BEIJING — Every evening, Liang Xuemeng goes online to read the latest postings from Ayawawa, one of China’s most popular advice columnists.
…
Ayawawa is the online name of Yang Bingyang, one of several online advice dispensers who have won celebrity in China by tapping into urban women’s anxieties about finding a man to marry.
…
Those who do not have a husband by the age of 27 are routinely branded as “leftover women,” with diminishing value in the dating market.
Which is an odd state of affairs, considering the unnatural gender imbalance in China: 12 women for every 10 men.
Here is where the narrative rears its ugly feminist head:
Many of these “leftover women” are well-educated urban professionals in a society where men prefer women who are younger and less successful than themselves.
While also failing to see the inherent contradiction: Wymyns, spirited, fierce and independent, are helpless in the face of men's preferences. Besides, there is the rather glaring spectre of the author flinging herself upon a conclusion. How do she know that it isn't the other way around? China is a society where women prefer men who are older and more successful than themselves.
You know, like pretty much every society ever anywhere.
Then, within the paragraph, without noticing, she rubbishes her own article:
The surplus of bachelors shows up mostly on the other end of the spectrum, poor rural men, prompting the state-run All-China Women’s Federation to urge women to lower their standards, lest they, too, end up as “leftovers.”
These advice columnists are far more cognizant of evolution than the NYT:
The columnists have their critics, who accuse them of reinforcing gender stereotypes, but the columnists counter that they are simply acknowledging reality.
“Our world has been hijacked by political correctness,” Ms. Yang said. “I’m criticized for telling the truth about the differences between men and women.”
“A man’s [Mate Value]. is determined by his age, height, looks, wealth, I.Q., emotional quotient, sexual capacity and willingness to make a long-term commitment.” The eight elements in a woman’s M.V. are her “age, looks, height, bra cup size, weight, academic degrees, personality and family background.”
It's almost as if evolution didn't stop at the neckline, and that maybe, just maybe, gender isn't a social construct.
Naaahh. Can't be. That isn't The Party Line.
