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A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Extramarital
Sex in Contemporary China
Yuanting Zhang
a
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Consumer Studies Team, U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
College Park, Maryland, USA
Available online: 15 Jun 2010
To cite this article: Yuanting Zhang (2010): A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Extramarital Sex in
Contemporary China, Marriage & Family Review, 46:3, 170-190
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Marriage & Family Review, 46:170–190, 2010
ISSN: 0149-4929 print=1540-9635 online
DOI: 10.1080/01494929.2010.490100
A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Extramarital
Sex in Contemporary China
YUANTING ZHANG
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Consumer Studies Team, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, College Park, Maryland, USA
Extramarital affairs and divorce are controversial issues in China.
Using a mixed-methods approach, extramarital sex (EMS) was
investigated by combining statistical data about behaviors and
attitudes with a textual reading of contemporary newspaper and
magazine articles related to EMS in China. On the basis of the
1999–2000 Chinese Health and Family Life Survey, this study
indicated that about 15% of married men and 5% of married
women in China have engaged in EMS. Opportunity and permissive attitudes were related to the likelihood of engaging in EMS,
especially for men. The prevalence of EMS may reflect a redistribution of power, both between and within gender groups, with
Chinese men and women of higher socioeconomic status more
likely to engage in EMS.
KEYWORDS China, extramarital affairs, extramarital sex,
gender, infidelity
INTRODUCTION
Chinese society is undergoing dramatic changes, propelled by globalization
and greater contact with Western ideologies. As the revolutionary fervor of
the cultural revolution wanes, many Chinese citizens are refocusing on their
personal lives, demanding more fulfilling family relationships. The society is
experiencing a cultural shift from collectivism to individualism or postmodern ideas as indicated by more tolerance toward premarital sex;
This article is not subject to U.S. copyright law.
This work was performed before Yuanting Zhang joined the Food and Drug
Administration.
Address correspondence to Yuanting Zhang, Staff Fellow, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]
170
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Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
171
cohabitation; extramarital affairs; and the desire for higher quality of intimate
and familial relationships (Shen, 1996). Chinese media reflect these changes
because divorce and infidelity have become hot topics on daily programs
(Platt, 1999). When dramatized on Chinese television, extramarital affairs
are often romanticized. Farrer and Sun (2003) suggested that this type of
portrayal justifies the behavior, offering an array of acceptable reasons. It
is not surprising that the majority of people favorably discussed in these
media portrayals have been men.
In the United States, extramarital affairs are one of the most common
causes of divorce (Pimentel, 2006). About 15% to 42% of marriages in
America dissolve because of infidelity; the discrepancy depends on who is
telling the story, because cheaters might not attribute infidelity as the reason
for the dissolution (South & Lloyd, 1995). According to a large, nationally
representative sample, 22% to 25% of married men compared with 11% to
15% of married women have engaged in extramarital sex (EMS) at least once
during their married lives (Allen et al., 2005). Despite these high numbers,
few sociologists studying family cohesion have paid attention to this issue.
This oversight may be the result of a lack of reliable data. Sensitive topics
such as EMS are generally affected by social desirability bias. Researchers
have paid even less attention to EMS in China, even though EMS has been
directly correlated to rising divorce rates in China (Xu, 1994), whereas
sexual promiscuity and contact with sex workers have been shown to be
the major routes of spreading HIV and other STDs in China (Li et al., 2006).
Although Western sociologists, including Western feminist scholars,
have not paid much attention to the increasing rates of EMS in China, there
are actually many public debates in China on this issue, and new laws have
been passed to protect the victims, who are usually wives. Chinese feminists
had divergent opinions about the ways in which divorce benefits or hinders
women’s push for equality (Eckholm, 1998). Representatives from the
All-China Women’s Federation and many female legal experts in China have
believed that divorce should be harder to grant, divorce laws should punish
men and the third party, and adultery should be a criminal offense.
Western-trained feminists and sociologists, however, believed that the
increasing divorce rate was an indicator of women’s increasing empowerment, and government interference in citizens’ private lives should not be
encouraged (Eckholm, 1998). In 2001, the National People’s Congress passed
several modifications to China’s 1980 Marriage Law, making extramarital
affairs illegal, taking more punitive action against violators, and adding more
physical protection for women and children (Zhang, 2002). Despite this new
legal protection and the emergence of private law firms in China that specialize in investigating extramarital affairs, EMS continues to rise (Yardley, 2005).
Historically, Chinese men’s sexual preferences usually followed a
descending hierarchy: lovers, prostitutes, women servants, concubines,
and wives (Pan, Parish, Wang, & Laumann, 2004). According to this social
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Y. Zhang
norm, concubines were favored over wives; servants, however, could be
better than concubines because of the secretiveness and excitement of being
caught; and prostitutes could be even better than servants. Still, secret lovers
were the most desired for men and deemed a high achievement, possibly
because of the sense of adventure and possible mutual affection. Not only
were women used to dealing with other women in their marriages, the wife’s
tolerance about her husband’s flings seemed to be expected.
