Given their selective abortions and one-child policy, Chinese culture isn't exactly shy about their sexism. But that doesn't make it burn any less to hear that the Communist government there is now ordering its "feminist All-China Women's Federation" to use the term "leftover" to describe educated, professional, urban, and single -- gasp! -- women aged 27-30 who have "failed" to find husbands and are thus, "undesirable."
In other words, if you're a Bridget Jones or Carrie Bradshaw in China, you're stigmatized and shamed into feeling like you better marry fast -- or else be shunned by society. I know, it sounds like something out of 1984 or Brave New World, right? And it gets worse ...
In one article entitled, "Leftover Women Do Not Deserve Our Sympathy," they write:
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.
Woooow.
It's easy enough to blow off what's going on in China as an extreme example, but unfortunately, single American women in their late 20s and early 30s are occasionally met with a confused or even judgmental attitude. Oh, sure, it could be candy-coated in passive-aggressive comments or easy to blow off because it's coming from some crotchety relative or patronizing married friend. But ask anyone who is unattached as she approaches 30, and she'll tell you she's been made to feel like an outsider more than once.
That's nuts anywhere, being that the year is 2013, but especially here stateside where we're supposed to be well beyond making women feel bad for being independent and single. Hellooo, aren't we post-Sex & the City? Did we learn a loooong time ago that women are strong, perfectly capable, and make amazing contributions to society with or without men, no matter how old they are? You would think so, but sometimes, it's hard to tell.
Then again, we can thank our lucky stars that even if overbearing mothers are, at least the U.S.government isn't guilt-tripping single ladies over 27! What. A. Nightmare.
What do you make of what's going on in China? Do you feel like our society is still biased against single women over 30?
Maressa Brown has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.