ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses four types of 'leftover women' and their partner choice strategies against their respective patriarchal constraints, marriage views, economic values, and gender role perceptions. The Maximizers were those women who subscribed to traditional gender roles and set out to find partners. Moreover, they attained much satisfaction from their work and they believed that having their own social circles and meaningful endeavours could improve their communication and overall relationship with their partners. It was especially those women who encountered both patriarchal constraints of discrimination and dominance who would benefit from transforming their high status liabilities into advantages to garner themselves willing and appreciative partners. Hence, they had no need to manipulate traditional gender roles like the Satisficers to attain a marriage that could satisfy their high egalitarian expectations. Finally the four types of 'leftover women' and their partner choice strategies can be seen as a significant portal to the understanding of the enigmatic 'leftover women' phenomenon in China.
