the future, when China becomes richer and social security is better, people will think more about love.”
But until that happens, the pragmatic attitude towards marriage will pose a problem for the authorities.
Such is the surplus of men on the mainland, thanks to the traditional Chinese preference for male children - yet another example of the way the dice are loaded against women - that, by 2020, an estimated 30 million men will have no choice but to remain single all their lives.
An army of bitter bachelors - in addition to the hordes of unemployed migrant workers and graduates - raises the potential for social unrest.
But there is little sign that Beijing has made the connection between women being picky about who they marry and the lack of a social security system.
Until the government starts making proper provision for the welfare of its citizens, love will remain a luxury few women can afford.
Post a Comment