Would you choose to have a boy or a girl under the pressure of high housing prices? How much influence do high housing prices have on traditional fertility views?
Recently, a report released by the World Bank showed that with the process of urbanization, more and more young people prefer to have girls. In China, "preferring boys over girls" is no longer the mainstream.
Yesterday, a survey conducted by Business News revealed that about 30% of people would rather have a daughter due to the high cost of raising a boy. Some experts believe that apart from the factor of housing prices, the urbanization process has weakened the advantages of having boys. In contrast, daughters are considered more considerate and advantageous in terms of taking care of elderly parents, which has to some extent changed people's fertility concepts.
Reporters: Luyan Yan and Wu Jing from Business News
World Bank Report
Choose between having a boy or a girl - most people want a girl
Zhang Xiao works at a software company in Zhengzhou and got married in May this year. Yesterday, he noticed a piece of news online.
The news reported that according to the World Bank, with the process of urbanization, "preferring boys over girls" is no longer the mainstream in China.
"The urbanization and high housing prices have changed the traditional 'preferring boys over girls' concept in Chinese families, and more and more parents said they would rather choose to have a daughter," pointed out by British media.
"I also want a girl, it’s less stressful and easier to raise a girl," Zhang Xiao said.
Yesterday, Business News conducted a survey through its website, Henan100℃, and the enterprise QQ number 800051886. The survey mainly targeted young people. Apart from half of the respondents who thought it doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl, the majority of the rest preferred to have a girl.
Citizens' Joke
Boys are "Construction Banks" and girls are "Recruitment Banks"
Zhang Xiao earns 3,000 yuan per month. Both he and his wife come from rural areas and bought a house last year after pooling their resources together.
As they put it, the housing price is too high, and the cost of raising a boy is too high. Having a daughter means not worrying about buying her a house.
Zhang Xiao's friend recently had a girl, and everyone congratulated him, "You've given birth to a 'Recruitment Bank.'"
In the eyes of many young people, boys are "Construction Banks," needing to buy property and build nests to attract partners; while girls are "Recruitment Banks," using their keen eyesight to attract suitable husbands.
Although the view that "high housing prices make Chinese young couples unwilling to have sons" seems shocking when disclosed by foreign media, in fact, this kind of speech that overturns the traditional preference for boys over girls is not the first time it has appeared. In recent years, on various websites and forums, whenever someone posts about "wanting to have a daughter," it always sparks heated discussions.
A recent survey showed that nationwide, less than 20% of mothers-in-law are willing to accept renting as an option for marriage due to high housing prices, and those who insist on "no house, no marriage" are still the majority.
Business News Survey
Forty percent believe high housing prices weaken the "preference for boys over girls" view
How much impact does high housing prices have on fertility concepts?
Business News survey showed that as many as forty percent believed that high housing prices increase the cost of raising sons, weakening the preference for boys over girls.
Gao Lan, 43, works at a public institution. In her view, now if only children want to get married, the man must solve the housing problem first, otherwise, she wouldn’t feel comfortable letting her daughter marry.
Netizen "A Kai" said that men need to solve the housing issue before getting married, plus work and life pressures, batches of talented young people have joined the ranks of "mortgage slaves," and many young couples can't be together due to housing issues. "If I were to have a child, I'd definitely want a girl so that the future pressure on my child would be much smaller." The fertility concepts of young people are changing, and this point was clearly felt by Cheng Lijuan, deputy director of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Zhengzhou Third People's Hospital: "In recent years, people have been very happy to have a daughter."
Expert Analysis
Associate Professor Yang Chaohu from the School of Public Administration at Zhengzhou University also noticed this change.
He believes that urbanization increases the cost of raising boys, and this high cost is not only reflected in high housing prices but also in educational costs. "Parents spend more energy and money on educating their boys, while girls are more adaptable and require less attention in education."
Additionally, urbanization also weakens the advantage of having sons. The traditional way of supporting the elderly makes sons more advantageous in material support, leading to the formation of the "raising sons to support old age" concept.
However, nowadays, the elderly's demand for spiritual care is increasing, and the way of supporting the elderly has shifted from material support to spiritual care, where girls have an advantage. As the saying goes, "a daughter is a mother's 'little sweater,'" and now many city dwellers think that daughters are more considerate and better at taking care of the elderly, visiting them more often than sons. Therefore, many couples prefer "raising daughters to support old age."
Calculation
Cost of marrying in Zhengzhou: Over 600,000 yuan
A few years ago, there was widespread discussion online about the cost of getting married in major cities across the country. Netizen "Tu C" from Zhengzhou also calculated the cost.
1. One apartment (over 80 square meters, in the city center): At an average price of 6,000 yuan per square meter, 6,000 yuan/sq m x 80 sq m = 480,000 yuan.
2. Renovation: Simple renovation, estimated at 20,000 yuan.
3. Appliances and furniture: Estimated at 30,000 yuan (some provided by the bride as part of the dowry).
4. Car: Standard family car, estimated at 100,000 yuan.
5. Wedding banquet: Medium-level hotel, 25 tables, each table costing 800 yuan, totaling 20,000 yuan (after collecting red envelopes, income and expenditure are roughly balanced, so this part of the expense can be ignored).
6. Honeymoon: Main destinations include Hong Kong, Macau, Yunnan, and Hainan, requiring 20,000 yuan.
7. From dating to marriage: Including going out to eat, buying gifts, entertainment, travel, sending gifts to the girlfriend's parents during holidays, etc., averaging 800 yuan per month, over two years, calculated as 800 yuan x 12 x 2 = 19,200 yuan.
8. First year of marriage, household expenses: Friends coming over to "warm the pot," daily necessities like rice, flour, oil, gas, electricity, clothes, and other household items, with an average monthly expense of 1,500 yuan, making it 18,000 yuan per year.
In summary, the cost of marrying a wife in Zhengzhou adds up to 48 + 2 + 3 + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1.92 = 689,200 yuan. Even without considering the costs of dating and honeymooning, it would still be around 500,000 to 600,000 yuan!