Do I? The Future of Marriage in China

Twenty years ago marriage was nearly universal for men and women in the PRC. Recently marriage rates have fallen to an all-time low. Divorce rates remain higher than in the USA. And an increasing number of young adults openly discuss the option of never marrying. Even more surprising is the number of parents of young adults who are willing to accept that their child may never marry. In this conversation, Prof. Davis draws on census data, surveys, Chinese social media, and extended conversations over the past decade to explore the future of marriage in China as an institution.
Deborah Davis is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at Yale University where she served as Director of Academic Programs at the Yale Center for Study of Globalization, Chair of the Department of Sociology, Chair of Council on East Asian Studies and Co-Chair of the Women Faculty Forum. She is currently a visiting faculty member at Schwarzman College and an honorary professor at Fudan. She previously served six terms as a Trustee of the Yale China Association and chaired the Advisory Board of the Universities Service Centre Library at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Currently she is on the editorial boards of China Review and the Chinese Sociological Review. Her most recent book, co-edited with Sara Friedman, is entitled Wives, Husbands and Lovers; a recent article related to her talk is "We Do: Parental Involvement in the Marriages of Urban Sons and Daughters," in Chinese Families Upside Down edited by Yunxiang Yan.
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