Review-Essays : Sex and Civilization in Modern China

Abstract

In China it was not until the 1980s that significant momentum developed in public sex education. The early pioneers and writers were medical professionals, and priority was given to the teaching of sexual anatomy, physiology and hygiene, especially to adolescents and the newly wed. With increases in the standard of living, the need for family planning, and increased attention to sexual and marital problems, the political leadership awoke to the importance of the issues involved and allowed open discussion and study of sexual topics.The focus then shifted to psychosocial and behavioral aspects of sexuality. Groups and organizations sprang up, starting in Shanghai, Beijing and Heilongjiang. Surveys, research and conferences flourished. Training courses were held for educators in various parts of the nation. Articles, manuals and magazines were published and widely disseminated. Sex education was introduced into school curricula and texts and methods of instruction were devised. Administrative infrastructures with official mandates were set up. This is the report of a survey of sexual behaviour in the People's Republic of China, conducted from 1989 to 1990. Unprecedented in scope and scale, the survey involved 28 sites (cities, towns and villages) in 15 of the 27 provinces or autonomous regions. A total of 21,500 questionnaires, with 239 items covering a wide range of variables were distributed, and 19,559 of the returned replies were found suitable for study. About 500 investigators were involved, including about 200 field workers, most of whom were female volunteers. There was a caucus of about 40 core leaders, with coordinating head-

Pretty Face Matters: Relative Importance of the Face and Body Attractiveness in China

“…This study aimed to investigate the relative importance of face and body attractiveness among Chinese participants, considering the particularities of Chinese culture compared to western culture. In historical China, Confucian ideals of patriarchal dominance have perpetuated a sexually conservative behavior for women and a permissive behavior for men (Lau, 1995). While in the Maoist period, individual desires, including sex are repressed by the government (Wehrfritz, 1996).…”

Book Reviews

“…Unable to resolve his bitterness towards his motherland, and having alienated most of his connections in China, he has lashed out at the policies there, with inelegant rhetoric and invective. Collecting some fragmentary reports from China, such as media news, secondhand material, quotes and hearsay, he has continued to speak against the situation in China, which has changed substantially since his departure, as can be seen from a book by Liu, Wu and Chou (1992), recently reviewed by Lau (1995) in this journal.…”