Marriage, Reproduction, Family

Abstract

Though marriage and childrearing were normative for all Small Third Fronters, they were supposed to take second place to one’s productive labor. Marriages were therefore low-key occasions, and spouses were frequently separated by school or work, as well as by care duties for family members back in the city. On-the-ground leadership thought little of directly intervening in marriages and family life. They also began monitoring reproductive choices under the One Child Policy. Disobeying the policy could bring considerable social stigma and other serious consequences, such as losing one’s employment. Narratives in this chapter show that some interviewees found the valorization of work over family obligations liberating, while others experienced deep distress, guilt, and even trauma at the choices they felt compelled to make. Demoralization due to strained family relationships was a serious enough problem that sympathetic bosses and cadres helped workers bend the rules on an ad hoc basis.