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Leftover Women in China offers an intimate empirical and theoretical analysis of the lived experience and legal consciousness of China's "leftover women," women who remain unmarried in their late twenties and beyond. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups, Qian Liu examines how leftover women—including women who prefer to remain single, those who are waiting for the right husband, and queer women—deal with parental and social pressures, as well as the denial of their right to have children outside of heterosexual marriage. Sensitively exploring the distinctive patterns of parent-child interactions in Chinese families, Liu invites readers to understand leftover women's observance, evasion, and manipulation of the law in the context of intergenerational relationships and obligations.
“Insightful, meticulous, and thought-provoking.”
"Leftover Women in China is an invaluable resource not only for sociolegal scholars but also for feminist geographers concerned with the intersections of law, family, gender, and space. . . . It is a rich and thought-provoking study that deserves wide readership across disciplines.”
“A rare and illuminating account of the daily struggles of unmarried women and the ways they cope with social pressures and legal constraints to pursue happiness on their own terms.”
"Leftover Women in China is a highly successful and compelling work. It is essential reading for anyone interested in law, family, and gender in contemporary China, and its implications extend well beyond its immediate subject matter. Its most significant contribution —the theory of relation-based legal consciousness —offers a powerful new framework for understanding not only gender and family in contemporary China, but also broader socio-legal phenomena."
“A rare and illuminating account of the daily struggles of unmarried women and the ways they cope with social pressures and legal constraints to pursue happiness on their own terms.”
“Leftover Women in China makes a timely contribution by unravelling gender’s complex embeddedness in Chinese culture and society through stories of intergenerational interactions around heterosexual marriage and childbearing.”
“A major contribution to the ongoing discourse of leftover women and patriarchal values in China, . . . a must-read for students and researchers in gender and sexuality studies, law, and China studies.”
“A highly successful and compelling work. . . Essential reading for anyone interested in law, family, and gender in contemporary China.”
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Anxious Parents and Filial Daughters in the One-Child Nation
2. Relation-Based Legal Consciousness
3. Suzhi and Parental Expectations
4. Manipulating the Law for Its Imprimatur
Conclusion
Appendix: Fieldwork and Methods
Notes
Bibliography
Index