Representing Single Women: The Transformation of “Leftover Women” on Chinese TV Series

Abstract

The tendency of late marriage and the increasing single population in Chinese society have galvanized a considerable amount of anxiety in recent years. Part of such anxiety has been manifested through the constant media representations of “shengnü” or “leftover women” since 2010. Referring to women in their late twenties or over thirties while still not getting married, the term “leftover women” indicates a continuous patriarchal policing of single women circulated in mass media. This study, by comparing two popular Chinese television series— We Get Married (2013) and Nothing but Thirty (2020), discusses the altering constructions of unmarried women on Chinese television against the backdrop of China's post-socialist gender politics. The comparison provides a useful vantage point to examine the emerging gendered structures and new cultural imperatives under specific historical contexts.