Lynette Lu: Chinese Matchmaking & the Myth of Leftover Women (EN)

Picture this: You’re scrolling through a dating app. You see the
usual information — their age, their job, maybe a line or two
about their hobbies.


 


You check out their list of dealbreakers. The demands read: No
siblings. No history of living with an ex. No history of
soliciting prostitutes.


 


What sounds like a dystopian thought experiment is the daily
reality on Chinese matchmaking platforms, where marriage is
increasingly treated not as a pursuit of personal romance, but as
a demographic crisis to be managed.


 


Lynette Lu is a PhD candidate in Digital Humanities at the
University of Bern. Her work revolves around a painstaking
critical discourse analysis of Chinese matchmaking culture. By
manually analyzing thousands of online dating profiles, Lynette
is uncovering the profound linguistic and sociological biases
hiding in plain sight.


 


Martin Ritzmann sat down with Lynette to unpack the bleak
realities of this highly curated marriage market.


 


Links:


Lynette Lu on ResearchGate



Related Materials:


Leta Hong Fincher, Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender
Inequality in China, 10th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury
Academic, 2023.

CNA Insider, “How Matchmaking Agencies In China Are Helping
Young Men Find Love,” YouTube video.

Zhaorui Lü, “Navigating the Market for Love: The Chinese
Party-State as Matchmaker in the Early Reform Era,” Made in China
Journal, 24 March 2025.



Additional Voices by Jennifer Solenthaler, Heidi Mercki and Ueli
Khan.


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