China has 32 million more men under the age of 20 than women. This imbalance is higher in rural areas and leads to questions of marriage, progeny and social stability. By perusing through China’s vast collection of legal archives, Stanford University's Professor Matthew Sommer has been able to glean insights into widespread historical practices that set the groundwork for social behaviors today.
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Professor Matthew Sommer: A historical perspective on gender issues in China
China has 32 million more men under the age of 20 than women. This imbalance is higher in rural areas and leads to questions of marriage, progeny and social stability. By perusing through China’s vast collection of legal archives, Stanford University's Professor Matthew Sommer has been able to glean insights into widespread historical practices that set the groundwork for social behaviors today.
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China has 32 million more men under the age of 20 than women. This imbalance is higher in rural areas and leads to questions of marriage, progeny and social stability. By perusing through China’s vast collection of legal archives, Stanford University's Professor Matthew Sommer has been able to glean insights into widespread historical practices that set the groundwork for social behaviors today.
Direitos autorais:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Formatos disponíveis
Baixe no formato PDF, TXT ou leia online no Scribd
China
has
32
million
more
men
under
the
age
of
20
than
women.
This
imbalance
is
higher
in
rural
areas
and
leads
to
questions
of
marriage,
progeny
and
social
stability.
By
perusing
through
China’s
vast
collection
of
legal
archives,
researchers
have
been
able
to
glean
insights
into
widespread
historical
practices
that
set
the
groundwork
for
social
behaviors
today.
“The
central
and
county
archives
cover
a
wide
range
of
issues
that
establish
deep
background
for
the
current
situation
in
China,”
said
Matthew
Sommer,
PhD,
an
associate
professor
of
Chinese
history
at
Stanford
University
and
a
Clayman
Institute
for
Gender
Research
faculty
affiliate.
“Though
we
study
legal
cases,
we
are
able
to
look
beyond
the
law
into
issues
of
gender,
sex,
and
family
that
affected
ordinary
people.”
Focusing
on
records
from
the
Qing
dynasty
(1644-‐ 1912),
Sommer
found
that
economic
stresses
of
the
time
inspired
some
creative
solutions
among
the
poor
and
marginalized,
where
about
15
percent
of
men
were
never
married
in
a
culture
in
which
marriage
for
women
was
nearly
universal.
“For
the
poor,
there
were
just
not
enough
women
to
go
around.
When
money
was
needed,
wife
selling
and
polyandry
became
logical
solutions,”
said
Sommer,
author
of
Sex,
Law,
and
Society
in
Late
Imperial
China.
“Though
there
is
no
clear
way
to
measure
female
infanticide,
more
subtle
forms
of
male
favoritism,
such
as
feeding
boys
first
and
weaning
girls
earlier,
made
females
the
minority.
The
bottom
line
is
that
women
became
a
coveted
asset
when
money
was
scarce.”
Sommer
noticed
that
wife-‐selling
often
took
place
around
the
new
year,
when
debts
were
traditionally
collected.
The
husband
may
have
suffered
some
stigma
as
a
seller
and
his
chances
of
remarrying
were
low;
at
the
same
time,
the
wife
may
have
had
some
input
as
to
who
she
was
sold
to
and
often
improved
her
economic
circumstances.
Another
“under-‐the-‐table”
solution
was
polyandry,
a
household
of
more
than
one
husband.
The
second
husband
could
buy
into
the
family
and
provide
labor
or
a
marketable
skill
if
the
first
husband
was
unable
to
work.
“The
gender
system
was
certainly
biased
against
women,
but
they
still
had
some
say
in
these
matters.
Bringing
in
a
second
husband
was
a
way
to
preserve
the
family,
to
avoid
selling
the
wife
or
children,”
said
Sommer.
”Women
were
not
necessarily
the
victims
because
you
can
see
that
these
arrangements
solved
problems
for
all
involved.
In
fact,
sometimes
it
was
the
women
who
initiated
and
negotiated
these
arrangements.”
Though
both
these
practices
were
technically
illegal,
Sommer
found
archival
patterns
of
homicides,
when
sales
and
wife-‐sharing
went
awry,
and
cases
of
extortion,
when
a
husband
later
demanded
more
money
from
the
buyer
by
accusing
him
of
kidnapping
and
rape—both
felonies
punishable
by
death.
Magistrates
would
sometime
ratify
the
second
marriage
after
a
small
secondary
payment
to
the
first
husband.
Wives
could
also
go
to
court
or
make
a
public
scene
if
they
were
unhappy
with
the
prospect
of
being
sold.
In
China
today,
there
has
been
a
resurgence
of
the
family
farm
and
with
it
a
material
and
cultural
preference
for
sons,
said
Sommer.
As
a
result
of
this
deficit
in
women,
a
newly
mobile
population,
and
economic
realities,
there
has
been
an
increase
in
kidnapping
and
sex
trafficking,
as
well
as
marriage
fraud,
where
men
are
bilked
of
money
through
fake
bride
sales.
“It’s
obvious
that
these
problems
are
not
new
but
based
on
a
skewed
sex
ratio
that
has
been
around
for
a
very
long
time,”
Sommer
said.
“These
are
problems
that
go
down
very
deep—a
complex,
tenacious
intertwining
of
economic,
social,
gender,
and
sexuality
issues.”