Naked marriage in China

Naked Marriage (Chinese: 裸婚), a newly developed concept derived from the Internet in 2008, serves as a description of the increasingly prevalent form of marriage popular among people born after the 1980s in China.^[1] In Naked Marriage, loving partners get united without solid material foundation. It typically bears the characteristics of "no house", "no car", "no ring", and "no ceremony", and is generally recognized as a frugal way of tying the knot under the enormous economic pressure China's younger generation is currently facing.

Causes

Social pressure

Under the influence of the global financial crisis, the popularity of naked culture has been soaring sharply in China since 2008. Because of the high cost of living and intense job competition, it is difficult for these young people, born after the 1980s, to have a car, a house, or savings. A great number of them have been forced to choose a naked marriage due to this harsh reality. Statistics have shown that, over 50% of the young people turning 30 cannot afford both a car and a house.^[2] The skyrocketing house prices make them feel powerless and frustrated. Therefore, they can do nothing but choose a naked marriage.

The pursuit of pure love

Traditionally, marriage has a basis in material possessions. However, some young couples choosing a naked marriage are unswerving in pursuit of pure love, which they deem an important element in marriage of this period.^[3] From the perspective of them, in such a world fraught with material temptation, the key consideration for matchmaking has gone on the wrong path towards sound economic base instead of pure love. In their love philosophy, it is pure love that can stand the test of time and be the bedrock of a successful marital combination. In order to express enthusiastic plea for pure love, they choose to get rid of superficial marital accessories, thus giving rise to the boom of Naked Marriage. Despite the strengthening call for pure love, however, there are also people reckoning this opinion as rather idealistic, rejecting the impulse to disavow all traditional trappings of marriage.^[4][5]

The rise of self-cognition

Naked Marriage can be said to be a product of the rebellious nature of China's younger generation on the topic of love. With an increasing awareness of self-cognition, young people of China grow to see themselves unique and independent with personal preferences.^[6] In terms of marital form, their choices manifest their intense internal beliefs under the pressure of external restrictions, as well as their eagerness for independence. In this materialistic society, it is common that the masses deem a stable economic condition a crucial factor of marriage. However, young people gradually come to their own realization that sustaining their beliefs can also lead to a happy marital life. Despite the lack of an apartment, a car and a luxury wedding, they believe that, what really counts is to determinedly follow their heart for the sake of happiness instead of compromising to the secular values of the society. According to a China Daily's research, however, opposition voices call for awareness of responsibility in marriage, and strongly reject this self-centered, immature behaviour.^[4]

Impacts

Equality in marriage

Men were previously considered as the "head of household", with exclusive power over their family.^[7] According to social conflict theory,^[8] the origin of household patriarchies comes from economic stratification. Owners of property have a definite advantage^[9] and men are more likely to have a higher income, hence obtaining a higher status in their family. For China's younger generation, couples are more likely to possess similar economic status and agree to strive together for a better life. This agreement birthed the idea of Naked Marriage, where couples are likely to share the same discourse and decision-making power when confronting critical issues, such as household decisions and distribution of possessions. Therefore, they may attain real equality in marriage. As supporters of Naked Marriage argue, it is the joint effort of life partners that constitute the most precious element of marriage.^[10]

Challenging the traditions

Lacking the necessities of a blessed marriage, Naked Marriage is a sharp contrast to the established Chinese marital customs. In traditional values, a couple can only get married when there is an economic precondition.^[11] The word "dowry"(Chinese: 彩禮、聘禮) is thus born to describe betrothal gifts from the bridegroom to the bride's family, which symbolizes a man's capability of providing a prosperous life for his wife.^[12] In China, the transfer of dowries has evolved into an indispensable process of marriage.^[13] Without a dowry transfer, Naked Marriage is tempestuously challenging the traditional values. The discrepancy in marital values is likely to cause family disharmony. Most parents strongly oppose Naked Marriage due to its lack of economic base, while China's younger generation has a totally different idea. This conflict can possibly give rise to family controversy, collision, or even estrangement. This is an era when old and new ideas are in constant conflict. Experts argue that even if traditions are still unshakable in most Chinese minds, it is evident that with the increasing acceptance of Naked Marriage, China's younger generation is becoming more and more open-minded.^[10]

Potential problems

In Chinese traditions, love and bread (i.e. livelihood) are considered as two cornerstones in marriage. Young couples choosing Naked Marriage appear Utopian since they are firmly convinced of love, which is of spiritual comfort, rather than an economic foundation of real substance.^[14] Nevertheless, as time passes, trifles will emerge, stress can accumulate, and these couples may find the intensity of love will spontaneously attenuate. As an ancient Chinese poet Yuan Zhen(Chinese: 元稹) put, "Everything goes wrong for the poor couple (Chinese: 貧賤夫妻百事哀)", their weak material basis could worsen the problem, thus deepening the conflicts between the couple. Consequently, their marriage may be vulnerable or even short-lived, leading to an increase in divorce rates.^[15] The breakdown of marriage resulting from idealism has brought doubts and debates about the feasibility of Naked Marriage.

See also

• Marriage in modern China
• Social conflict theory

References