Coping With Parental Pressure to Get Married: Perspectives From Chinese “Leftover Women”

Postponed marriage has become a trend in China’s major cities over the last decade. However, due to persistent traditional gender role expectations, women who remain single in their late 20s and beyond still face significant parental pressure to get married and are the subjects of negative societal discourse. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 never-married Chinese professional women who are white-collar workers based in Beijing, this research explored the parental pressure these women faced, their response to the pressure, and their own perceptions on marriage and romantic relationships. The results demonstrate the two generations’ different viewpoints on marriage, romantic relationships, and gender roles, as well as young women’s aspirations for autonomy and independence.