The branding of China’s unmarried 30-something females as ‘leftover women’ has once again come under sharp focus in the mainstream media after an advertisement by cosmetics company SKII went viral.
The commercial, which features heart-wrenching interviews with so-called shengnv (‘leftover women’) - females aged 27 and above who have ‘failed’ to marry - and their parents, has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times here in China and has led to headlines around the world on outlets from the BBC to the New York Times.
The video is a stark reminder of the entrenched traditional opinions in modern Chinese society and the immense pressure encountered by young women here. An ashen-faced woman sits beside her parents while they describe her as ‘not particularly pretty, just so-so’; another bursts into tears as she apologises to her parents for being ‘selfish’ by remaining single.
Of course, this is an advertisement, so as the music swells, it builds toward a happy ending - set against the backdrop of the People’s Square marriage market - and SKII's message to #changedestiny.
Watch the video (with English subtitles) below: