The Washington Times

China defines unmarried women older than 27 as ‘leftover,’ ‘undesirable’

The Chinese have ordered its All-China Women's Federation to define unmarried women older than 27 as “left over.”

The Communist government ordered the feminist group to reference “leftover women” in several articles about the growing number of educated, professional, single women aged 27-30 who have “failed’ to find a husband and are now “undesirable,” The Daily Mail reports.

“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,” reads one article titled “Leftover Women Do Not Deserve Our Sympathy.”

Leta Hong-Fincher, an American academic studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told The Mail: “Since 2007, the state media has aggressively disseminated the leftover term in surveys, and news reports, and columns, and cartoons and pictures, basically stigmatizing educated women over the age of 27 or 30 who are still single.”

The derogatory label sparked an outcry among the country’s growing number of young, modern career women, who claim they have been tossed aside.

The All-China Federation of Women has recently dropped the label among criticism, but the “leftover” expression remains widely used elsewhere, according to The Mail.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
You Might Also Like
  • White House Press Secretary Jay Carney smiles after being wished a happy birthday by a reporter during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2013. At the briefing Carney announced that President Obama will travel to Oklahoma to visit tornado affected communities. (Associated Press)

    Carney tries on new charm offensive

  • A man stands in a London street after allegedly screaming 'Allahu Akbar' and killing a man in broad daylight. (Image: ITV news screenshot)

    London attackers shout ‘Allahu Akbar,’ machete man to death

  • Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, confers with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, left, the ranking member, as the Senate Judiciary Committee assembles to work on a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 20, 2013. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stands at center. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    House Republicans find holes in immigration bill

      • Independent voices from the TWT Communities

        World View

        Columns from Voices around the World talking about the events, people, politics and social issues that concern us wherever, and whoever, we are.

        Video Gaming with MCairsoft14

        Video reviews of today's hottest trends in Minecraft (servers and mods) along with a look at the latest video games with your host MCairsoft14 (alias Jerad Zad).

        Haydon's Soccer and Sports Pitch

        Covering the world of soccer, including the World Cup, Major League Soccer, D.C. United and the English Premier League and other interesting sporting events.