Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on chinese women in marriage, family planning, and family responsibilities. In the 20Th century, key meanings of life were major topics in public discussions. These major topics were about women and they included marriage, family, sexuality, and planning as well as gender responsibilities.

Chinese marriage practices in the past seemed like transformations from family-based operations to limited individual choice. In Chinese past marriage practice, they regarded the matching of spouses to relate to free-choice marriage. Through the end of the Mao years and into the reform era, the act of parental involvement in marriage choices continued in both rural and urban settings (Hershatter 8). As much as it is no longer rampant, mothers in the past appear to have exercised parental influence. During the Chinese collective period, officials attempted to discourage betrothal and the purchase of women. As much as it was unsuccessful, it was able to gain more influence in the urban areas where they practiced courtship. Bride price became more important than dowry and was enough to cater to the bride’s family expenses and leave some to bring in wife for the son in the family (Hershatter 8). Rapid improvement in women’s social status has important implications for marriage practices in china. The median age for marriage that was 20 in the 1940s hit 23 by the 1980s (Hershatter 9). Despite the delays, marriage is still an important institution and women marry men of higher social statuses. It has been a common traditional practice in china and the less educated men may lack spouses. This cultural norm is still in place in contemporary china though many marriages have transformed from being parent-based into love-based (Hershatter 8).

Hypergamy was due to marrying men of social status but now that women are reducing the education gap between the two genders hypergamy is no longer prevalent. The current trend involves the growing age differences between&nbsp.the two genders.