Dear IF readers,

I have been reading abit on the male to female ratio in China lately. Since the 1-child per family policy was put in place in China over the last 25 years, the preferred male tradition has set off a gender imbalance in the population. There are many more men than women. This imbalance makes dating, marriage and family life shift dramatically in China.

Firstly, this generation of young people will support the elders of their family without help from siblings. As we have spoken of in this IF Mag issue in January, the Chinese value highly the care of their elders. With less females, the care of elderly will shift to more of the younger males than in the past.

The dating scene is changing in China. With fewer women to date, women are in a power position in this new social dynamic. A Chinese man wanting to date or marry, must now compete against a larger population of male suitors than in the past.

Finally, there is speculation that this larger amount of males might cause a more aggressive and frustrated population of single men. How will that translate into the new social order in China? It is powerful to think of the irony caused by a 1 child policy preferring males that could backfire and disempower Chinese men with such an imbalance in the gender ratio.

There are many great news sites taking up these discussions, ie NPR and China Digital Times. Google them both and read!

Good reading, Cat Wayland

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