The Face of Urban Chinese Women

Picture this.  A young Chinese woman from the province, fresh out of college, manages to find a job in the city that pays well enough that she can afford to live comfortably and to indulge in some personal luxuries, such as branded clothes and cosmetics.  Her spending habits are largely influenced by her desire to fit into the world of the young and independent urban women; she does not want to lose face by spending less on food when she eats with her colleagues and managers and not spending enough to take care of her appearance. 

Unfortunately, saving face means she is unable to save much, if any, from her monthly salary.  Of course, she also has to send some financial support to her family back in the province.  She is actually earning a lot more each month than her father ever did so her parents are quite surprised and very disappointed to find out that she manages to set aside only three percent of her monthly income for savings. 

Here’s another similar story.  A young middle-class woman who was born and raised in the city earns enough from her job that she can afford to buy a Japanese car.  Having middle-class friends and socializing with people with equal and higher status, she feels that she has to maintain a certain standard of living so as not to lose face.  She does not really need to support her parents because they are financially stable themselves. 

Nonetheless, her lifestyle means she spends nearly as much as she earns every month and, once again, saving face leads to very little money saved in the bank.  Her spending habits will not make her poor, but she won’t be making her future more secure, either. 

Of course, for both of these women, there really isn’t a real need to save up for the future if they marry men who can secure their future for them. 

The point, however, is that many of today’s young, urban women (and even men) no longer possessthe admirable money-saving attitude of previous generations.  Perhaps it was because the older generations experienced a tougher financial climate before China’s big economic boom that saving money was a necessity.  The post-80s generation, on the other hand, is enjoying far better earning and spending opportunities and do not have the benefit of experiencing tough times to learn the real value of saving money.

Certainly, their carefree consumerism gave birth to and continues to feed their tendency to become materialistic.  While the cost of living in China’s big cities continues to increase, their continued concern about “saving face” may actually play a bigger role in the difficulties they face with regards to saving money and the imminent threat of financial instability. 

They may justify their very loose spending habits with the belief that “saving face” and keeping up a certain lifestyle will improve their social status and open up better opportunities for them.  Or they may reason that once they get married, they’ll be set for life anyway.  At the end of the day, however, their behavior is simply irresponsible and only strengthens the stereotype of the materialistic Chinese woman.

What if the economy plateaus or, worse yet, declines?  What if they don’t find a suitable husband in time, or before they reach the age at which their desirability would begin to go down steeply?  After all, part of their desire to save face would include the desire for a husband who will be able to afford not only to support them, but also to allow them to continue living the lifestyle they’ve gotten used to.  And again, given the increase in real estate prices and city living expenses and the competitive job market, finding a mate that meets their expectations would prove extremely difficult. 

This group of women represents only a fraction of the population of single females in China’s urban areas.  Nevertheless, they reflect an attitude of materialism and consumerism that casts a bad light on other urban women who work hard to have a secure present and future. 

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