築巢的自由鳥？——中國都市單身女青年造家行動

Abstract

近年來，中國單身女性購房者數量迅速增長現象引起關注，越來越多的單身女性選擇擁有一個屬於自己的家。本研究關注哪些力量推動單身女青年在都市中擁有家。單身女青年這一社會性別角色，在造家過程中的處境。擁有自己家的經驗，給單身女青年的生活、重要人際關係帶來怎樣的變化。藉由訪談、空間觀察、文本分析等方法，發現單身女青年在個人、家庭、社會、國家政策等多方力量裹挾下，是「自願」也是「被迫」走上造家之路。在造家過程中，她們的自主性受到各方力量侵襲，她們充分發揮有限的自主性，借助以家庭關係為主的社會關係網的力量，克服自身支付能力不足、造家經驗不足、市場供應缺陷、性別和單身雙重弱勢，在社會轉型期的風險中築下承載經濟和心理雙重安定感的巢。築巢後的單身女青年在自己家經營不同於傳統家庭的個體化生活模式，代際關係、親密關係、社交關係的實踐有其獨特的面貌。與以往研究發現不同的是，雖然代際關係在購房環節主要表現為「親子一體」的合作模式，但延伸至營造和居住環節，單身女青年的自主性漸強，父母的影響力漸弱，代際關係有轉向「代際分化」的動態變化趨勢。希望本研究能夠為一人家庭的家庭生命週期研究提供初期階段的一些參考。

In recent years, the rapid increase in the number of single female homebuyers in China has drawn attention that more and more single women are choosing to own a home of their own. This study examines factors that motivate young single women to own a home in urban areas, the challenges they face in the process of pursuing homeownership, and how homeownership changes the lives of young single women and their important relationships? Through interviewing, field observation, and textual analysis, this study found that single young women are embarking on the path of homeownership both 'voluntarily' and 'involuntarily' under the influence of multiple forces, including personal, familial, and social factors, and national policies. In the process of pursuing homeownership, their autonomy is limited by various sources of influence; at the same time, they make full use of their limited autonomy and of the support from their social networks (mainly family relationships) to overcome their insufficient payment ability, inexperience as home buyers, market supply deficiencies, and the intersectionality of being female and single. They build a nest that carries both economic and psychological stability amid the risks of social transition. Having established a home of their own, single young women lead their own individualized lifestyles that are different from those of traditional families, and have their own unique practices of intergenerational, intimate, and social relationships. Unlike previous studies, while the intergenerational relationship is mainly a cooperative model of 'parent-child integration' in the home-purchasing stage, moving forward the autonomy of single young women becomes stronger and the parental influence weakens, and the intergenerational relationship tends to shift towards 'intergenerational differentiation.' This study hopes to provide some initial insights into research on the family life cycle of one-person households.