Description

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In the early years of the People’s Republic of China, the Communist Party sought to transform gender relations, but those gains have been steadily eroded in recent decades during China’s transition to a post-socialist era. In fact, women in China have experienced a dramatic rollback of rights and gains relative to men. In Leftover Women, journalist Leta Hong-Fincher exposes shocking levels of structural discrimination against women and highlights the broader damage this has caused to China’s economy, politics, and development.
 
Drawing on cutting-edge data from a Sina Weibo survey of over three hundred men and women as well as in-depth interviews with both men and women in China over several years, Leftover Women debunks several major myths about the status of women in China’s post-socialist period. In this thoroughly expanded second edition, Hong-Fincher builds on her earlier work to examine new developments, most notably China’s growing and increasingly assertive feminist movement, and she looks ahead to consider the implications of these developments for the future of China and its ruling regime. 
 
The first book to offer a unique, inside view of educated women in China’s emerging middle class, Leftover Women provides an insightful analysis of the realities women in China face today.

About the Author

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Leta Hong-Fincher is an award-winning former journalist who has published in a number of magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times.
 

Praise For…

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“Required reading.”
— Inside Higher Ed

“A chilling account of the pressures on Chinese strivers.”
— New York Times

“Scattered with inspiring life-stories of courageous women who have faced down appalling discrimination.”
— Guardian

“Makes a powerful—and provocative—argument.”
— LA Review of Books

“Cast aside what you think you know about the ‘empowered’ women of China today. For any curious observer of China or women’s issues, this is one to read.”
— Kristie Lu Stout, CNN International

“An engagingly written, thought-provoking work on a crucially important but often overlooked subject. Essential reading.”
— Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know