CAC-IAH Fellow Lecture: Prof. Ting Wang, “The Generation Opting Out: Decoding Fertility Paradoxes in East Asia”

The inaugural Carolina Asia Center – Institute for Arts and Humanities Fellow from a North Carolina minority-serving institution, Prof. Ting Wang of UNC-Greensboro, will lecture on her research for audiences in Chapel Hill.

The Generation Opting Out: Decoding Fertility Paradoxes in East Asia

East Asia has experienced record-breaking declines in fertility rates over the past decade, a striking contrast to its historically high fertility, which is still evident in the region’s dense population. In this project, Dr. Wang examines four societies—Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China—each with distinctive economic and political characteristics to explore the common factors driving their fertility decline. Approaching the issue from a feminist perspective, the project analyzes how Confucian cultural roots intersect with modern economic development models, leading to a “liberation mismatch.” Young women in these societies, while ideologically and educationally empowered, remain structurally constrained, pushing many to opt out of traditional lifestyles, including marriage and childbearing, in pursuit of personal ambitions. Contrary to the assumption that low fertility is a consequence of women’s liberation, this project argues that it may instead result from insufficient or incomplete liberation, where ideological freedom is not matched by structural support.

Prof. Ting Wang is assistant professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she also has an appointment in Gender Studies. Her research approach combines both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to delve into gender disparities in criminal offending, victimization, and the processes within the criminal justice system across the United States, China, and the global landscape.