Another interesting phenomenon that has contributed to the change of gender norms and expectations is globalization. As more families send their kids abroad for higher education, women are becoming more “westernized” in their …show more content…
According to the 2014 National Health and Family Planning Commission, family size is increasingly getting smaller. The average size of a family is 3.02 people, compared with 3.10 in 2010, 3.96 in 1990 and 5.3 in the 1950s. At the same time, there are a variety of family patterns including single-parent, childless couple, also known as dual income no kids, grand parenting and single elderly, all of which are on the increase at the expense of the nuclear family.
There is also a shift burden of child care and elderly care. Traditional Chinese culture demanded women to be primary care takers. Their main purpose was to serve their husbands, take care of their children as well as both her spouses parents and her own parents. With the change of gender roles in Modern society, these expectations have changed as well. Children were expected to take care of their parents in their old age, but are is doing so less in Modern …show more content…
It is not uncommon for children to leave their parents and set up their own place. Many elderlies who needs extra care often rely on care-takers and senior homes. Additionally, it has become the norm for grandparents to care for the children. Interestingly enough, the care for children still disproportionally falls on women. With mandatory requirement to retire being significantly earlier for women, many women above the age of 50 are more than willing to care for their grandchildren. Even when couples hire care takers, they tend to be women as well. Despite progress for women in China for the last 100 years, Chinese women are still far from achieving equality. It is crucial to note that women’s’ rights gains were economically driven and limited by the patriarchy. Feminism in China is also very risky. Women’s rights activists are pressured, harassed and punished by the government, especially if their activism involves collective action, public protests or is seen, in general, by the ruling Communist Party as threatening social