Choosing Daughters: Family Change in Rural China

by Lihong Shi

China's patrilineal and patriarchal tradition has encouraged a long-standing preference for male heirs within families. Coupled with China's birth-planning policy, this has led to a severe gender imbalance. But a counterpattern is emerging in rural China where a noticeable proportion of young couples have willingly accepted having a single daughter. They are doing so even as birth-planning policies are being relaxed and having a second child, and the opportunity of having a son is a new possibility. Choosing Daughters explores this largely overlooked, pattern emerging in China's landscape. Shi delves into the social, economic, and cultural forces behind the complex decision-making process of these couples to unravel their life goals and childrearing aspirations, the changing family dynamics and gender relations, and the intimate parent–daughter ties that have engendered this drastic transformation of reproductive choice. She reveals a leading-edge social force that fosters China's recent fertility decline, namely pursuit of a modern family and successful childrearing achieved through having a small family. Through this discussion, Shi refutes the conventional understanding of a universal preference for sons and discrimination against daughters in China and counters claims of continuing resistance against China's population control program.

Genres: China

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha sido una lectura obligatoria para la universidad, por lo que generalmente no lo puntuaría como suelo hacer pero ha resultado ser más interesante de lo que pensaba al combinar experiencias reales por las entrevistas y datos hitórico-sociales descritos de manera más impactante que habiéndolos estudiado sin más.

[Нона · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molt ben redactat i explica de manera molt senzilla el canvi que ha estat patint la Xina amb la política del fill únic

[Yuling]

- ch.2: new ideal of happiness (material consumption and the enjoyment of leisure) among younger generations in Lijia Village
- decollectivization during the early 1980s --> increase in household income + retreat of the state from daily life --> : “Life is to enjoy” (huozhe weile xiangshou) --> conflicted with the demands of childrearing which contributed to a desire for smaller families.
- ch.3: high cost of childrearing + belief that children should be raised to be successful --> decision to have only one child. in other words, the increasing costs of raising children in China, driven by rising consumerism and the expectation of providing children with a good education
- the local concept of success -> socioeconomic status achieved in adulthood -> free from physically demanding agricultural labor -> obtaining higher education and securing a stable job in the city, or becoming an entrepreneur.
- successful child -> 1) improved living standards 2) support in old age
- increasing financial investment in childrearing -> desire to have only one child
- "One tiger can block a road, ten mice are nothing but a meal for cats." --> raising one successful child over multiple less successful ones
- ch4: changing nature of filial piety & the declining preference for sons -> case with intergenerational conflict, the declining importance of filial piety -> daughters were seen as more filial than sons -> women's empowerment allows them the opportunities and resources needed to practice filial piety, strengthening the filial bond
- ch5: the modern mindset of Chinese parents towards marriage in the context of child gender preference -> the influence of wedding and marital costs on the diminishing desire for sons
- tells the story of parents in rural China who are saddled with heavy debt in order to raise funds for their son's wedding
- son's family is expected to fund the majority of the wedding, a house and household items, gifts, and offer a bridewealth
- escalating cost of weddings + expectation that parents will finance them --> transformed sons from assets who provide security in old age to financial burdens --> thus encouraging couples to have only a daughter
- families with daughters have a very loose expectation of a dowry to meet because she will become part of the son's family
- daughters also have an upper-hand in that there are less women than men in the population -> women can continually increase their bridewealth demands as bachelorhood is highly stigmatized.
- ch6: In Lijia Village, the importance of the patriline is not as emphasized as it is in other areas of China, reducing the desire for a son to carry on the family name
- the culture around perception of social status has changed from being centered around producing sons to being centered around material wealth
- impact of religious factors; state campaigns against ancestor worship during the Cultural Revolution -> governmental bans decreased the assigned importance of ancestor worship and the importance of pleasing ancestors as a whole -> skepticism about the importance of sons for performing these rituals -> less passion about having sons as they do not necessarily believe in needing a male heir to send them things in the spirit world.
- what might the future look like if social and financial pressures of raising children continue on their current trajectory? in my opinion, i believe that financial pressures may lead more people in China to choose to have only one child, even with the relaxed three-child policy

[RYAN PHAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that captures the vox populi of rural China

There is more of an acceptance of female daughters due to the marriage premium they carry. Nowadays, women, because they are in demand due to the one child policy’s favor of men, they can buck the former social taboo of remarriage. Men are increasingly seen as financial burdens due to the need for parents to fund their weddings, their wife’s bride price and an apartment for absolutely nothing in return. Sometimes they end up homeless and are forced to sue in court for their kids to provide support, only tô damage the relationship further, which is why the suits are a last resort. The daughters in law have so much more power than the in laws and often times, cần influence the level of care her husband’s parents get. For that reason, daughters are increasingly seen as more dependable and desirable. It’s increasingly getting harder to have kids in China as everyone flexes conspicuous consumption. You can either have one really cared for kid or many disadvantaged kids. It seems unfair. Meanwhile, ancestral practices are ơn the decline and while they used to require men, they are now seen as outdated. Being a bachelor in China is seen as a low class social marker, as someone without enough resources to get married

[Andrea Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante libro sobre el estudio de la política de un solo hijo y la preferencia por varones, eso si, se llega a hacer pesado.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

In dr. Shi’s class and read it for Chinese culture and society. V interesting about changing roles within filial piety.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of a gender in the anthropological perspective quote. Such an interesting and well-written read! Highly recommend it for people interested in the affects of birth planning policies and the Chinese birth planning policy in specific.