What Will We Do With All Those Men?

Urban Chinese society is also undergoing changes, as the rituals of courtship, and traditional definitions of family, are challenged. Rapid modernization has led the country to undergo enormous changes. Sex ratios are becoming skewed in much of the world thanks in part to a growing global imbalance of male-to-female ratios. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be approximately 300 million more men than women in the world.

China has seen an increase in the number of bachelors because there are not enough women for their men to marry. Currently, there are 120 boys born for every 100 girls, an imbalance reinforced by the one-child policy and a cultural preference for sons. The normal male/female rate at birth is 105 males for every 100 females. By 2020, China will find itself with 30 million more men of marrying age than women. Historically, up to 10% of Chinese males never marry because the sex ratio has long been skewed toward males. Gender imbalances will have a profound impact on everything from family to education to the economy. Because of the disproportionate number of men in China, this may also create an upsurge of problems related to the trafficking of women, forced marriages, prostitution and surrogate motherhood.

Additionally, China’s birth control policy has led to a rural population that is fighting the government in order to have more children. On the other hand, the urban demographic is content with having smaller families because of the high cost associated with raising large families in a city. Not only is urban Chinese society creating enormous changes in regards to family life, but a rapidly aging population will also dramatically alter the structure of families and households. By 2050, every 10 Chinese workers between 15 and 64 will have to support seven younger or older dependents, despite low income levels and poor social services.

In addition, a surplus of young males competing for scarcer women will almost certainly result in increased violence. In the meantime, there is likely to be a backlash against women working outside the home, as the Chinese males will need to compete for the better jobs in order to attract desirable (or any) women. Since women have made tremendous strides in the economic advancement of China, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Many other countries are facing a significant demographic crisis as well. As a result of female infanticide in Vietnam, there are about 111 boys for every 100 girls, an as increasing number of parents opt for sex-specific abortions (statistics of access to prenatal ultrasounds found that there had been a tenfold increase in availability between 1998 and 2007.) In 2001, the sex ratio in Vietnam was close to the biological norm of 105 male births per 100 female births. In India, there are 874 females for every 1,000 males.

However, the traditional South Korean preference for baby boys is changing as a consequence of economic development. According to the World Bank, South Korea, one of a number of Asian nations with a large sex imbalance, is the first to reverse the trend toward greater gender parity. Its attitude toward girls is changing, especially as the economy has worked to open its workforce to include more women. In 1990, the sex ratio reached a high of 116.5 boys born for every 100 girls. That dropped to 107.4 boys born for every 100 girls in 2006.

But what else could this imbalance mean? Here are 4 other hypotheses:

1. A rise in imported mail-order brides: In many wealthy Asian nations, changing attitudes about love and marriage are causing desperate bachelors, faced with a shortage of females, to search for brides in poorer nations around the region. Many Asian men, particularly those in rural areas, tend to prefer traditional wives who will stay home and raise children. This trend could have a significant impact on migration patterns. These long-time ethnically homogeneous countries are becoming increasingly less so.

2. An uptick in gay relationships: Homosexuality is not especially well-tolerated in China, but that could change as men — and society — run out of options. Currently, it's believed that 90 percent of the estimated 25 million gay Chinese men marry women. Some gay couples are even marrying lesbian couples.

3. A real estate bubble: As women become scarce and harder to impress, men may be forced to attract mates with premium real estate.

4. A war to thin out excess men: Chinese officials are clearly worried about the gender imbalance, and if their current propoganda-based efforts to dissuade parents from killing or aborting female offspring don't work, a war to cull the surplus males is in the realm of possibilities. A surplus of frustrated, low-status males is bound to spell trouble for society. A generation of single, more affluent and independent women will not only change employment demographics, but will also affect family and household formation.