As China’s economy booms, new modes of concubinage and extramarital affairs are taking shape. Many Chinese men regard such sexual practices
as a form of cultural liberation (Honig & Hershatter, 1988). For example,
there is a well-known ‘‘mistress village’’ on the outskirts of Shenzhen, the
southern boom city that borders Hong Kong. According to Williams
(1999), the village acquired its name because of the ‘‘tens of thousands of
Hong Kong businessmen and workers who made a regular pilgrimage across
the border’’ (p. 79). The Chinese media often refer to mistresses as ‘‘second
wives’’ (ernai), which means that men provide housing, and other material
goods to garner exclusive rights to their mistresses (Shen, 2005). Hong Kong
businessmen’s lifestyles have become socially acceptable and enviable goals
for many Chinese men. As more inland Chinese men amass wealth, many of
them desire a mistress who they can show off as a status symbol. According
to Williams, the convergence between liberal Westernized sexual ideas and
old concubine traditions in China has created a contemporary masculinity
that is deeply rooted in feudalist, male dominance mingled with modern,
commercialized sexuality. This combination of old and new ideologies
lends support to a sexual double standard, maintaining the subordination
of women.
This study is one of the first to use a nationally representative sample to
investigate the correlates of extramarital affairs and gender regimes in China.
China presents an important case study as the most populous country in the
world with a rapidly expanding market economy. These dramatic economic
and social changes have ushered in ideological shifts that may strain existing
marriages. Analyzing the prevalence and correlates of extramarital affairs is
not only central to understanding gender differences in sexual behaviors
and increasing divorce rates in China, but it also has implications for controlling the spread of HIV and AIDS in China (Yang et al., 2005).
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Modern Evolutionary and Rational Choice Explanations
Differing from traditional perspectives, which use the biological differences
between men and women as grounds to justify men’s promiscuous behaviors, modern evolutionary theorists emphasize that both men and women
have adapted and can benefit from pursuing short- and long-term mating
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Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
173
(Baker & Bellis, 1995; Greiling & Buss, 2000). According to sexual strategies
theory by Buss and Schmitt (1993), men and women use different strategies
and have different preferences in mating. For example, men are more
inclined to short-term relationships to maximize sex variety; women,
however, could gain little from such chance pairings, and tend to pay more
attention to the partner quality.
According to modern evolutionary perspectives, human cognition is a
result of adaption to the changes of social environment (Kenrick, Trost, &
Sheets, 1996). From such standpoint, rational choice explanations can be
arguably related to modern evolutionary perspectives. Used mostly in economics with the assumption that people are rational in making judgments,
rational choice theory explains decisions that certain social behaviors are
usually made to minimize costs and maximize benefits (Becker, 1978). A person will have an affair if and only if the expected utility of EMS (e.g., excitement, possibilities of being caught) outweighs the utility of not doing it.
Consistent with evolutionary perspectives, women have adapted to cheat less
throughout history because of minimum gain and high costs (e.g., unwanted
pregnancies; male jealousy and punishment); alternatively, for men, the costs
of cheating have often been minimal (Kenrick et al., 1996). To better explain
why rational choice theory works in the Chinese context, two additional
concepts, autonomy and marriage squeeze, are introduced. Autonomy helps
elucidate why Chinese women need to get married, and marriage squeeze
explains why women want to stay married.
According to the sociology literature, autonomy in a dyadic relationship
is associated with the gender roles and power distribution in the household
(Saunders & Edwards, 1984). In most societies, especially in developing
countries, wives tend to be locked in the domestic sphere and do more
housework and caretaking, compared with their husbands who tend to
spend more time in social events. Even today, female virtues promoted by
the communist party emphasize household and societal responsibilities that
women should bear rather than the pursuit of personal happiness in order to
build a harmonious society (He, 2005). Marriage is almost universal in
Chinese society (Zeng, Vaupel, & Yashin, 1985), and unmarried Asian
women often feel like social outcasts (Maykovich, 1976). There are popular
Chinese sayings for women today such as ‘‘doing well is not as good as marrying well.’’ Because of these social realities, women are less likely to engage
in extramarital affairs and more likely to be tolerant of unfaithful husbands.
Marriage squeeze generally refers to the imbalance of sex ratios in the
marriage market. Because of social customs (e.g., women marry young)
and demographic factors (e.g., women, in general, tend to outlive men), as
women get older, the pool of eligible men seems to get smaller; the reverse
seems to be true for men. As pointed out by Schoen (1983), marriage squeeze
could be a particular problem in developing countries. Single Asian women
older than 30 years of age are a public concern and have more difficulties
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Y. Zhang
finding an eligible partner compared with Asian men of similar age
(Goodkind, 1997).
Similar to women in most societies, women in Chinese society on average hold less structural power. At the national level, less than 1 in 10 party
members, or cadres, were women (Loscoco & Wang, 1992). Chinese women
had fewer opportunities at the labor market and still earned significantly less
than their male counterparts (Shu & Bian, 2002). Compared with women in
Mao’s era, women in the new economic reform period might feel more independent but somehow less secure (Shu & Bian). Women on average are less
educated than Chinese men, and divorced Chinese women have a more difficult time remarrying (Shu & Bian). Taking all these factors into account, the
costs of engaging in EMS seem exceptionally high for Chinese women. Thus,
even though women may have similar opportunities as men for EMS, harsh
economic realities after divorce and reduced prospects of getting remarried
often serve as deterrents.
