China Undergoing Sexual Revolution

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, June 20, 2003

China Undergoing Sexual Revolution

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CHINA is going through a sexual revolution, according to a story in the China News Weekly.The article quoted Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe, who said although Chinese haven't advanced "sexual freedom" as a slogan for sexual emancipation, they have widely acted upon it in practice. She said in respect to sexual practices, Chinese would "catch up" with Western countries in no more than 20 years.

An online survey conducted by Sina.com showed 17 per cent of Chinese youth between the ages of 24-33 have had more than 10 sexual partners, and nearly 12 per cent have participated in group sex.

Another sociologist, Liu Dalin, remains skeptical about such drastic changes. He believes very "open" attitudes towards sex are not mainstream, and won't be so in 10 or 20 years.

"The present situation is a co-existence of traditional and avant-garde ideology," Liu said. "Chinese culture has always taken the middle road. Step-by-step evolution is an unbreakable trend, but it won't go to extremes."

China entered 30 years of sexual repression after 1949, with sex strictly limited within marriage, aimed at reproduction. Changes started with the development of the market economy. Today, sex not only breaks the limit of marriage, but also of love.

Unchained desire

Casual sex, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, sex industry ... all these have entered into the urban life of China. The Internet has played an important role in opening up sexual ideology, bringing up innumerable topics that remain too sensitive for other media.

The easy mode of communication also helps in arranging dates. People can give their phone numbers in online chatrooms after exchanging a few words and then arrange to meet offline.

"The anonymity of the web helps people to drop any misgiving. It encourages them to express their real ideas," said Liu.

"Someone asked me about contraceptive methods through QQ (an online chatting device like ICQ)," said a local netizen. "I was glad to help. Think about it. You can solve your very private problems by just clicking on a stranger's name and popping your question. It is unimaginable without the Internet."

Many problems about sex are discussed for the first time "not because they didn't exist before, they were long hidden, un-talked about," said Wang Yuru, a psychology consultant who hosts love and emotion Q&A columns in several women's magazines.

Wang takes a radical attitude in her column, encouraging her readers to seek sexual pleasure on the premise of "not harming others and benefiting yourself". "The body devoted to love can be understood at any time. The body is innocent. Chastity is psychological instead of physical. It doesn't matter how you set out to get it, as long as it is safe and not harmful," she said.

Conservative attitude

The Chinese Government remains conservative, "trying avoid the issues", according to Liu. "The society in general tends to be conservative. Officials underestimate the people, and parents underestimate their children, which is completely wrong."

It was only recently homosexuality ceased to be treated as a mental disease, and it still remains a taboo topic in some circles. Several movies on this issue by directors on the mainland as well as in Hong Kong gained wide acclaim from audiences, who had to access them through pirate DVDs as they were never shown in public theatres.

Adultery was included in the Chinese Criminal Law until 1979. In the third amendment to the Marriage Law, extra-marital affairs were a major focus of conflicting ideas. Social workers and sociologists argued about whether the law should make divorce easier or more difficult - to put emphasis on maintaining the family or respecting personal choices.

"People are aware of their rights now. That's good, but don't go too far," Liu said.

Chinese law bans prostitution, but nobody can deny the existence of the sex industry in China. Some 30 per cent of those surveyed admitted to having received commercial sex services. Their underground situation makes it impossible for the government to administer or control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

"It is impossible to eradicate prostitution. At the beginning of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, strict bans against prostitution were promulgated, but none of them succeeded," Liu said. "Theoretically speaking, red light zones should be established, but China needs a long adjustment process. We still have to face the reality of the situation."

Medical issues

Li Yinhe said the government had not yet comprehended the arrival of the sexual revolution. Official sexual education has been focused on medical issues, which only comprise one aspect of the subject.

Liu agreed that Chinese sexual education is not sufficient to prepare youngsters. The administrators still have reservations about promoting the use of condoms among school students, for fear that it will encourage them to have sex.

