Chinese dama
Chinese dama is a term for describing Chinese middle-aged women. The term has several meanings and has experienced changes over the years. The most prevalent definition is of Chinese middle-aged women who through investment, social, and fashion choices behave differently from women their age in earlier generations owing to the massive social, economic, and demographic changes they have experienced.
Historically, "dama" had three meanings: an aunt, a married woman between 40 and 60 years old, and the first wife of a man who had multiple wives. The term had a positive connotation and was a term of endearment for modest housewives who may not have been familiar with the latest trends. In 2013, as gold prices dropped, middle-aged Chinese women poured large sums of money into purchasing gold. Their actions were owing to social and economic reasons. Flush with discretionary income and in charge of how household money is spent, the women viewed gold as the perfect gift for daughters and daughters-in-law.
The gold prices rose owing to the massive economic bubble created by the damas' purchases. Currency Wars author was the first person to refer to the gold-purchasing women as "damas". In August 2013, The Wall Street Journal published a video about the damas' impact on the gold sector, becoming the first English-language publication to use the pinyin representation of the phrase. The media showered praise on the damas for outsmarting Wall Street investors before turning on them once gold prices dropped. As the damas were depicted as greedy women who blindly invested in gold, the term "dama" transformed into having negative connotations. Damas were portrayed as having little consideration for their fellow citizens. The stereotypical image of damas is of women who like to go square dancing to exercise and build friendships with other women their age. Negative media coverage has focused on the dancing damas' playing of loud music in public spaces which has generated numerous conflicts with nearby residents. Damas frequently wear brightly colored attire, low-heeled slip-on shoes, and tights; are unreserved in their interactions; thrive in unbridled friendship with women around their age. They spend a large amount of time on social media, particularly WeChat, to exchange information with their family and friends. In addition to gold, they have invested in real estate both locally and abroad, bitcoin, and the local stock market.
Damas lived through the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, periods marked by starvation and great adversity, which molded them into the frugal people they are today. The Cultural Revolution led to a societal decrease in filial piety and an increased focus on youth, while life expectancy increases have caused the dama to be considered late middle-age instead of elderly. In a world where previous examples of aging have become obsolete, the damas have forged their own way of growing old. Society has at times misunderstood and mocked their attempts. Teng Wei, a professor at South China Normal University wrote, "When we use dama as an insult, what we're really doing is suggesting that there's something inherently wrong with being a middle-aged woman. It's ageist, classist — and it's time to stop."
Etymology
Historical meaning: positive connotation
Historically, the Chinese phrase "dama", or "zhongguo dama", had a favorable connotation. Prior to its receiving international attention in 2013, "dama" had two common meanings according to the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary. The first meaning was an aunt, a woman married to the older brother of a person's father. The second meaning was to deferentially refer to a married woman between 40 and 60 years old. The commonly held historical belief was that damas were honorable and modest housewives who devoted their time to cooking, homemaking, keeping track of household expenditures, and bartering with shop owners. Xing Wen wrote in China Today, "To Chinese people, dama is an affectionate term, as they are always considered the most hospitable and trustworthy of people." Women were called dama as a term of endearment and to reflect that they as older people were not familiar with the latest trends. Traditional Chinese customs profoundly shaped the damas' outlook and behavior. A third meaning of "dama" was a man's first wife in the historic era when men could have concubines.Gold purchases
History
In the middle of April 2013, China's bull market, which had been going on for a while, seemed on the verge of ending. The global gold price dropped from US$1,550 to US$1,321 per ounce. The falling gold prices largely were caused by the belief that the Federal Reserve would taper off on quantitative easing in 2013 owing to the American economy's improvements after the 2008 financial crisis. In reaction to the dropping of gold's price on 6 April, many Chinese people but middle-aged Chinese women in particular hurriedly bought large amounts of the metal. Rushing into stores in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, the women caused the gold price have the highest one-day growth that year, shooting up to US$1,462 per ounce on 26 April 2013. The excitement to purchase gold affected countries outside of China including India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States, but analysts found that Chinese investors were the primary cause of the gold prices spiking up.Currency Wars author in 2013 originated and popularized the new meaning of the word "damas" as referring to the gold-purchasing women in China. In an interview published on 1 May 2013 by China National Radio, Song said, "It's not just China's damas who are fighting . I estimate that the entire world's damas are fighting. The price of gold was not as predicted by Goldman Sachs at the time. It will fall to 1,100, and physical buying around the world may play a major supporting role." Song jested that with regard to the global gold market, the damas were vying with experienced Wall Street investors. Within a short period of time, Chinese media and blogs participated in overpraising the middle-aged women. Using poorly cited material, they asserted that investment giants like Goldman Sachs had been defeated by the damas. On 12 August 2013, The Wall Street Journal released a video reporting on the damas' actions. The American newspaper's video was among the first times that a significant English-language publication had referenced "dama". It was the first time that "dama" was used as an English word to refer to women who purchased gold. The Wall Street Journal defined damas as "bargain-hunting middle-aged Chinese women" who "keep a tight grip on the family purse and an eagle eye on gold prices". Chinese netizens avidly discussed the newspaper's remark about damas on social media. The news media outside of China published headlines like "Chinese dama won the Wall Street predators" and "Chinese dama dancing in front of Louvre". The media previously had paid little attention to damas until their gold purchases.
