Most postgraduate students in Shanghai learned about sex from
friends or the Internet, not in the classroom, a recent survey
indicates.
The survey, conducted by the postgraduate student union at Shanghai
University, asked 315 postgraduate students in the city about
their attitudes towards love, sex and marriage.
Only 10 percent of postgraduates surveyed said they have
received sex education at school. Thirty-seven percent said they
learned about sex by watching movies and television. About 8
percent of students said they have visited pornographic Websites to
learn more about sex, according to the survey.
"Sex is something mythical but of great curiosity for most young
people," said Shen Yaxin, who is in his third year of a masters
program at Fudan
University.
"But since sex education is almost non-existent in school, it is
natural for young people to turn to other sources" of information,
Shen said. More than 51 percent of survey respondents said they
would turn to classmates or friends for advice on how to deal with
sex-related problems.
Forty-two percent of respondents, meanwhile, said they would
hide their love or sex confusions from others.
Only 5 percent of postgraduates would turn to parents or
teachers for help, the survey suggested. He Shanqing, who helped
conduct the survey, said the results show schools still don't pay
enough attention to sex education, which is absolutely needed by
modern university students.
The survey also indicated that postgraduate students are open
minded about who they are willing to fall in love with.
Traditionally in China, a woman should be younger and shorter
than her boyfriend or husband. Some people also believe a man
should have a better education and earn a larger salary than his
girlfriend or wife.
About 53 percent of male students and 40 percent of female
students surveyed said that they don't care if their lover has a
better education than they do.
Seventy-four percent of respondents said they have no problem
with a woman dating a younger man.
But only 29 percent of students said that it is OK for a woman
to date a man who is shorter than she is, the survey said.
(Shanghai Daily January 7, 2006)