Abstract: My work explores the life histories and
decision-making processes of Chinese women who seek marriages with Western men.
The majority of the women in my study is middle-aged (above 40), divorced, and
come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. I explore how emerging
inequalities brought on by China’s transition from state socialism toward a
global market economy shaped their shared desires to seek out-migration via
marriage. My work is set against the backdrop of China’s economic ascendance on
the world stage alongside a relative decline of the West. I compare how Chinese
women from diverse class backgrounds envision a relatively homogenous group of
men: Western men in agriculture, manufacturing, and small business sectors who
feel they have been left behind by globalization. Through analyzing
modest-earning Western men’s declining ability to marry middle and upper-middle
class Chinese women, my work sheds light on China’s changing relationship with
the global north. I show that a new global hierarchy of masculinity based on
economic distinction has emerged, and this new hierarchy challenges Western
men’s privilege in China previously associated with their racial, ethnic, and
geopolitical status.