When my friends asked me to guess the third category of people, I excitedly assumed China was including transgendered people into the mix instead of the normative "male" and "female" categories.
no no, uh uh.
The third type of people refers to female PHDs, ("女博士是第三类人" nv3 bo2 shi4 shi4 di4 san1 lei4 ren2). They are a third type because no one wants to marry a strong, capable female. Those who do marry phds are referred to as the fourth type of people.
If a woman does support a man , the man has a “小白脸” （xiao bai lian, small white face). The man will lose some serious face if he is supported by a woman. I mean, its not that different in the West. We have a similar saying when the woman is in charge or makes more money than her husband: "she wears the pants in the family." The only way the woman can be in charge, or I would argue, be equal, is by turning her into a man.
But the attitudes towards female professionals, in my opinion, is more pronounced in China. It is more explicit. Most people I talk to openly say they want to marry a younger woman who is not as smart and makes less money. The women also generally want to marry a smarter man who is the key breadwinner. Even if people feel this way in the west, they aren't that open about it. I luckily don't know anyone (I think) who feels this way!
Anyway, good luck female phds! I hope you find some wonderful partners who do not subscribe do this ridiculous saying.
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