Leftover Women in China

Leftover Women in China offers an intimate empirical and theoretical analysis of the lived experience and legal consciousness of China’s “leftover women,” women who remain unmarried in their late twenties and beyond. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups, Qian Liu examines how leftover wom...

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Main Author: Liu, Qian
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: University of California Press 2025
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Online Access:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/105346
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author Liu, Qian
author_browse Liu, Qian
author_facet Liu, Qian
author_sort Liu, Qian
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Leftover Women in China offers an intimate empirical and theoretical analysis of the lived experience and legal consciousness of China’s “leftover women,” women who remain unmarried in their late twenties and beyond. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups, Qian Liu examines how leftover women—including women who prefer to remain single, those who are waiting for the right husband, and queer women—deal with parental and social pressure, as well as the denial of their right to have children outside of heterosexual marriage. Sensitively exploring the distinctive patterns of parent-child interactions in Chinese families, Liu invites readers to understand leftover women’s observance, evasion, and manipulation of the law in the context of intergenerational relationships and obligations. “Gives voice to women in China, from diverse walks of life, who do not or cannot get married. By centering the profound role of intergenerational relationships in these women’s lives, this book breaks new ground in the study of legal consciousness.” — LYNETTE J. CHUA, author of The Politics of Rights and Southeast Asia “Qian Liu has written a terrific study of China’s so‑called leftover women. Drawing on women’s stories, including her own, Liu’s explanations are fascinating, often counterintuitive, and always persuasive.” — DAVID ENGEL, author of The Myth of the Litigious Society: Why We Don’t Sue “Captivating. Liu’s groundbreaking theory of relation‑based legal consciousness will have a significant impact on sociolegal studies, legal anthropology, and gender and family research.” — SIDA LIU, coauthor of Criminal Defense in China: The Politics of Lawyers at Work “Rich ethnographic data from so‑called leftover women, as well as many of their parents, inform Liu’s beautifully written book. A timely contribution.” — ETHAN MICHELSON, author of Decoupling: Gender Injustice in China’s Divorce Courts
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1650262025-08-12T05:18:35Z Leftover Women in China Liu, Qian China; leftover women; intergenerational relationships thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China Leftover Women in China offers an intimate empirical and theoretical analysis of the lived experience and legal consciousness of China’s “leftover women,” women who remain unmarried in their late twenties and beyond. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups, Qian Liu examines how leftover women—including women who prefer to remain single, those who are waiting for the right husband, and queer women—deal with parental and social pressure, as well as the denial of their right to have children outside of heterosexual marriage. Sensitively exploring the distinctive patterns of parent-child interactions in Chinese families, Liu invites readers to understand leftover women’s observance, evasion, and manipulation of the law in the context of intergenerational relationships and obligations. “Gives voice to women in China, from diverse walks of life, who do not or cannot get married. By centering the profound role of intergenerational relationships in these women’s lives, this book breaks new ground in the study of legal consciousness.” — LYNETTE J. CHUA, author of The Politics of Rights and Southeast Asia “Qian Liu has written a terrific study of China’s so‑called leftover women. Drawing on women’s stories, including her own, Liu’s explanations are fascinating, often counterintuitive, and always persuasive.” — DAVID ENGEL, author of The Myth of the Litigious Society: Why We Don’t Sue “Captivating. Liu’s groundbreaking theory of relation‑based legal consciousness will have a significant impact on sociolegal studies, legal anthropology, and gender and family research.” — SIDA LIU, coauthor of Criminal Defense in China: The Politics of Lawyers at Work “Rich ethnographic data from so‑called leftover women, as well as many of their parents, inform Liu’s beautifully written book. A timely contribution.” — ETHAN MICHELSON, author of Decoupling: Gender Injustice in China’s Divorce Courts 2025-08-12T05:18:35Z 2025-08-12T05:18:35Z 2025-08-11T07:36:30Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/105346 9780520405745 9780520423077 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/165026 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/105346/1/leftover-women-in-china.pdf University of California Press 10.1525/luminos.238 10.1525/luminos.238 19856893-4bf2-4e3e-9137-c7692d64e4c1 9780520405745 9780520423077 236 Oakland open access
spellingShingle China; leftover women; intergenerational relationships
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
Liu, Qian
Leftover Women in China
title Leftover Women in China
title_full Leftover Women in China
title_fullStr Leftover Women in China
title_full_unstemmed Leftover Women in China
title_short Leftover Women in China
title_sort leftover women in china
topic China; leftover women; intergenerational relationships
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
topic_facet China; leftover women; intergenerational relationships
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/105346
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