Online Dating in China (New Yorker)
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May 15, 2012 at 8:27 am #27424
Anonymous
GuestIt would be really interesting to see a research study that has been done on how the "one child policy" has affected dating practices over the last 30+ years. I too can't imagine being so limited to look over a potential mate because of their astrology sign.
May 19, 2012 at 8:19 am #27425GuestI would imagine that the woman in the profile you featured is still looking for a mate. Online daters often live in cyberspace, but the mates they end up with live in the real world. Everyone has a laundry list of qualities they want in a mate but I would imagine that if you surveyed married couples, few found all of the qualities they were looking for in their mate. And many of those qualities dissipate over time. Realistically, if you went looking for an automobile with that many qualities in LA, you might not find it. It might have to be a special order. You can special order in cyberspace, but in reality it might not be on the lot. And a woman making that many requests better not have any flaws. And sadly, we all have them. I did a little online searching and found one website called AsiaFriendFinder.com. They allege to have almost 3,300,000 members. It appears that most of the members are men, so women have a bit of an advantage. I think women in China have been thirsting for equity and freedom in relationships for so long in that male-dominated society that they have thought long and hard about what they really want in a man, realistic or not. In many ways they can be compared to a prisoner who recently gets her freedom.
June 12, 2012 at 1:50 am #27426GuestI think I was more surprised by the no more than 4 no less than 2 ex boyfriends. Those are very specific numbers. This is one of those subjects I never thought to research, but it can reveal so much about a culture and cultural norms. I think about how in the US we often pick traits like "funny" or "honest" that can be so subjective. At least this way they could know exactly whether they meet the requirements!
June 12, 2012 at 1:50 am #4748Rob_Hugo@PortNW
KeymasterI just finished a great article in this week's New Yorker about the rise of online dating in China. As a former online dater myself (I met my wife online), I was very interested to learn about how online dating works in China. I was not surprised to learn that it is a little different from the U.S. variety. For instance, there is a very strong emphasis placed on how many degrees you hold and how much money you make. In U.S. online dating, a person's profile (both male and female) tends to focus more on what that person is like and not as much on what they are looking for. Chinese profiles, by contrast, place greater emphasis on the qualities they seek in a potential partner. Here is a good example from a Chinese woman's profile: "Never married, master's degree or more; not from Wuhan; no rural I.D. card; no only children; no smokers; no alcoholics; no gamblers; taller than one hundred and seventy-two centimeters; more than a year of dating before marriage; sporty; parents who are still together; annual salary over fifty thousand yuan; between twenty-six and thirty-two years of age; willing to guarantee eating four dinners at home per week; at least two ex-girlfriends, but no more than four; no Virgos. No Capricorns." There are many aspects to this list that strike me as unusual, but I find the last two astrological requirements to be the most curious. It was always my understanding that the Chinese placed a strong emphasis on astrology, but I was surprised that something like that could preclude a candidate from getting a date. I mean, what if the guy was a Harvard graduate, with a six figure salary?! Sorry dude, you're a Capricorn. Next!
Article link below:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/14/120514fa_fact_osnos
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