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Abstract The growing population of unmarried thirtyish women within county systems has attracted attention to the marriage dilemmas faced by young women employed in these systems. Research indicates that unlike the obstacles encountered by unmarried thirtyish men in rural areas， the challenges confronting unmarried thirtyish women in county systems are not a result of a surplus of women or gender “squeeze” in the marriage market. Instead， these challenges stem from the constrained social environment within county societies and the prevalence of the “men superior， women inferior” matchmaking norm. With this group of women's high levels of education， social status， capabilities， and accomplishments， there is a scarcity of eligible men in the county marriage market to meet their standards， so some of them digress from the typical path to marriage. The structure of “squeeze-out” in the county marriage market includes gender exclusion， system exclusion， and spatial exclusion. The “squeezed-out” are the young women working within county systems rather than young men or women outside these systems. Given the persistence of the “squeeze-out” structure in the county marriage market， young women employed in county systems who desire marriage must either establish relationships at a younger age with lower social status， challenge the “men superior， women inferior” norm， or seek partners outside the systems. Alternatively， they may need to leave the county systems and engage themselves in the broader national marriage market competition.
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Received: 07 June 2024
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2024, Vol. 63 
