Story:
Rent-A-Boyfriend business booming in China as women hire fake beaus to please nagging parents.
Other Versions
China’s Rent a Boyfriend business sees Boom before New Year.
Analysis:
The interesting messages come with a peculiar claim that “Rent a Boyfriend” business is Booming in China, as women hire fake boyfriends to please their nagging parents. Strangely, it is a fact.
The Reasons
In China, the necessity of marriage is still a bit more traditional, as people are expected to get married at young age. Parents get anxious over their girls’ single-dom and often pressure them to find partners before a certain age. In fact the ones who are still single by the age of 27 are considered as “leftover women”. So, it is natural for many young Chinese to want to calm down their parents’ anxiety, and avoid nagging questions and nosy inquiries about their love interests from their relatives as well. It is from these needs that the peculiar online service has emerged, where girls and young women can ‘Rent a Boyfriend’.
About Rent a Boyfriend Service
The rent a boyfriend service comes from China’s biggest online retailer, Alibaba owned Taobao.com. It is not a dating or boyfriend rental website as such, but a general shopping site similar to eBay or Amazon. Using this online service, young women can rent fake boyfriends for anywhere between 500 to 8,000 Yuan (about $82 to $1,300 USD) a day.
Interestingly, the boyfriend profiles list various services they can offer and also feature their personal tastes. The site also lists reviews that a potential “boyfriend” has received. Their services include accompanying the clients back home to see their parents, chatting with them, attending social gatherings, shopping and taking part in various other activities. To start the fake relationship, clients first exchange photos with their potential employers online, and then make a business deal based on their requirements. The ‘couple’ then meets and formulates a game plan to solve their purpose. To safeguard the women, if the rental boyfriend makes any unsolicited advances, they are encouraged to call the cops and are reportedly eligible for a refund.
What more, some girls are using this boyfriend rental service to make their real boyfriends jealous, and some even show up with these fake boyfriends in official gatherings, to convey their bosses and others that they are settled and stable.
The Bottom line
The peculiar boyfriend renting service is a booming enterprise in China. In fact English People Daily reported that these services pick up around Single’s Day, Valentine season and Chinese New Year. This kind of trend raises two valid points, one whether faking coupledom is not cheating, and two; the Chinese parents ought to change their perspective on marriage at a certain age.
Hoax or Fact:
Fact.
References:
China’s Biggest Online Retailer Has A ‘Rent A Boyfriend’ Section – Here’s What You’ll Find There
Rent-A-Boyfriend Business Booming In China As Women Hire Fake Beaus To Please Nagging Parents
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