For thousands of years in China, women have been subordinate to men in a paternalistic family structure. (Four Beauties in Chinese History, Wu Zetian: the First Empress in China, Women Character,) She would then often be tightly controlled by the rules of her new family.( Last Generation of Bound Feet Women).

Chinese traditional culture considers marriage and motherhood as the only real options for women,(Wedding Clothes, The History of Fabric, Reproductive Culture) but nowadays, a very different scene has emerged: nearly complete freedom for Chinese women to choose their own lifestyle. (China Fashion Week, "Wedding Photos" without a Groom, Young Husband, Old Wife Happy Together,).

In the past seven decades, as China has transitioned from feudalism to socialism, Chinese women have broken free from their former fetters, both inside and outside families. In the latest sign of women's enhanced vitality and freedom, apart from greater opportunities in career and education, a more significant revolution has happened. (Chinese Women, Holding the Reigns to Their Own Lives, Women: Gradually Becoming a Main Force in Fitness)