Feminist Perspectives
Contrary to evolutionary perspectives, which tend to emphasize human
evolution by selection and adaptation, feminist perspectives argue that
sexual discrepancies between genders are socially constructed, instead of
being biologically determined. In this view, women, like men, might maximize the number of partners if conditions were suitable (Schwartz & Rutter,
1998). Moreover, the struggle involved over sexuality is often a power
struggle, sometimes between the two gender groups, sometimes between
different social classes. Reiss (1986) concluded that promiscuity is a showcase for the small group of people in power to demonstrate their dominance
by maximizing their sexual pleasure. In patriarchal societies, high-status men
often have access to multiple women, whether as wives, concubines,
prostitutes, or mistresses. Poor men do not have the financial capacity for
multiple women.
Communist China has given hope to many feminist scholars by proclaiming its aspiration to build a gender-equal utopian society by eliminating
private property. Immediately after the Communists came to power in 1949,
the government banned many feudal marital practices such as child marriages and the use of concubines; it outlawed prostitution and encouraged
women to pursue a career outside of marriage (Pimentel, 2006). Urban
Chinese women had the highest employment rate in the world until the late
1970s, and rural women were given land property and thus achieved economic independence for the first time in history (Bauer, Feng, Wang, Riley,
& Zhao, 1992). However, Communist China did not bring about the
gender-equal utopian society as many had hoped; in fact, the change in
many households was negligible. Most Chinese men still expect wives to
do most of the housework, although women are educated to be equal with
Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
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men and to be employed outside of the home (Zhang, 2006). In reality, urban
Chinese women earned only about 75% of what men earned for similar jobs
(Sun, 1991). One of the critiques of Marxist Feminism in China is that the state
uses it as an ideology to play down women’s personal interests (Chow,
Zhang, & Wang, 2004). Jiang (2000) argued that economic development is
a prerequisite for sexual equality in China. As China develops quickly, under
a socialist political system intertwined with a capitalist economy, are we
going to see women of higher socioeconomic status have a more diversified
sex life as men currently enjoy? Is this a step forward or backward?
PREVIOUS STUDIES ON EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR
Defining what constitutes EMS can be problematic, especially because there
are often both emotional and sexual components (Thompson, 1984). This
paper specifically focuses on EMS—physical intimacy with someone other
than one’s spouse. In reality, each gender brings in different motivations
and attitudes when having affairs (Allen et al., 2005). Past research has suggested that EMS could be purely sexual for men but less often so for women
(Allen et al., 2005; Thompson, 1984).
Many socioeconomic variables have been proposed to explain EMS. In
China, Zeng, Wang, and Li (1995) reported that the age group of individuals
between 30 and 39 years was most likely to divorce because of extramarital
affairs. The relationship between education and extramarital involvement
was not clear-cut (Allen et al., 2005). Smith (1994) found that people with
higher levels of education held more permissive attitudes toward extramarital
involvement. Yet, Atkins, Baucom, and Jacobson (2001) suggested that the
relation between education and attitudes toward infidelity only held true
for people with past divorce histories. Income was a significant predictor
for EMS for men, but not for women (Buunk, 1980); employment status
was a better predictor for EMS for wives, not for husbands (Edwards &
Booth, 1976).
Other than the socioeconomic variables, opportunity was recognized by
many as an important predictor for engaging in EMS (Allen et al., 2005).
Opportunities to meet people may be largely affected by occupation. People
who travel frequently for work or whose spouses are frequently absent may
have more opportunities to meet potential partners. Furthermore, opportunities may depend on where an individual lives. China’s unique Hu Kou policy links a person’s registered residential place with employment, housing,
and other social benefits. As a result, Chinese society has long been divided
into urban and rural classes (U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on
China, 2005). The market reform has granted urban residents new resources
and freedom, including sex freedom, but the newfound freedom was largely
an urban phenomenon (Farrer, 2002). However, recent results showed
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because of the facilitation of the internal migration, rural–urban differences
in sexual morals and practices were fading during the rapid market transition
(Xia, 2005).
It is not surprising that attitudes and behaviors related to EMS were
closely linked (Allen et al., 2005; Glass & Wright, 1992). Men’s greater permissiveness toward extramarital affairs was strongly related to their actual pursuit of such relationships outside marriage (Prins, Buunk, & VanYperen,
1993). In addition, Buunk (1980) found that self-rated physical attractiveness
was associated with elevated rates of extramarital affairs for both genders.
