Research team debunks sterotypes about 'leftover women'

The predicament of "leftover women" - those no longer considered young but still single - has been a hot topic on the mainland in the past decade. They are often stigmatised, yet there is little information about them. So in 2008, three researchers - Luo Aiping, Wang Feng and Jiang Yu - spent three years interviewing more than 40 "leftover women" across eight cities. Their work, which analyses how the media represents the women, has been compiled into a book, Investigation into China's Leftover Women. Luo talks about what the stereotype gets wrong.

The mainland suffers a huge sex imbalance because of a centuries-old preference for male offspring. Demographic data shows that by 2020, there will be as many as 40 million more men of marriageable age than women. More women are joining the "leftover" club because more men are unable to "afford" wives amid the soaring cost of living. In 2008, I was already over 30 years old and thus categorised as a "leftover woman". Curious about the stereotype by the mainland media, I decided to write a book to expose the truth. That year, I met Wang Feng, a Chinese woman who lives in the United States, over the internet and she also liked the idea of writing a book. Then I talked to my college roommate Jiang Yu, and from then on, we became a team.

Based on our research, the mainland media portrays "leftover women" as being highly educated, enjoying high social economic status, holding stable jobs, mostly in management positions in private or government agencies, and receiving above-average salaries. News reports have said about 95 per cent of such women hold four-year degrees and tend to be powerful people. Forty-eight per cent are aged between 28 and 31. But these descriptions are a biased image presented by the media.

"Leftover women" do not necessarily have high education levels, high positions in the workplaces or high income. Only 2.5 per cent of unmarried women above age 25 hold good jobs, just 17 per cent have at least a four-year degree, and only 5 per cent earn a monthly salary of at least 5,000 yuan [HK$6,280].