In China, an increasing amount of young couples are openly discussing vasectomies as a form of birth control. This growing trend is a reflection of changing societal norms that are further breaking down traditional expectations. Wan and his partner Li have made waves on social media. This was following the fact that Wan had a vasectomy and shared his experience publicly. This act has ignited discussions about family planning, gender roles, and societal pressures surrounding childbirth in a country facing significant demographic challenges.
The Chinese government has been clear that raising the birth rate is required to address an aging population. President Xi Jinping emphasized this point during a discussion with the All China Women’s Federation in 2023, stating the need to “actively cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing.” This call to action comes at a time when China is grappling with the consequences of its decades-old one-child policy. This policy produced the opposite effect, a declining birth rate and an increasingly aging population. In 2023, China’s fertility rate dropped to new record lows of only a single birth per woman. This is a dramatic decrease from its height in the early 1960s.
Last year, for the first time since 1961, the country’s population actually shrank. This dramatic drop represents a huge turning point and underscores the importance of reacting to our evolving demographics. The consequences of the one-child policy are still echoing today. It shows that millions of families across India were forced to be sterilized if they exceeded their quota of one child. According to official Chinese statistics, since the initiation of the program in 1971, Chinese doctors have carried out more than 336 million abortions and almost 196 million sterilizations.
It was not easy for Wan to make the choice to get a vasectomy. On top of that, he had to work through his workplace’s family planning leave policy, which needed several levels of approval to pay for the procedure. To start with, he and his partner had a difficult time finding a hospital willing to do the vasectomy. Along the way, they were further dismayed to discover that the procedure would only be approved after she gave birth.
Li went public on social media with their experience, as did the other students. Through informative and humorous content, they set out to destigmatize vasectomies and encourage real conversations about reproductive options. Her motivation stems from a desire to live life on her own terms, as she articulated, “I just want to live better for myself now and make up for what I missed in my childhood.” This sentiment resonates with many young people who feel pressured by societal expectations regarding work and family life.
The couple’s story is typical of a new, and rapidly growing, phenomenon among the youth of China. Increasingly, they’re pushing back against outdated notions of work ethic and family values. This new movement has been referred to as “lying flat.” It reflects the growing unwillingness to submit to the culture of achievement and breeding we’ve developed. Wan found a growing trend of people who are opting out of parenting. These changes have the potential to make significant improvements in the quality of care China’s seniors receive.
Dr. Stuart Gietel-Basten, a demographer who focuses on Chinese demographics, warned that the process of changing societal expectations about family planning can be complicated. For too long, he noted, the discussion for several decades has been focused on the supply side—on trying to discourage births. “If you spend 35 years telling people one child is good … then all of a sudden you actually say, ‘Yeah, no, have three children actually … that kind of messaging can be tricky,” he explained.
Lauren and Chris’s experience is on the cutting edge of shifting gender norms in reproductive health. Traditionally, it has been women who have shouldered long-term contraception methods. As Dr. Gietel-Basten noted, vasectomies may indicate a shift towards greater gender equality in shared responsibilities for family planning. He remarked that Wan’s choice is a way of demonstrating commitment in their relationship: “This is a way of offsetting the balance and demonstrating … as a man, I’m going to take responsibility.”
Yet not all responses have been positive. Li pointed out that although many women commented favorably on Wan’s choice to get a vasectomy, many men did not approve. “When some women who are close to us heard about it, they said, ‘Wow, your husband is amazing.’ For some men, it was the opposite,” Li shared.
The couple each expressed their worries regarding the burdens they experienced while growing up in an intensely competitive space. Li expressed her apprehension about potentially imposing high expectations on her future children due to societal pressures: “If I became a parent, I might unconsciously set high expectations for my child because of the competitive environment and social pressure.”
So too, Wan Aung, who made comparisons to life in other nations such as Australia to highlight the deficiencies in Myanmar. He remarked that while financial burdens exist elsewhere, “the psychological burdens of pushing your kids to achieve what is seen to be extreme levels of education” create additional challenges in China.
Looking forward, Wan said he was hopeful about the direction China’s workforce is heading. He hopes that progress in fields like robotics can address some of the resulting strains from a shrinking population. “As the population declines, robots will take over more tasks,” he stated.
