A majority of Taiwanese consider traditional marriage expectations to be stress-inducing and demand greater marriage equality, a poll conducted by the Childcare Policy Alliance has shown.
Traditional views on marriage and family, where women are expected to shoulder all of the housework, are among the factors affecting young people’s willingness to marry, alliance convener Liu Yu-hsiu (劉毓秀) said.
The poll introduced seven statements and asked whether respondents agreed with them: that there should be no dowries or bride price; couples should not consider buying a house upon getting married; parents should not be in charge of the wedding; an equal ceremony should be held; cohabitation is acceptable; the husband and wife should both work; and couples should share child-rearing and housework duties.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The poll found that 92.6 percent of respondents agreed that parents should not be in charge of the wedding, while 70 percent said there should be no dowries or bride price.
According to the survey, 96.3 percent of respondents agreed that the husband and wife should share child-rearing and housework duties, while 69.2 percent agreed that cohabitation is acceptable.
Society has a set definition for “having a family and raising kids” and “a happy life,” but the poll shows that values are changing, and the definition is no longer the accepted norm, alliance spokesperson Huang Chiao-ling (黃喬玲) said.
Taiwan Parents Education Alliance standing supervisor Hsieh Kuo-ching (謝國清) said that marriage customs, especially bride prices, are sources of anxiety and stress that contribute to young people’s unwillingness to marry.
Taiwan Labor Front researcher Chang Feng-yi (張烽益) said the tradition of buying a home upon marriage should be done away with, as it forces newlyweds into the housing market when they are not prepared for it.
Among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the average percentage of couples who have children without being married is 41 percent, Liu said.
This is not due to promiscuity, but rather systems that support the practice, Liu said.
In contrast, in Southeast and East Asian countries, including Taiwan, the percentage is only 2 percent, Liu said, adding that if there are no changes, Taiwan would continue to experience a low birthrate.
“We must change the general environment and social perceptions about marriage so young people will not be overstressed about marriage and having children,” Liu said.
The poll, conducted online from July 5 to Tuesday, collected 895 valid responses. More than 85.1 percent of respondents were women and people aged 25 to 29 accounted for 17.7 percent of respondents, with married couples accounting for more than half of all respondents.
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