Glass and Wright (1977) showed that EMS was also related to marital satisfaction, although the relation operated differently for men and women and
depended on the length of their marriage. As Atwater (1979) pointed out,
EMS was not always a result of poor marital relationship. Shen’s (2005) study
of Taiwanese businessmen in China found men’s engagement in EMS was
unrelated to the quality of their marriages. These men saw no contradictions
in maintaining both a happy family in Taiwan and a mistress in mainland
China. According to Buunk and Dijkstra (2004), women generally had affairs
because they were unsatisfied with their current relationships, and women
were more likely to leave their unsatisfactory relationship once the affairs
worked out. Liu (2000) found that marital duration was negatively related
to having EMS for women, but was curvilinear for men. In other words,
newlywed men and men who have been married for a while were more
likely to stray. Studies on exploring negative effects of EMS on children are
rare. A few studies in the U.S. have explored the effects of the number of
children and age of child on EMS, and most of these studies failed to find
any significant relations (Edwards & Booth, 1976; Fair, 1978; Liu, 2000).
Unfortunately, the effects of having children and marital duration could
not be tested with these data.
HYPOTHESES
Instead of using gender as a control variable, Chinese men and women are
examined separately to better study the gender differences of extramarital
relations. Specifically, socioeconomic factors and opportunity variables in
having EMS are the primary focus for seeking theoretical guidance in
deciphering the gender differences.
Hypothesis 1: Married men and women with higher socioeconomic status, as
measured by income, education and occupation, are more likely to engage
in EMS than their counterparts of lower socioeconomic status.
Hypothesis 2 (testing for feminist explanations): Chinese women, just like
Chinese men, are equally likely to engage in EMS when offered opportunities (controlling for demographic and other opportunity factors). Other
Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
177
EMS risk factors (e.g., relationship quality, attitudes) should reduce any
gender differences.
Hypothesis 3 (testing for the rational choice explanations): Chinese women
are not as likely to have EMS even given the same opportunities as Chinese
men (controlling for demographic and other opportunity factors). Other
EMS risk factors (e.g., relationship quality, attitudes) should reduce the
gender differences.
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METHOD
For this analysis, we used a mixed-methods approach by combining statistical data with a textual reading of contemporary Chinese newspaper and
magazine articles related to infidelity in China. The qualitative component
complements the existing quantitative data with richer details. The mix of
both the qualitative and quantitative data is not to follow the qualitative as
exploratory and quantitative as a confirmatory paradigm, but rather to make
the best use of both: finding general patterns from aggregate quantitative
data and using qualitative data to increase the depth and complexity of the
inquiry (Creswell, 2003; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005).
For the statistical analysis, data were drawn from the 1999–2000 Chinese
Health and Family Life Survey (CHFLS), a random survey that encompassed a
national sample of the adult population between the ages of 20 and 64 years
from 18 provinces in China (18 provinces with above-median STD prevalence out of 31 provincial-level municipalities and provinces). Because of
the size of the population in China, a four-stage cluster sampling that resulted
in 14 initial strata, 48 primary sampling units, and a total of 60 sample communities. In the final stage, systematic sampling was used to select about 83
individuals from each community (for details about the survey, see Parish,
Wang, Laumann, Pan, & Luo, 2004). Trained social workers and researchers
in their 40s and 50s were sent to the field and matched with the gender of the
respondents. Interviews were conducted away from the home setting, at
hotels or village meeting place. After brief training, the respondents were
in control of the computerized interview unless assistance was needed.
The respondents were also asked to provide a urine sample. Conducted
through joint efforts from both the United States and China with careful
design, CHFLS provides the best available data on this subject in China with
a response rate of 76% (Parish et al., 2004).
The sample was limited to couples who were married and married for the
first time. As a result, 870 respondents were omitted from the original sample
of 3,821 respondents. The final sample was further restricted to 2,851 respondents by removing people who had missing or invalid values for any of
explanatory variables. STATA 10 (StataCorp., 2007) was utilized to conduct
the descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Sampling design effects (for
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Y. Zhang
the effects of a complex sampling design) were fully accounted in obtaining
accurate results using STATA SVY (estimation commands for survey data) procedures. On the basis of previous studies that showed that some risk factors for
EMS might operate differently for men and women, gender-specific regression
models were used. A series of Chow Tests (not shown) were performed and
the results confirmed that the models should be estimated separately by
gender (for details about Chow Tests, see DeMaris, 2004). For the qualitative
section, I analyzed 35 scripts from recent Chinese newspaper articles.
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Dependent Variable
The dependent variable is a dummy-coded variable coded ‘‘1’’ if the respondent reported engaging in EMS, even just once.
Key Independent Variables
The CHFLS asked respondents, ‘‘What is your current full age?’’ Specifically,
age was the respondent’s full Western age. Most Chinese people calculate
their age on the basis of the lunar calendar, which designates an age of 1
at birth. Age was recoded into three age groups: 20–34 years, 35–49 years,
and 50–64 years. The respondents’ education levels are captured with a
three-category variable ranging from 1 (never attended school or elementary
school) to 3 (junior college and above, including professional training or
vocational high school, university, and graduate school). The respondent’s
personal monthly income is measured in Chinese yuan (1 U.S. dollar is about
6.8 Chinese yuan). Income was recoded into three categories: (1) less than
500 yuan per month, (2) 500 to 1999 yuan per month, and (3) more than
2000 yuan. Respondent occupation is coded with a set of dummy variables
for the following categories: farmer; manual worker; sales, service, entertainment industry worker; self-employed, independent worker; clerical or office
worker; technical worker, teacher, professional; manager, business owner;
government official, including rural officials; other occupation.
