China has undergone tremendous social changes over the past century, which has seen its population develop increasingly liberal views on gender and sexuality, as well as a growing individualism.

For the first 30 years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the economic, political, and private lives of most citizens were largely regulated by the state, and Communist ideology regarding gender equality was upheld.

Consequently, Chinese women’s social positions in education, labor market employment, and status within marriage were all tremendously improved from previous generations. Furthermore, since the economic reform period launched in the late 1970s by Deng Xiaoping, the country has seen dramatic economic and educational improvements.

Thus, we would expect to see a shift in ideology in the sphere of marriage — one which leads to individuals choosing their spouses based mainly on affection, similar values, and romance, rather than out of necessity and on economic considerations.

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Although romance can and does flourish between people of different ages, romantic love is most likely to develop when partners share tastes, cultural experiences, and physical conditions — variables that most often align in partners of similar age. 

In a 2014 study, my colleague Xie Yu and I used census data to document trends in spousal age gaps in China from 1960 to 2005. Based on the study, what we observed instead of a consistent decrease in spousal age gaps was a U-shaped trend. Particularly from 1960 to the early 1990s, the trend in spousal age gaps was steadily declining. However, during the post-1990s, the opposite was shown.

The empowerment of women that communism in China helped bring about improved women’s financial status outside of households, thus decreasing marriages of necessity. Furthermore, as China’s economy began developing in the 1980s, matrimony was decreasingly sought solely on the basis of economic considerations — opening the door to spousal choices based on love.

Longer time spent in school as more people began seeking higher education further helped contribute to a decrease in spousal age gaps. Young adults began spending more years in school, especially during the prime courtship age range: 18 to 25. Steps toward gender equality also meant more women were attending universities, giving rise to a larger likelihood of finding spouses among schoolmates — most of whom were in the same age range.

So why did age gaps suddenly begin increasing again in the 1990s? Has China become a less progressive society since the mid-20th century when the party’s rule was much stronger than it is today?

First, we must bear in mind that aside from rapid economic growth, China’s reform era since 1978 has also been characterized by a remarkable rise in consumerism and by increasingly severe market competition.

In the pre-reform regime, almost all aspects of life, including employment, consumption, housing, and even family life, were largely regulated by the state in order to reinforce Communist egalitarian ideology. In consequence, inequality was low and individuals’ economic expectations were highly limited.

However, the process of economic growth brought about by economic reform has given rise to unrealistically high expectations of living standards.

It is no big reveal that the labor market prefers men, and that severe modern-day competition for jobs has brought women back to a disadvantaged economic position — often forcing them back into homemaker roles.

With the rising cost of living, it makes sense to marry financially secure husbands, most of whom tend to be older. Marrying rich is an easy way to skirt the pressures of job competition and achieve upward mobility . 

Since the conditions driving the most recent increases in spousal age gaps continue to be ongoing, and especially given China’s unbalanced sex ratios, it is likely in the near future that spousal age gaps will continue to widen.

(Header image: A masked young lady at a blind date party for wealthy middle-aged men on a cruise ship at Wuhan port, Hubei province, July 2, 2011. Liangliang/IC)