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In A Bizarre Week For News About Women In China…

What’s more compelling: women in mini-skirts as a novelty to spray water on, or a married couple that are forging an infertility certificate rather than admit they are both gay?

In what has been a bizarre week for news about women in China, Time is reporting that the Chinese theme park Merry-Land Resort is offering discounts to women wearing mini-skirts. Short dresses or hotpants are not allowed – only mini-skirts measuring 38 inches or less, and they will be measured by staff.

According to the park’s Deputy Manager Li Wenxing, since the discount was effected visitors have flocked to the park, where they are encouraged to throw water on the women. The park is overjoyed, but residents are unimpressed by the women “behaving erotically.”

Meanwhile, The Economist is reporting that an estimated 16 million straight women are married to gay men in China. Yes, you read that right. There is even a word for them – ‘tongqi’ – and they have online support groups that consistently scam them out of money. There is a solution though: Chinagayles.com matches gay men with lesbian women so they can have a straight marriage for appearances in front of their families/communities, and then continue their private lives separately.

It’s all very strange. But what’s stranger is that, while these light-hearted and frankly weird stories about women in China are published in our media, the quite frightening underlying issues that they obviously mask very rarely appear. China is well-known for its one-child policy and the consequent prevalence of sex-selective abortions, as well as for being the only country in the world where more women commit suicide than men. In light of all this, we should expect a little more seriousness from our media when it comes to reporting on women in China. In fairness to The Economist, we have seen a couple of wonderful editorials on the subject, such as this one from last year. But Time Magazine, we’re looking at you.

What are your thoughts on these social issues regarding women in China? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts.

Written by Abbey Lewis
Find her on Twitter here!

Longshanks

Abbey,

Such a well written and informative article, which highlights some fascinating anomalies. Do we know or understand enough, however, about Chinese culture and values to juxtapose our western attitudes on them?

Probably the most enlightening (however inadvertent) revelation – for me – was about China:

being the only country in the world where more women commit suicide than men

This is tragic for men, and what hope have they in their desperate desolation of being heard amidst the din of such invasive and pervasive feminism?
- http://www.robotsandlace.com/ Jess Mary
  
  Your fear of imposing Western values and attitudes is valid. However, why is it tragic for men that more women commit suicide than men? Are you trying to imply that we’re saying that suicide by men in a place where men outnumber women is not taken seriously? Or are you thinking about the implied reverse fact, that more men than women commit suicide elsewhere, and then attributing it to ‘invasive and pervasive feminism?”
  
  feminism is not about putting down men. it’s not necessarily about uplifting them, even the ones that need to be uplifted, but it’s not about disempowering and disenfranchising them. by saying that women being full-fledged members of society (the goal of feminism) is causing desolation and desperation in men, you are basically affirming that men see women as a threat and women must be subjugated.
  
  Is this something you’re comfortable arguing?
  - http://twitter.com/abbeybabbling Abigail Lewis
    
    I don’t think Longshanks is attributing male suicide TO feminism, I think s/he is more implying that while feminism succeeds in bringing light to many important issues surrounding women, the issue of male suicide is mostly ignored and doesn’t have people like you and me talking about it in articles on the internet.
    
    But, Longshanks: while the issue of male suicide is not necessarily in the mandate of this website, it is widely discussed elsewhere. I’ve seen and heard of lots of studies on this very subject in science journals. Quite a few studies have been done, for example, on why double the women than men attempt suicide but four times as many men actually succeed.
    
    Feminism isn’t invasive or pervasive. I only wish it was more so. It’s unfortunately a background movement that is disenfranchised by its undeserved bad reputation. Men who have depression/consider suicide have an incredible hope of being heard. Counselling is widely available, suicide is one of the most covered hotlines, anti-depressants are readily available. Women who are killed by their husbands, on the other hand, especially in societies where women are under the control of their husbands and fathers, have very little chance of being heard.
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