UC Irvine

This dissertation investigates gender, intimate relations, and family changes in contemporary China. Compared to prior work on gender changes in the public sphere, this dissertation focuses mainly on examining gender as a social structure and exploring how it operates in romantic relations and private families. Using survey data analysis and qualitative interviews, I demonstrate how gender interacts with sweeping societal changes to influence men’s and women’s beliefs about gender and intimate partnerships. The results show that while there has been a reappearance of traditional gender ideology in the private family, it has changed unevenly across two different dimensions. Many men recognize the importance of having a career for women’s lives, but they still believe that women should prioritize family and men should prioritize work. When explaining gender differences in gender ideologies, this dissertation shows that considering all the socioeconomic explanations, the effect of marriage experiences is also essential. Even there could be a selection effect, results indicate that women’s marriage experiences have a lasting impact on their gender essential belief, but such associations are not found for men. In addition, this research zooms in on the One-Child Generation to explore shifts in gender structure and intimate relationships. I show young adults’ perception of marriage and partnership using latent class analysis. I also demonstrate the gender differences in view towards husband and wife’s expected role in marriage. Overall, this dissertation highlights an era of drastic change in gender and intimate relationships. It also shows a generation of young adults seeking changes in life while retaining what seems to be the unshakeable traditional rule of family life.