Damas spent hundreds of billions of yuan to purchase gold in 2013. Their massive buying of gold generated a bubble, leading to a steep drop in gold prices and a concomitant shattering of the damas' reputation. The news media turned on the damas. Having recently lauded the damas for being an exemplar of China's rise, the media began mocking the damas for being sheeple who lacked economics knowledge. Throughout China, the damas were mocked as being aged women who were entertaining themselves in a fun activity they had no proficiency in. Numerous people in China thought the damas' boorish scramble to purchase gold had shamed their country. Their behavior showcased how China was prone to go on illogical buying sprees as a country newly rich in the worldwide arena. In a 2014 paper, the Chinese author Jiang Fangzhou summed up the situation, "Patriots held up Chinese damas as national heroes capable of conquering the financial giants of the West, but the image these women projected on the international stage was not altogether an impressive one." In the Journal of Hengyang Normal University, two Chinese scholars wrote in 2015 that Westerners consumed negative coverage of damas as being greedy, ignorant, and unworldly.
The damas' gold purchases led to China purchasing 41.4% more gold compared to the previous year. This caused China to pass India in becoming the biggest purchaser of gold in 2013. In subsequent years, the price of gold stayed down which forced the damas to have their money stuck in a poorly performing investment. The word "dama" was included in the economic section of the "Spring-Summer China Mainstream Newspaper Buzzwords" list that the Beijing Language and Culture University's released in 2013. In collaboration with the media, the center published a "Top 10 Cyber Words of 2013" list that included "dama". Zhang Weiwei, a professor at Fudan University, said "dama" was "a little bit analogous to" Susan Boyle.
Social and economic context for gold purchases
The damas were motivated to fervently invest large sums of money into gold owing to social and economic factors. In China, a predominant belief is that gold is a prized entity that will always retain its value. Chinese people, both historically and contemporarily, have viewed gold as being a fitting gift for their descendants. Although expert investors generally do not consider gold coins, gold bars, and gold jewelry to be solid investments, Chinese society finds them to be must-haves. When Chinese people get married, customs dictate that gold is essential for the dowry and bride price. When the damas observed the gold price decline, they viewed the situation as a perfect time to secure the discounted goods which they saw as impeccable presents for their daughters and daughters-in-law.Women in a large number of Chinese households, particularly those in the middle-class, make decisions about how money is spent. Their husbands hand over their wages to the women who return a small amount for "cigarette money". The damas' ability to purchase a large amount of gold was a consequence of Chinese households' sharp increase in disposable income. Between 2000 and 2013, the country's gross domestic product grew from CN¥10 trillion to CN¥57 trillion, while the urban per capita income exploded from CN¥6,000 to CN¥27,000. As women become older and are closer to or are at retirement, they get more careful about how money is spent. Economic factors spurred the damas to spurn other investment options and instead embrace gold. The damas found that bank accounts had interest rates lower than the cost increases for everyday good and services. Noticing that the real estate market had increased rules, the damas viewed the sector as having a lower risk–return tradeoff. The stock market's feeble performance led numerous retail investors to have less money. After observing the current economic conditions, the damas began buying gold with their discretionary income, viewing the metal as a conservative investment that would better ensure their financial peace of mind.
Damas came from the first generation of Chinese women who "enjoyed equal rights as men", according to China Today. Through employment, the women took on the joint duty of financially providing for their households. Through work, the women broadened their social network which increased their opportunities to hear about anything new. As their nation underwent transformations, the women kept up and were courageous enough to try activities they had not previously done.