Shengnu- Leftover Women

I think I finally found the lead in I was looking for. Thank you, Vox Day.

China is suffering from a similar problem America does: feminism. There is a concept I'm still learning about called "hypergamy". The basic concept of it is, a woman tends to "marry up", or seek a man of a higher class. So when women have a lot of career success, the story goes that their pool of potential mates shrinks. She soon finds herself in her 40's, beyond child bearing age and sill unmarried. And the Chinese have a word for this: shengnu. This means, "leftover woman".

So here's my lead in, and I'll try not to make this too cathartic. My ex-wife is divorcing me after 12 years. I say ex-wife because the only thing we have left is a legal status that will be disolved in the next few months. Looking back, it probably should have ended a long time ago. She checked out of the marriage about a decade ago. That leaves me looking around at where to go next. I started profiles on some of the dating sites, and rapidly made some observations.

I'm 39. Other than some extra weight I'm carrying around, I don't think I'm doing bad. I still have all my hair. although some of it is grey. My face isn't wrinkled and I still have lots of strength. When I look at the profiles on dating sites of women within a few years of my age, I'm horrified. As a representative sampling, many of the women on the dating sites I've viewed in their late 30's and early 40's look like life has been slapping them around. Their faces hang down. They look pissed off. They're wrinkled horribly.

Then I see a few from around 42-45 who look to have smooth faces and pleasent smiles. There's still something youthful about them. I work with some women who are older than me, but they're still in "great condition", plus happy and optimistic. I was shocked to learn one was in her 50's. I thought she was closer to my age.