If you think it’s hard being a single mother in this country, check out the recent NY Times article on single mothers in China, where it’s very nearly illegal to be a single mother. Or rather it’s illegal to be the child of a single mother. These children don’t even have the right to go to school or get any kind of social services, because that requires a man signing off on documents as his father. Talk about existential patriarchy—a child doesn’t exist in China unless a man says so.
This kind of reminds me of those anti-homelessness ordinances in this country that allow people to be arrested for sleeping in the street, etc. Those laws make it illegal to exist if you’re homeless. I guess you’re supposed to just dematerialize if you’re homeless in this country or the child of a single mother in China.
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2 comments:
Fascinating article. It will be very interesting to see how Chinese people adapt over the next decades with more westernization.
I found your bog when searching for information about homelessness and China. After my own reading and travel, I had noted that homelessness does not appear to exist in China, and was looking for sources to back up my observations:
The American concept of "homeless" doesn't exist in China. People who've lost their home or are impoverished can always live with family, and the few who actually have no family are small enough in number that they can be absorbed and even be taken in by a stranger; China has the custom of "adult adoption" (for males) so an adult, even an older person will become an adopted son usually in exchange for labor for a family has no living sons (and often because of displacement and loss of own family, meaning homelessness). Its somewhat amazing to contemplate the power and importance on family in China...
In the NYT article you link to, its noted that there are increasing numbers of single mothers now in China. We may also start seeing the phenomenon of Western-style homelessness.
maybe, it will be interesting as the USA becomes more like Africa. The China systems work, but might go down hill as well.
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