Leftover No More: Reclaiming The Voices Of China's "Sheng Nus"

By Sponsor in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 15, 2016 5:00AM

Chin up. Dress up. Catch a suitor's eye. Smile coyly. Erase your identity as a strong, independent woman. Get stuck in a societal box with a bow on top, only to be seen as someone's wife or mother. Maybe that doesn't sound like your life—but it's an all too common reality in China and around the world.

Because the world loves definitions, enter "Sheng Nu." It's a term that literally translates to "leftover woman," and it is used to label single Chinese ladies who have slipped past the apparent threshold of youth—typically twenty-five and up.

Chinese women have increasingly reported a greater pressure to eschew their passions and careers for marriage—and those who choose not to are stigmatized—by friends, parents, and the media. Even as a woman living in a more progressive Chicago—the story may resonate. How many times have you heard that irksome question, "so where's the ring?"

In response, International Prestige Skincare Brand SK-ll launched #changedestiny, an ongoing campaign where women shared their stories of perseverance over gendered societal ills. Now, after the wide-ranging success of their #changedestiny project, SK-II is premiering their film, "Marriage Market," which reexamines Chinese marriage culture and returns impassioned voices to women and daughters seeking to chart their own destiny. The film's centerpiece installation is powerfully located at a Shanghai marriage market—an unfortunate real-life personals listing where parents post and match the height, weight, salary, values and personality of their sons and daughters. There, the women confront their parents directly.

The result is a true eye-opener, and it celebrates the so-called "Sheng Nus" as independent women and architects of their own future.

Take a look at "Marriage Market" below:

And go behind the scenes of "Marriage Market" with Hu Ting:

This post is brought to you by SK-ll.