Gendered Clashes on Love, Marriage, and Housing in Contemporary Urban China

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 13. Negotiating Relationships

Abstract

This paper explores gendered disputes on contemporary practices of heterosexual romantic love and marriage between young Chinese people in a rapid changing Chinese society. It is concerned with how narratives of romantic love and marriage are transformed by the rapid economic reforms in the last several decades in relations to homeownership. Because of cultural emphasis on marriage housing, the rapid rising of housing price, the needs for economic security in facing the increasing uncertain economic future of urban life, and an aspiration to make it in the emerging market of China, the homeownership has become the most crucial factor in shaping contemporary urban Chinese people's love and marital relationships. No housing, no wedding has become a recognized social issue in contemporary China. Based on analyzing media representations and popular publications including films, tv dramas, novels, internet discussions, and in-depth interviews with young Chinese people in Beijing who are facing the issues of buying a place for getting married and starting a family, this paper argues that contemporary Chinese discourses and practices of romantic love and marriage are gendered. Chinese women use economic security as the starting point of entering marriage in coping with increasing gender inequality against themselves and Chinese men use romantic love as superior moral discourse to against “material Chinese women” to deal with their frustrating masculinity. What we have learned from the interconnected relations among love, marriage, and housing is that economic security and gains are at the front of people’s daily intimate life in the post-socialist China.

Author

• Hsiu-hua Shen, National Tsing-Hua University