Dangerous men vs. women in danger
Experts have constantly warned that the sex gap together with a much older population could result in significant changes in society, such as a male-dominated consumption structure and social stratum.
A spot check in 2010 showed that unmarried men are in a trickier situation than unmarried women. The ratio of unmarried men to unmarried women was 169 to 100 at 27 years old, and 293 to 100 at 33.
The marriage squeeze, referring to the demographic imbalance in which the number of potential brides does not approximately equal the number of potential grooms, will be an unavoidable problem.
As females in the marriage market decrease, competition for them will increase, reported yeeyan.com. Thus males will have to be successful to find a wife in a market where demand is high and supply is low.
This may further drive up consumption, inflation, and the housing bubble, according to the website, since data suggest that the standard for a successful man is to promise his bride-to-be that he will marry her with a house and a car.
It might seem that women, at least, would benefit from the sex imbalance. This, however, is not true, given that fact that this problem has also encouraged the growth of a market in women. Poor girls in rural areas, kidnapped or lured from their homes by brokers, may be transported to distant provinces and sold as wives to men unable to find brides.
The pressure will be rather intense for those generally empty-handed men. Demographers predicted that poor, low-educated men would be the most likely to be squeezed out of the marriage market.
As a result, so-called "bare sticks"！family-less young men dissatisfied with their lot！have appeared, who tend to turn to force to improve their social status.
Gunnar Heinsohn, a German scholar, found that wars in many countries and regions like Iraq and Afghanistan were related to the youth bulge.
Any way out?
China's leaders have been aware of the impact that bands of unhappy, partner-less, high testosterone, 20-something males could have on the "harmonious society."
The government has taken a series of measures to address the problem, including improving the country's social security system and harshly cracking down on sex-selective abortions, reported the China Daily, citing Liu Qian's speech.
Doctors found practicing non-medical-related sex checkups or sex-selective abortions will lose their licenses, and any medical institutions found to be involved will also be given harsh punishments, said Liu.
The one-child policy instituted over three decades ago is also under heated debate now due to the low birth rate that has caused a shrinking work force, aging problems, and the gender imbalance stemming from aborted or abandoned baby girls.
The 12th Five Year Plan (from 2011 to 2015) also stated that "the country will improve its current family planning policy, making it more suitable for the present situation."
A plan in 2010 proposed that if one member of a couple was the only child of his or her parents, the couple should be allowed to have a second child. This proposal has been widely agreed upon and a number of cities are willing to try it, but Di Zhenwu, standing vice-chairman of China Population Association, said the final decision will still need to be made by the National People's Congress.