In the CHFLS, opportunity was captured by the question, ‘‘In the past 12
months, regardless of reason, how many days altogether was your partner
away from home by himself=herself?’’ that participants reported on using a
5-point scale ranging from 1 (never, or less than a week) to 5 (more than 6
months). CHFLS included the question, ‘‘In your opinion, are you attractive
in the eyes of the opposite sex?’’ Responses were recoded into a 4-point scale
ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much).
Control Variables
Urban is a dummy variable and was coded ‘‘1’’ if the area contained
fewer than 15% farmers. Because of oversampling, approximately 80% of
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Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
179
the respondents were from urban areas. Whether the respondent had
premarital sex is a dummy-coded variable, with ‘‘1’’ signifying that they
had premarital sex, including sex with the current or other partner(s) or commercial sex before marriage. Patriarchal views in CHFLS were measured by
agreement with the following statement and question: ‘‘Some say that a wife
should be responsible for the family and domestic tasks, while a husband
should focus on career and matters outside the home. Do you agree?’’
Participants responded using a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1
(completely agree) to 4 (completely disagree). Housework equity was
measured by the question, ‘‘Does your partner spend more time on chores
than you do?’’ Responses ranged from 1 (much more than me) to 5 (much
less than me).
Attitude toward extramarital affairs was measured by the following
question: ‘‘Some say that it is OK to have sex with someone other than your
spouse after marriage. Do you agree?’’ Respondents were asked to respond
on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (completely agree) to 4 (completely disagree). Another question asked the respondent, ‘‘Nowadays in
our society, some married people have sex with those other than their
spouse (extramarital affair, third party). Do you think that each of these cases
should be treated individually or that all parties should be punished?’’ The
response options to this question were measured by a scale of 1 ¼ definitely
finitely should be treated individually to 4 ¼ definitely should all be punished. Relationship satisfaction was captured by the following components:
sexual satisfaction with the spouse, any physical violence in the relationship,
and affection felt between the couple. CHFLS included two questions on sex
satisfaction: ‘‘Does having sex with your current partner make you feel physically satisfied?’’ and ‘‘Does having sex with your current partner make you
feel emotionally satisfied?’’ The two answers were summed, so the combined
answers range from 1 (not satisfied at all) to 7 (very satisfied). The physical
violence between the partners was measured by the question, ‘‘For whatever
reason, has your partner ever hit you and when did that happen (not including in a joking or playful way)?’’ Similarly, another question asked whether
the respondent ever physically hit his or her partner. The responses were
coded into a dummy variable, with ‘‘1’’ signifying that hitting happened.
The mutual affection summed up two variables: ‘‘Currently, your affection=
love for your partner’’ and ‘‘Currently, your partner’s affection=love for
you’’ and ranged from 1 (no affection) to 7 (very deep).
QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
Descriptive Results
Table 1 includes basic descriptive and t test statistics for respondents by
gender. All the means were weighted by using the age-adjusted population
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TABLE 1 Descriptive Statistics of Extramarital Sex, by Gender
Male (n ¼ 1,411)
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Variable
Ever had extramarital sexz
Agez
18–29z
30–39z
40–49
50–64z
Education
Elementary school or
lessz
Junior or senior high
schoolz
Some college or þ
Occupation
Farmerz
Manual workerz
Sales=service employee
Self-employedz
Clerical worker
Professional=technical
employeez
Managerz
Administrative
employeez
Other positionz
Monthly income (in
Chinese Yuan or ¥)z
499z
500–1999z
2000þz
Days away in the past year
(low to high)z
Urban
R self-rated attractiveness
(low to high)
Patriarchal view (very
patriarchal to feminist)z
Relative time on chores
(over-benefiting to
under)z
Extramarital affair is okay
(agree to disagree)z
Judge affairs case by case
(agree to disagree)z
Had premarital sexz
Mutual affectionz
Satisfaction with sexz
Ever hit spouse
Mean
0.15
40.57
0.19
0.31
0.27
0.23
SD
9.65
Female (n ¼ 1,440)
Mean
0.05
37.68
0.22
0.40
0.24
0.14
SD
9.33
Range
0–1
21–64
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–1
0.33
0.52
0–1
0.61
0.44
0–1
0.05
0.03
0–1
0.40
0.18
0.06
0.20
0.07
0.04
0.63
0.13
0.06
0.10
0.05
0.02
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–1
0.02
0.03
0.00
0.01
0–1
0–1
0.01
694.39
1166.23
0.00
321.60
0.50
0.42
0.09
1.47
0.94
0.77
0.20
0.02
1.08
0.36
0–1
0–1
0–1
1–5
0.28
2.30
0.58
0.26
2.28
0.54
0–1
1–4
1.95
1.00
1.70
1.02
1–4
1.78
1.06
4.15
1.10
1–5
3.53
0.69
3.85
0.50
1–4
2.53
1.13
3.17
1.20
1–4
0.24
5.86
5.37
0.15
1.14
1.06
0.10
5.74
5.09
0.15
1.20
1.16
0–1
1–7
1–7
0–1
755.12
0–1
0–10000
Note. z Significant difference (p < .05) in the two-sample means or proportions. Data source: The 1999–
2000 Chinese Health and Family Life Survey. Includes couples who were married at the time of the Survey.
Means of variables with 0–1 range are proportions. Means are weighted using the age adjusted weight.
