"Excuse me, pretty woman." The evolution of how women are viewed in China

I took a very attractive picture at lunch today.  That's me, with a giant fish eye in my mouth.  Hot, I know.

As I was walking to the gym tonight, this woman stopped me and said, "Excuse me, pretty woman, where is Bai Cao Yuan."  I was 1) impressed that I knew where to direct her and 2) thrilled that she called me a "pretty woman."

Turns out, I could've had one eye and missing teeth and she still wouldn't called me "pretty woman."  Here's an evolution of how strangers address each other in China.  I find it quite profound.

During the Cultural Revolution and even years after, everyone was addressed as "comrade [tong zhi]," no matter male or female.  Very telling of such a time of Communism and everyone seen as an equal.

In modern years, as in the years I grew in China, women were addressed as "miss [xiao jie]."  It was polite to say, "Excuse miss, can you tell me..."  Pretty normal, right?  And I would say pretty much on par with the rest of the world.

Well, in recent years, it's now a trend to address women as "pretty woman [mei nu]" and men as "handsome brother [shuai ge er]."  It's a flattering way to address anyone, but it is extremely reflective of Chinese society today: vanity.  Chinese citizens now have money, status and freedom, so they spend a lot of energy on improving themselves.  Makeup.  Clothes.  Gym.  Plastic surgery.  Personal consumption in general is at a peak.  For years, the Chinese people did not pamper themselves like Westerners do, and now they are quickly making up for those unselfish years.

I think this trend is also very relevant to what's going on in Beijing right now, since I can only speak with enough knowledge about that city.  There's simply a shortage of women my age.  And what's my age?  The marrying age.  I think this is definitely because of the former one child policy and traditional male favoritism that led to a lot of suspected female abortions.  But that's another topic all together.  Now, because there's more men than women, men have to have EXTREME favorable conditions to attract any female.  That means owning an apartment, a car, having a good job, and knowing how to pamper the wife by handling domestic duties!  So, I predict that my generation may churn out offsprings consisting of spoiled females.  What a major flip flop in Chinese culture and traditions.  I am excited to watch my predictions come true.  Holla!