How did China’s imbalance between males and females affect marriage opportunities?

The one-child policy, implemented by the Chinese government in 1980 to curb population growth, significantly skewed the nation's sex ratio toward males due to a traditional cultural preference for sons. As families were restricted to one child, this preference led to a rise in the abortion of female fetuses, the abandonment of female infants, and the placement of girls in orphanages.123

As these generations reached adulthood, the resulting demographic imbalance created a severe shortage of women available for marriage. This scarcity of eligible females fundamentally altered marriage patterns, as the number of men significantly exceeded the number of women. While the policy was intended to manage population size, it ultimately produced a long-term social consequence where many men faced limited opportunities to find spouses due to the diminished pool of potential female partners.21