Sheng nü

Sheng nu or Shengnu or leftover woman is a pejorative term and classification of women who remain unmarried in their mid to late twenties. The term is most prominently used in China but has been used to describe women across Asia and India.

Origin

According an interview with Leta Hong-Fincher by the BBC, Chinese state wide media started using the term as early as 2007 in the form of "surveys, and news reports, and columns, and cartoons and pictures". In March 2011, the state run, pro-feminist website, All-China Federation of Women, posted an article 'Leftover Women Do Not Deserve Our Sympathy' in which it said, "Pretty girls do not need a lot of education to marry into a rich and powerful family. But girls with an average or ugly appearance will find it difficult" and "These girls hope to further their education in order to increase their competitiveness. The tragedy is, they don't realise that as women age, they are worth less and less. So by the time they get their MA or PhD, they are already old - like yellowed pearls." An estimated 15 articles were available on its website relating to the subject of sheng nu ranging from matchmaking advice and tips. The website has subsequently changed the wording of the term to "old unmarried women".

Based upon figures from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and state Census figures, in China, approximately 1 in 5 women between the age of 25-29 remains unmarried. In contrast, the proportion of unwed men in China is much higher, sitting at around 1 in 3.

In a study of married couples in China, it noted that men in China tend to marry down the socio-economic status. "There is an opinion that A-quality guys will find B-quality women, B-quality guys will find C-quality women, and C-quality men will find D-quality women," says Huang Yuanyuan. "The people left are A-quality women and D-quality men. So if you are a leftover woman, you are A-quality."

A 2010 National Marriage Survey reported that 9 out of 10 men in China believe that women should be married before they are 27 years old. Traditionally, China, and many other Asian countries, have a long standing history of women marrying young, and an even stronger tradition of the family structure. The pressure from society and family has led many women to avoid typical interactions out of embarrassment and shame of this family structure. Another interviewed women, identified only as Chen, said the "[Sheng nu are] afraid their friends and neighbours will regard me as abnormal. And my parents would also feel they were totally losing face, when their friends all have grandkids already".

A movement in China to have the word banned was successful in having the word removed from most government websites in China, but the word still remains widespread and popular in common usage.

Other countries

United States

Comparisons have been made to a 1986 Newsweek article that said "women who weren't married by 40 had a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than of finding a husband". Newsweek would eventually apologize for the story and launched a study in 2010 that discovered 2 in 3 women who were 40 and single in 1986 had married. According to the BBC, it caused a "wave of anxiety" amongst professional and highly educated women in the United States. The article was cited several times in the 1993 Hollywood film Sleepless in Seattle starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.