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Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
181
weight to produce the number of adults ages 20 to 64 years in the total population. Consist with modern revolutionary perspective or rational choice
explanations, Chinese women were less likely than Chinese men to cheat:
About 15% of men compared with 5% of women had at least one extramarital sexual encounter. Table 1 highlights compositional differences between
the two gender groups in China. For example, Chinese men reported higher
levels of education than did Chinese women as well as disproportionately
higher income brackets than did women. In terms of occupation, more
men reported being self-employed, professionals, or managers, whereas
more women reported being farmers or working in sales and service professions. Also, married men seemed to be more satisfied with their sex lives than
married women were, and married men were more likely to report having
had premarital sex than were women (24% vs. 10%, respectively). Chinese
women were more likely to agree with the patriarchal idea of ‘‘wife focuses
on family, husband focuses on career.’’ Chinese husbands, more so than
wives, reported spending less time on household chores, hitting, or possibly
being hit more by their spouse. They also reported more permissive attitudes
towards extramarital affairs. Overall, men and women appeared to report
significant differences on many indicators except for variables on urban
residence, self-rated attractiveness, and mutual affection between spouses.
Multivariate Results
For both genders, Model 1 of Table 2 encompassed the focused opportunity
variables and respondents’ socioeconomic status. The socioeconomic
variables included respondents’ monthly income, educational level, and
occupation. The opportunity variables included age, days away in the past
year, urban residency, and self-rated attractiveness. Model 2 of Table 2
included all additional control variables including respondents’ attitudes
toward women’s status and extramarital affairs; marital quality indicators;
and whether the respondent had premartial sex.
As shown in Table 2, education was not a significant predictor for EMS
among women. However, among men, the college-educated men were less
likely to report EMS compared with men with less than a high school education. Income was a statistically significant risk factor for EMS for both genders. More financially stable respondents, especially women, were much
more likely to report engaging in EMS than were respondents with limited
financial resources. Occupation was significantly associated with EMS only
for men. For example, controlling for age, income, education, and other
opportunity variables, the odds of having engaged in EMS were 19 ¼ exp
(2.95) times higher for men holding a managerial job than men who were
farmers. Overall, the results only partially supported Hypothesis 1. The
effects of income, education and occupation were not usually pointing to
the same direction and the gender disparities were apparent.
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Y. Zhang
TABLE 2 Log Odds of Opportunities, Socioeconomic and Other Factors on Extramarital Sex,
by Gender
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Male (n ¼ 1,411)
Variable
Model 1
Constant
Age (years)
18–29
30–39
40–49
50þ
Education
Elementary school or less
Junior or senior high school
Some college or higher education
Occupation
Farmer
Manual worker
Sales=service employee
Self-employed
Clerical worker
Professional=technical employee
Manager
Administrative employee
Other position
Monthly income (in Chinese Yuan)
499
500–1999
2000þ
Days away in the past year (low to
high)
Urban
Self-rated attractiveness (low to
high)
Attitudes
Patriarchal view (very patriarchal
to feminist)
Relative time on chores
(overbenefiting to under)
Extramarital affair is okay
(disagree to agree)
Judge affairs case by case
(disagree to agree)
Had premarital sex
Marital relationship
Mutual affection (no affection to
very deep)
Satisfaction with sex (not satisfied
to very satisfied)
Ever hit spouse
Likelihood ratio v2
Pseudo R2
Female (n ¼ 1,440)
Model 2
Model 1
Model 2
4.16
1.25
5.51
2.28
0.04
0.97y
1.74
0.14
0.80
1.63
0.02
0.69
1.44
0.36
0.80
1.50
0.41
1.54
0.22
1.47
0.61
1.61
0.33
1.88
1.01
0.68
0.14
1.82
1.64
0.82
0.64
1.70
1.24
0.49
0.05
2.28
1.99
0.84
0.15
1.29
0.45
1.45
0.88
1.66
2.12
2.95
1.87y
2.52
0.27
0.79
0.57
1.06
1.89
2.64
1.64y
1.51
0.55y
0.96
0.27
0.76
1.04
0.19
0.53
1.54
1.13
0.61y
0.57y
0.63y
0.49
0.41
0.42
0.25y
0.18
0.58
0.01
0.23
0.24
0.69
0.72y
0.18
0.55
0.95
140.87
.10
1.07y
1.94
0.94
0.19
0.21y
0.99
0.16
0.38
0.87
329.32
.23
99.49
.16
0.18
146.27
.23
Reference groups are in parentheses. Source: The 1999–2000 Chinese Health and Family Life Survey.
y
p < .10. p < .05. p < .01. p < .001.
