30 million more men than women in China by 2020

[anonymoose]

Assuming that each time someone has a child, its gender is independent of the gender of any previous children, then the ratio of boys to girls will be the same, regardless of whether allowing those with a girl first to have another child or not.

What the policy does do, is lower the chance that the first child will be terminated if it is a girl, because people baring a girl will know they can have another attempt for a boy. Of course, this doesn't help the second time around, if it's a girl again. So overall, the ratio will still be skewed towards boys.

[Simon_CH]

Interesting reply gerri, do you think there's a slow shift away from that in less traditional places in China ? Or is that just being reinforced by the crisis ?

[gerri]

Honestly, I don't know.

Or rather, there seem to be shifts in every direction.

There is definitely starting to be less concern about virginity, at least in the cities. Plus, males have to be happy to even find a wife, so there is (I think/hope) likely to be some female empowerment in that.

Newspapers have featured articles arguing that the good men women increasingly look for are those who are not simply well-off (though that still, from what I hear, seems to be the main concern of the parents) but make enough to get by okay, work hard, and also take and have time to care about and for their woman.

I find it interesting in this regard - and am in the process of writing a bit more on that - how you hear much about ernai/mistresses abroad, and how the related phenomena are very much on Chinese women's minds, too, but at the same time find that many/most average Chinese men seem to be rather (or very) caring about their girlfriends/wifes (and have to be, for, as we had on a thread here, it's the woman who has the control in the family. - Although, since it's such a stigma to get a divorce -yet- the indulgent care often enough seems to end around the time of marriage...)

Also, regarding the "chased-after": I was honestly surprised to hear that, but then got it pointed out that there are so few (easily recognizable) "good men" around, it doesn't matter (again, yet?) that there are fewer women. The - let's just say it as it is - marriage market is strongly skewed...