A growing movement of young women in China is challenging traditional views on marriage and motherhood, opting for a lifestyle of “singleism.” Faced with unprecedented insecurity, record youth unemployment, and economic downturn, an increasing number of educated women are choosing to remain single, presenting a challenge to the Chinese government’s push for a “new culture of marriage and childbearing.”
China’s single population over the age of 15 reached a record 239 million in 2021. Marriage registrations, while rebounding slightly last year due to a pandemic backlog, had reached historic lows in 2022. A survey found that 44% of unmarried urban young women do not plan to marry. Despite the declining popularity of marriage, it is still considered a milestone of adulthood in China.
“Feminist activism is basically not allowed (in China), but refusing marriage and childbirth can be said to be… a form of non-violent disobedience towards the patriarchal state,” notes Lü Pin, a Chinese feminist activist based in the United States.
Online communities of single women seeking solidarity and support have emerged, with hashtags like “No marriage, no children” gaining popularity. Women cite reasons such as self-exploration, disillusionment with patriarchal family dynamics, a lack of “enlightened” male partners, and difficulty finding men who value autonomy and support equal division of household labor.
The rise of “singleism” reflects broader trends of Chinese female empowerment expressed through personal choices. However, delayed marriages and falling fertility may pose challenges to China’s demographic goals in the long run, as women’s enthusiasm for marriage and childbirth continues to decrease.
