The Customer is Queen
February 16th, 2010
Xiao Lei is a 25-year old professional woman who works in Suzhou Industrial Park for an American company. Xiao Lei has nary a boyfriend, nor prospects for one. Her father especially hounds her about when she will get married. During Spring Festival this year she was especially harassed by relatives, as her youngest sister has been married a year and her eldest sister just got married to a soldier from their hometown, in Anhui Province. Unfortunately, she still lives with her parents, and many of her relatives live in Suzhou, too. Unfortunate, because she can’t rent a boyfriend to take back to her parents and relatives to relieve the incessant pressure oldergenerations apply to young people to marry and to pump out a kid. If her parents lived in another city, she could mollify their neurosis with a fill-in boyfriend. Or, for the guys, fill-in girlfriend. All expenses paid, of course.
The online “rental lover” industry has picked up considerably the last couple years in China as twenty-somethings are too busy or picky to find a partner on their own. Or, they simply want to concentrate on developing their career, which in China requires a lot of effort as their are likely a thousand other people ready and willing to take one’s job.However, renters can be exacting. The New York Times cited one woman’s requirement: they should be educated, employed, well-behaved and between 170 and 180 centimeters, or 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches, tall. Glasses — a sign of erudition to her father — a plus. Oneother thing: “Don’t be too skinny.” She was afraid of her relatives and friends considering her a “left-over girl”, a successful woman who cannot find a husband.
It seems supply is outstripping demand, though, with both young men and women offering themselves up to play mate to a potential renter. One candidate said he sure he knew he really should go home to visit his family, but the temptation to meet a pretty girl who would pay all his expenses was too tempting. Besides, she may be a potential mate for life.
One experienced rent-a-suitor suggested to other potential candidates to keep their requirements low. After all, he said, “The customer is queen.”
Further reading: China Daily
Past posts:
“Straying Cows” Still Unable to Meet Bachelor Demands
