A Study Of 'Shengnv'S Outlook On Love And Marriage

"Shengnv"is one of the 171 neologisms released by China's Ministry of Education in 2007, which refers to a woman who does not have a boyfriend or a husband when she is over 25 years old. In the recent years, the number of shengnv is rising each year. Most of them are highly-educated, with high income and of"high"ages, yet still out of the door of marriage. They are becoming increasingly influential in the society, which makes it more and more important for people to pay great attention to them. The present study addresses the following research questions: 1. What is the living situation of shengnv? 2. Compared with the love values in traditional China, what changes have taken place? 3. What are their standards for mate selection? 4. To what extent are shengnv modernized? 5. What are the reasons for their being single? Having discussed the modernization theory, gender development and mate-selection theory as the theoretical support, the present study has adopted a quantitative methodology. Based on previous research and personal experiences, the questionnaires were made by the author herself. Questionnaires have been sent to 105 women and 106 men respondents. Specially, questionnaires for men have been made in the purpose of probing into shengnv phenomenon from the point of view of men, which is a new perspective and can make the results more comprehensive. Statistics show that: (1) a large number of women respondents (97.1%) feel satisfied with their life, yet still a great part of them (48.6%) feel worried and eager to find a boyfriend, and for those who suffer from pressures, the biggest pressure comes from their parents.; (2) the traditional belief of"men's work centers on the external affairs while women handle the domestic ones"still remains influential till today, yet although women show an expectation of men to share some housework, few men have the wish to be the"cooking man at home."Most highly-educated (above college diploma) men have abandoned the idea that"mediocrity is a women's virtue,"yet they still expect their potential wife to be lower than themselves in the aspect of education. As for the worship to women's chastity, men respondents do not care too much about whether a woman is a virgin or not, yet they do care about whether a woman has married before or not. Parents, who had superior power over their children's marriage in traditional China, have gradually lost their power now. Statistics show that for both women and men respondents, although their parents may give some suggestions to them on mate selection, it is up to them to make the decision. (3) For the mate selection part, statistics have proved that women respondents show an incline on the thought that their potential husband should be older and better than themselves in the aspect of income and house. Men respondents do not care too much about their potential wife in those aspects, yet they do want them to be more physically attractive. As for the requirements of one's marital partner, for women respondents, the top 3 groups of men who are most popular are those who are displaying enterprise, having a good temper and being generous; while for men respondents, the top 3 groups of women who are most attractive are those who are loyal, considerate and gentle, and generous. (4) As for the question to what extent are shengnv modernized, the results accord with what Yang Kuo-shu has found in his traditionality and modernity research—for the shengnv group, they remain traditional in some aspects whereas they also have become modern in other life domains. (5) There are three main reasons for shengnv's being single. First, a too isolated communication circle makes it hard for them to know new men. Besides, a large number of them would never lower their standard for their potential marital partner until they found the perfect one. What is worth mentioning is the third reason that men are too passive in finding women and pursuing them. Finally, this study calls for attention from the whole society for the shengnv group. Some suggestions on how to give shengnv more chances to meet new men are given.