Who's who and how they woo

Batches of bachelors

Leftover women or an unappreciated feast?

University of Hong Kong sociologist Sandy To identifies four types of women defined by how they approach courtship in her 2013 study Understanding Shengnu.

"Maximizers" are women who've been rejected by Chinese men because of their accomplishments and often opt for Western men, whom they consider more "open-minded". Maximizers whose parents disapprove of multicultural marriages sometimes seek partners who are even more successful than them. Many conceal their accomplishments when dating to avoid early rejection.

"Traditionalists" look for men with earning power. They want breadwinners. But these women lack proactive partner-selection strategies, making them the group most likely to be "leftover".

"Satisficers" seek men with lower economic statuses. Since these men don't occupy traditional roles as breadwinners, they can't expect women to submit to traditional gender hierarchies. "Satisficers" hold less conventional economic values and seek men with more egalitarian attitudes.

"Innovators" respond to gender constraints by choosing nontraditional relationships, such as cohabitation, or simply stay single. This allows them to evade traditional roles entirely but may incur parental disapproval.