"People are opening their minds, but know little from a scientific angle," Wang said. "They don't realize the difference between sexual emancipation and promiscuity. Sexual morality does not have to be given up."

Casual Encounters

"ANY lonely women want to chat?" Such lines pop up in chatrooms frequently, behind names such as "Loveseeker", "True lover" or something equivalent to "Stud".

You answer his words and he proceeds to ask you for information about yourself: age, height and weight, possibly moving on to ask you to meet him in person. If you agree, he gives you his mobile phone number.

More than 30 per cent of one-night-stand sexual encounters in China are arranged through the Internet, according to a survey by Netease, one of China's leading portals. More than 20 per cent got to know each other through chatrooms.

"It is impossible to estimate the quantity of casual sex taking place," said Psychological Consultant Wang Yuru, whose Q&A columns in women-oriented magazines has gained her many followers. "But the number of cases has increased over time, that is certain."

In China one-night-stands are generally called "yi ye qing"(one night love), although sociologist Liu Dalin has said: "better to call it 'yi ye xing' (one night sex), as little love is involved."

Easy affairs

Many websites have "uni-town dating" programmes, where people can post information seeking dating partners. Sina.com even advises users of this programme to be prepared for disappointment at meeting the date in person.

People may think this far from a romantic encounter, but most of the parties in one-night-stands reach each other through arranged channels, such as single clubs, theme bars, and chatrooms with names like, "Loving Strangers", which are often packed during weekends.

The Internet makes it possible for users to make a rough selection of candidate partners. People can check the information and find those equivalent to themselves in background, education level and social status. That explains why names like "Master Degree Man" can also appear in chatrooms.

Orgies and promiscuity are not - and will never become - mainstream practices, even though social problems related to sex will increase, said Liu Dalin. "Young people are eager to copy the conduct of Westerners, but they don't realize these kind of practices are not dominant there either."

Breaking from more than 30 years of sexual repression, today's Chinese youth tends to rebel against social codes.

It is difficult to generalize about the group of people who go for one-night-stands, but the increasing population of singles and late marriages make the gap between sexual maturity and married life ever wider. A large number of urban youth dwell in long years of sexual hunger.

"Instead of falling into marriage hastily, I'd rather have some easy affairs," said a woman of 27. "They are just appetizers before my Mr. Right."

"Casual sex is effective for adjusting sexual hunger, but it has disadvantages," Liu said.

Basic instincts

One woman seeking advice said she couldn't help going to bed with many different men, engaging in one-night-stands as frequently as possible.

"She came to me because she felt it was a problem," Wang said. "I believe that the body has impulses and basic instincts. However you meet the need, as long as it doesn't hurt others, don't worry about it."

But for this specific case, the individual is seeking to continually renew the fresh feeling of sex, until it became a mental problem.

"People like this lose the climax experience of sex when deep love is involved," Wang said. "It is depriving oneself of the right to enjoy beautiful feelings and sex together."

Wang also had one extreme case of a man who was seduced by his adopted mother in adolescence. He could not get into a stable relationship with any woman, but kept up sexual relations with many of them. One woman who attempted to start a serious relation with him was frightened away by his experience, and he had to go on with the lifestyle which he himself considers abnormal.

"One can't judge marriage and relationships by traditional values," Wang said. "With the development in information, transportation, mobility ... you can't put chastity, stability and permanence in first place."

Sex morality is being left aside as people undergo drastic changes in sexual ideas.

"I slept with her because we both knew it was impossible for the relationship to go any further, which added to the excitement," said one young local man.

"I have actually lost interest in women. All I want is sex," admitted one man who seeks casual sex partners online.

The opposite also happens. A young woman without any sex experience met a man driving a fancy car and went out with him. She had been an obedient girl, spending most of her time studying and going to a famous university. She fell into deep confusion when close and intimate contact happened between them.

"She had no knowledge about sex. After long years of sexual hunger, she felt she couldn't be choosy any more," Wang said.

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