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Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
183
It was unexpected that age showed no significant effect on EMS for
women. However, older Chinese men (age 40 years or older) were less likely
to engage in EMS than men who were 30 years of age or younger. Living in
an urban environment and perceived attractiveness were significant predictors for having EMS for men—but not for women—although there was only
a trend toward significance (p < .10). Regardless of gender, the more often
the person was away from home, the more likely he or she would have
engaged in EMS. Thus, Hypothesis 2 was partially supported. However,
the qualitative meaning of opportunity in the context of EMS seemed to be
different by gender.
In Model 2, we explored whether attitudes, relationship quality, and
premarital sex would mediate the association between opportunities (including socioeconomic status) and EMS. For men, the effect of occupation
remained statistically significant, although the magnitude was attenuated
by including the control variables. Men who reported more permissive attitudes toward extramarital affairs and men who reported more physical violence in their current marriages were also more likely to engage in EMS. For
women, the relationship quality variable, as indicated by feeling mutual
affection, was strongly related to the acts of having EMS. The more affection
women reported they felt, the less likely they were to report having engaged
in EMS. Alternatively, the affection variable was only marginally significant
for men. After adding the controls (i.e., relationship quality, attitudes), the
income effect became larger and more significant for both men and women.
This indicated a possible suppression effect of the controls (Cramer, 2003).
To better understand these differences, I analyzed a textual reading of
contemporary newspaper and magazine articles related to infidelity in China.
QUALITATIVE RESULTS
In addition to quantitative data, I collected 35 mainland Chinese newspaper
and magazine articles on extramarital affairs, published between 2004 and
2006. This search was not intended to be exhaustive or based on systematic
random sampling; instead, it represents a convenient sample comprising
Internet articles and magazine articles. The sampled magazines include the
Chinese popular magazines Marriage and Family and Family that were
published in 2006. Both magazines include real-life stories and commentary
articles on issues related to marriage and family in contemporary China.
According to Farrer (2002, p. 147), magazines have ‘‘high pass-along readership’’ and are ‘‘consumed more socially’’ in China. The same is true for newspapers in China. Most of these newspaper or magazine articles feature ‘‘true
story,’’ even though they are usually presented as melodramas (Farrer, 2002).
Of the 35 newspaper and magazine stories about mainland Chinese
society, 20 described men as initiators, 13 had the women as the initiators
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184
Y. Zhang
of extramarital affairs, and 2 cases involved both being initiators at the same
time. For example, one article described a couple—both partners had successful careers—made a pact to have an open marriage. In the qualitative
data, consistent with Hypothesis 1, men initiators tended to have higher
socioeconomic status (15 out of 20) and showed more permissive attitudes
of simultaneously enjoying both a lover and a wife. Also, all 20 male initiators
were either in business—often defined by busy social lives or frequent time
away from home, or in a leadership position, which gave them opportunities
to abuse their power. However, only 3 out of 13 women initiators were from
higher socioeconomic status, and only 1 of them was in business.
The Chinese popular media has been softening its tone in describing
EMS, first using ‘‘adultery’’ (tongjian), then the more neutral ‘‘the third party’’
(disanzhe), or the even more sympathetic ‘‘extramarital love’’ (hunwaiqin)
as alternatives (Qianlong News, 2003). Furthermore, a pseudo-concubine
was usually favorably described by Chinese men as ‘‘a beauty hidden in a
golden house’’ (jinwucangjiao). Chinese men’s extramarital behaviors were
portrayed as natural, sometimes as necessary regardless of their marital satisfaction, or occasionally as acceptable behavior to keep up with a trend popularized by other men. Chinese women with unfaithful husbands were usually
portrayed as bitter victims, who hated the other woman but were more tolerant about their husbands (Honig & Hershatter, 1988). In terms of media
coverage on women who initiated affairs, most editorials condemned these
women who initiate affairs as selfish or irresponsible, especially if children
were involved. Chinese husbands usually could not tolerate their wives’
unfaithful behaviors. The third party women, especially the younger ones,
were vehemently criticized, oftentimes by other women, as the main cause
of the extramarital affairs and as the destroyers of familial harmony (Honig
& Hershatter, 1988).
Men who had affairs described them in favorable or neutral terms such as
affairs being necessary for their sexual satisfaction or to keep up with other
men in the same status. However, the outcome for women tended to extremely
negative. Women who were seen as the third party usually suffered at the end
of an affair, either by being abandoned or murdered (Yangcheng Evening
News, 2004). Unfaithful wives tended to end up being murdered by her
husband or the third-party man, committing suicide, or their daughters having
an early pregnancy or entering prostitution (Oriental East News, 2005).
Even though the magazines were more commercialized than party
driven (Farrer, 2002), it was clear that the remarks were in line with the party
policies, which emphasized feminine virtues and sacrifice, as well as the
importance of family stability in building a harmonious society. Given that
these accounts were in newspapers and magazines, we can safely presume
that these were more sensational cases, as more mundane affairs do not
garner media attention. What these cases suggest is that gender beliefs affect
even the extreme cases of infidelity.
Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
185
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DISCUSSION
Similar to the findings from other countries, more Chinese men than Chinese
women reported ever having had EMS. Specifically, men and women of
higher SES were more likely to engage in EMS though the picture was slightly
different between gender groups. Chinese men and women of higher income
were both more likely to engage in EMS, but education and occupation were
only significant among men, not among women. Compared with farmers,
men of all other occupations were more likely to engage in EMS, with the
exception of manual labors, who were mostly composed of farmers from
rural China. The quantitative data provide partial support for the feminist perspective: women do engage in EMS more if they have more economic power
and opportunities. Compared with men, fewer women chose to engage in
EMS. Yet, when given opportunities, especially for women who were economically independent and traveled frequently, women were much more
likely to engage in EMS. Different from findings in the West, employment
was a significant predictor of EMS for men rather than for women. This might
be because most Chinese women work outside of home.
Similar to the quantitative findings, relatively more Chinese men
deviated from sexual morals than Chinese women. However, the qualitative
findings clarify that more men initiated EMS and more women were playing
roles of the third party. The common reasons for these women to initiate
affairs usually included feeling unhappy with their marriages, desiring true
love, and so forth. Different from the male initiators, these women were more
likely to feel guilty about their affairs. Both men and women inclined to have
affairs with coworkers or someone in their social circle, but men usually had
bigger social circles and had EMS with women from various societal and
economic backgrounds. Women who played the third party tended to have
more liberal attitudes about love and viewed love as being selfish and instrumental. Overall, the qualitative findings reveal more insights into the complexities of this issue and complement the quantitative findings. SES and
opportunities again turned out to be important in predicting EMS for both
genders, especially among men.
CONCLUSION
Overall, it appears that engaging in EMS is a reflection of privileges in
Chinese society, because both men and women of higher SES are more
likely to engage in EMS. As China goes through a more intense stratification
process, the practice of EMS seems to reflect a redistribution of power,
both between and within the two gender groups. As indicated in the qualitative data, the motivations and circumstances in engaging in EMS between
the two gender groups can be very different. As one editorial in China stated,
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Y. Zhang
a husband’s affair usually starts from physical behaviors, whereas a wife’s
affair usually stems from emotions (Global Net Health Community, 2009).
According to the qualitative findings, men can be comfortable in enjoying
both the wife and the lover at the same time, whereas women are usually
devoted to one partner, either husband or lover. Furthermore, income has
significant effects on both men and women, whereas occupation affects
husbands’ behaviors, but not wives’. It is worth noting that portraits of
women who engage in EMS, as presented in the Chinese media, tend to
go to extremes. Women were either portrayed as victims if they dared to
break the rule in their sexual experiences or were classified by market-driven
popular writers as self-centered fun-seeking girls who defy all the existing
rules (Pei, Ho, & Ng, 2007).
This study has several important limitations. One limitation revolves
around the dependent variable, EMS, which can take many different forms.
From a man’s perspective, the EMS partners can be a miss (xiaojie), often
used as a euphemism for a commercial sex worker; a second wife (ernai);
or a secret lover (qingren); whereas for women, partners can be a secret
lover (qingren) or a lover (lianren). Depending on how the subject interprets
his or her extramarital relationship, different terminologies may be chosen
and the underlying nature of these relationships can be very different. Unfortunately, with the CHFLS, it is not possible to study the characteristics of the
third party and thus to determine the nature of the extramarital relationship.
Moreover, the CHFLS provides only cross-sectional data and is not designed
to follow a cohort, which would otherwise permit study of the respondents’
reported sexual behaviors over time.
Some of the more popular sex scholars in China do not account for gender differences adequately in their reports or rely almost exclusively on biological determinism as the theory underlying their research (Pei et al., 2007).
This study could be regarded as a first step toward understanding some of
the dramatic changes in marriage and sexual behaviors in China. The findings suggest that more research is needed to explore the antecedents and
consequences of extramarital affairs for men, women, and their children in
contemporary Chinese society. Rather than blindly accepting the historical
ideologies that blame and punish women for marital dissolution and glorifying men who engage in this behavior, research needs to be focused on how
gender inequality shape men’s and women’s infidelities. In particular, the
continued significance of traditional narratives about men’s EMS obscures
some of the reasons contemporary Chinese may stray from their monogamous unions. For some married women in traditional marriages who fall
in love with other men, the affair may be deemed as a necessary step toward
divorce, which can be liberating. Extramarital affairs may not be the best way
for women to leave a low-quality marriage and secure a high-quality
marriage, but we should not simply denounce it because of its perceived
destructive nature to family and marriage. More research is needed in order
Extramarial Sex in Contemporary China
187
to understand why such actions may be necessary exit strategies for contemporary Chinese women in unhappy marriages.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
An earlier version of this article was presented as a poster at the 2007 meetings of the Population Association of America in New York. The author
thanks Dr. Zhenmei Zhang of Michigan State University, Dr. Laura Sanchez
of Bowling Green State University, and Dr. Alice Julier of University of
Pittsburgh for providing many helpful suggestions and comments on earlier
drafts of this article.
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