When conservative values of Chinese culture come to a clash with the growing progressive attitudes of women who begin to exercise more autonomy over their own lives, the dilemma of ‘leftover women’ (剩女) arises in the gender politics of the contemporary socio-political climate of China. Israeli filmmakers, Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia, explore these ‘leftover women’ in their second documentary about China by following the lives of three women attempting to navigate their life in Beijing as they are faced with insurmountable pressures in all facets of their lives.
The skewed gender ratio of China’s population, with 30 million more men than women, is a result of deeply held cultural preferences for male heirs and China’s one-child policy that controlled its population from 1979 to 2013. Although the documentary does illuminate how men are also faced with the same expectations, its focus is on the experience of women in a world of inherently misogynistic social structures and institutions. The film highlights how women, particularly educated and working women past their late-twenties, have to face the brunt force of this systematic discrimination as they are expected to contribute to wider society by marrying. Through the documentary, one is provided with an intimate intersection during a tumultuous part of these three women’s varying lives as they face pressures from the government, the harsh social landscape and particularly within their own families as they are scrutinised and constantly reminded of the urgency of their precarious position.
Through viewing the dialogue that occurs between these three women and the people that surround them: relatives, friends, colleagues, matchmakers, Leftover Women chronicles the various social issues that pervade the dynamically shifting social environment. We see mass matchmaking and speed dating events held out in open public spaces, we see the advertisements for matchmaking apps that line the subway, we see parents advertising their children in parks with posters that document their income, job, weight, height, etc.
Particularly resonant and harrowing is the scene that opens the documentary.
“You are not beautiful in the traditional sense.”
Qiu HuaMei, a lawyer who has a lack of desire for marriage but whose unmarried status is the cause of great anguish and embarrassment within her family, is criticised politely by a matchmaker. Qiu stands up for herself, and her age, but is only met with more criticisms as she is too old, too tough due to her job, and is told to “be softer”.
Qiu can only reply politely with a “yes”, and smile. The opening scene opens the documentary and exemplifies the dilemma of the ‘leftover women’
China is a nation of complex history and foundations. Having come out of the repressive Cultural Revolution, China is now dynamically changing and is faced with a world of technology, liberation and economic growth. With this, there has been a slow, but gradual, shifting of attitudes towards love and marriage (this is further exhibited in China Love, a documentary by
Olivia Martin-McGuire that was screened in 2018’s SFF). These ‘leftover women’ are stuck in the middle of these two dichotomies.
Although these cultural attitudes have existed for decades, and the documentary is not radically new, Leftover Women provides valuable insight into the real experiences of contemporary Chinese women who are navigating the changing socio-cultural climate that is both heralding change but still strictly adherent to traditional values. It is crucial to highlight these stories, as Leftover Women does, because these leftover women illustrate the resurgence of gender inequality (perhaps it has never left but has manifested itself in new forms) and how these women are at the forefront of attempting to dismantle these cultural norms as they transcend beyond their label of ‘leftover women’.
“I want to have a life without these voices. To just live my life”, says Qiu HuaMei.
Bonnie
Leftover Women
Sydney Film Festiva