Happy Galentine’s Day, President Trump
A colleague recently wrote a story on why many singles gave family reunion dinners on the eve of Chinese New Year a miss this year. Her interviewees, mostly women, said they wanted to avoid being asked when they would marry. Parents and relatives of some unmarried people in China tend to raise the topic on such culturally significant occasions. If you are a single female at age 32, you are likely to be viewed as “leftover”, according to a Chinese online dating site. The cutoff age for single men is 35.
The term “leftover” is deplorable, and individual attitudes toward marriage should matter most. Besides, women are under less financial pressure to find a husband in China today than in previous times. But the situation is probably posing a problem for the country’s single men, going by the gender ratio.
Last year, men outnumbered women by 33 million in China. While the world ratio isn’t exactly 50-50, the gap in China is wider: 51.2 percent male and 48.8 percent female.
Chen Wei, a professor of sociology and population studies at Renmin University of China, told me jokingly, “Parents who have daughters are the happiest in their older years and the opposite is true for those with sons.”
As in patriarchal societies elsewhere, the preference for boys over girls is still evident in China, particularly in the rural areas. But there’s growing evidence of preference for girls among big-city couples that scholars such as Chen are studying. The gender ratio at birth has also improved since 2009, and is expected to get better as the country develops further.
On a different note, millions of women in symbolic pink hats took to the streets of the United States to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump last month. Celebrities such as Madonna (yes, the “Material Girl”) also participated. Similar marches were held in a few other countries.
The central agenda of the marchers was to place the spotlight firmly on women’s issues in the wake of Trump’s political ascension after an election campaign that was wrought with his problematic gender approach. Trump’s apology for his past comments didn’t matter in the end.
By the way, it’s Galentine’s Day (Feb 13) today! I suspect women around the world are prepared to celebrate it with their gal pals. For the uninitiated (me too until recently), G Day takes its name from the US sitcom Parks and Recreation. It is the day when women raise a toast to women.
“Hey, the fighting seems to have halted for a bit. Shall we meet up?”
That is how a G Day conversation over the phone between two female friends in a strife-torn location, let’s say, in Syria or Iraq, would go. (Disclaimer: imaginary)
G Day isn’t a lifestyle distraction in the rich world. Apparently it has a higher purpose, nothing that feminists ought to frown upon. Or, should they?