You’re too picky. You’re too stubborn. You’re too free-willed.

These are the words Chinese women labelled “Sheng Nu” have to hear every day.

“Sheng Nu,” or “leftover woman,” is a term commonly used to refer to women over 25 who are not married. In a culture where women are deemed incomplete without a husband, the pressure for those unmarried past the so-called appropriate age is tremendous.

“Maybe I should give up on someone I love for someone who’s suitable.”

It’s a crushing battle between wanting to make their parents happy and being honest with themselves. But what the women are searching for is love, not marriage.

Parents of "leftover women" often post the profiles of their daughters in “Marriage Markets,” in hopes that the effort will one day lead to marriage.

Many women, however, feel as though they are being sold.

In a courageous effort to make their voices heard, a group of brave Chinese women stood up to society’s labels and their parents’ pressures by creating their own version of a Marriage Market.

Hundreds of personal messages from independent women took over Shanghai’s People’s Park, all stating that they want to dictate the course of their own lives.

Being independent doesn’t automatically mean not wanting to commit or have a family, although it is a personal choice either way. Being independent simply means that women are taking control of their own destinies, that they are happy and confident whether they are married or not.

Don’t let pressure dictate your future.