China could ‘fix’ lack of women by letting men marry each other, academic suggests
China’s lack of prospective brides could be ‘solved’ by letting men marry eachother instead, an academic has claimed.
The country has operated a One Child policy since the 1970s, aimed at curbing its growing population.
However, due to cultural sexism and the rejection of female children, the policy has led to an increasing lack of gender balance – with six men now born for every five women.
As the country faces a shortfall of women, leaving a vast number of men single and childless, one academic has proposed a number of radical solutions.
Xie Zuoshi, a professor at Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, proposed reforming the idea of marriage to ease the strain and help resolve the problems.
Firstly, he suggested the practise of polyandry – with women being able to take several husbands.
According to the South China Morning Post, he wrote: ““It is a reality that we have so many more men than women. Serious social problems, such as rape and assaults, will happen if men cannot find wives. But it doesn’t have to be like that if they are given choices.”
He added that men ‘sharing’ wives would alleviate the problem, especially among poorer men who are not able to ‘afford’ a wife by themselves.
He added: “If legalised, polyandry would be a perfect solution for satisfying the sexual needs of 30 million single men – which might be one of the key factors contributing to social unrest.”
The academic also proposed other reforms – suggesting that allowing men to marry eachother would also tackle the problem.
Homosexuality is still considered widely taboo in China, and the suggestions have not gone down well with some commentators.
However, the academic warned: “If society is unwilling to accept any of these solutions, we will only be left with social instability.”
