Social Exclusion And Involuntary Rural Bachelors

Since the sex ratio at birth of China began to rise in 1980 s,the discussion on the population structure change caused by the "female deficit" and the possible social consequences have never stopped.With the earliest "surplus male" entered the marriageable age,"male marriage squeeze" in the marriage market is out of the academic discussion and become a hot topic nationwide.On the one hand,the state acknowledged that there will be 30 million more men in marriageable age category than women.On the other hand,various social media focused on these "surplus male".When all of the country pay attention to the discussion of reasons,consequences and solutions,the surplus men’s social status,demands and aspirations ignored by the social public opinions.Involuntary rural bachelors in China studied in this paper came from Z village in Henan Province.In this paper,the author first does a detailed analysis of the special reason of forced male bachelors,and then focus on their social status and action strategies in the marginalized environment through the perspective of social exclusion.This study through in-depth interviews and non-participant observation,from the perspective of respondents,to discuss the logic and significance behind the involuntary rural bachelors’ behavior.Through sorting out and analyzing the factors of living environment,culture and customs,this paper explains what position the "surplus male" are in rural communities,and how they are placed in this position.What action did they take in such a position? What is the meaning of these action strategies for them?To view the situation as a whole,the action strategies are not enough to prevent their social status from falling down,and the interaction between various kinds of exclusion is more likely to cause this decline.With the consequences of the unbalanced sex ratio at birth gradually appeared,the social integration of a large number of unmarried men will directly affect the construction of a harmonious society in China.This research through analyzes the living conditions and life logic of involuntary rural bachelors to explore the endogenous factors and local regulations affecting their social status.Moreover,this will makes contribute to understand the involuntary rural bachelors’ marginalized social status,to provide empirical basis for solving the issue of their social integration.