Why are China’s Gen Z women rejecting marriage, kids more than their male counterparts?
- There has been strong resistance to a public push to incentivise young adults in China to start a family – including an overhaul of family-planning policies to allow people to have three children
- Marriage and childbirth have become ‘almost synonymous with the stress of life for us young people’
For members of Generation Z in China, winning at life does not necessarily involve getting married or having children, no matter how much their parents and the government want them to.
It is more about “living for yourself”, according to Janet Song, 25, who works at a pet cafe in Guangzhou and said she does not think the presence of a husband or child could help her be successful.
“My two elder female cousins and I are all only children in our respective families. They are both married but now encourage me not to get married if I don’t want to, and they say children are not a must,” Song said.
“We all feel that modern urban life is becoming very convenient and welcoming to singletons, and that marriage and childbirth are almost synonymous with the stress of life for us young people.”
Young Chinese women, especially members of Gen Z born from roughly 1995-2010, are increasingly seeking diversity and individuality in their lives. Marriage is no longer among their priorities, let alone childbearing. And many find solace in knowing that their nonconformist outlook is shared by other young people, as evidenced by popular social media posts and advertising trends.