Young people in south China's Guangdong Province are
increasingly open-minded about sex, but lack adequate sex education
and guidance from teachers or parents.
According to the 2007 Guangdong Sex Report issued earlier this
week, more than 90 percent of the 504 high-school students surveyed
claimed they consulted peers or read books when they encountered
problems or questions about sex.
Less than 4 percent of the 504 teenagers surveyed chose to
discuss sexual matters with teachers or parents.
As many as 67 percent of them said they have never discussed sex
with their parents.
At the same time, more than 60 percent said they wished their
parents could be more open about sex, while about 40 percent said
the current curriculum on sex seemed outdated.
As teachers and parents do not offer enough or proper sex
education, about 70 percent of the students said they browsed
pornographic books, movies or websites.
Even though more than 60 percent of high-school students still
consider it important to remain a virgin until marriage, almost 40
percent said it is "unimportant" or had no opinion. This ratio is
much higher than it used to be.
The outcome of a similar survey conducted among college students
showed 30 percent of the 4,109 surveyed oppose cohabitation.
Even though the students have a more tolerant attitude towards
cohabitation, only 5 percent of them are actually doing so.
Moreover, two-thirds of college students do not object to
premarital sex, but 53.4 percent of male college students said they
wouldn't marry their girlfriends if they were not virgins.
Such an attitude among college students showed that conservative
thinking on virginity and the concept of male superiority remains
deeply rooted in China, Sun Lei, a professor at Guangdong Academy
of Social Sciences, said.
"An adequate awareness of sex is necessary for all people,"
Zhang Feng, the director of the Guangdong Sexology Association,
said.
The educational authorities are striving to expand and improve
sex education for young people.
The national annual sex festival will kick off in Guangzhou in
November.
During the festival, a forum on sex will be held in Guangzhou No
4 Middle School, which will invite sex experts to talk about
relevant issues with middle-school students.
"The forum will present in-depth knowledge about sex to
students, not the common knowledge that is usually taught in
classes," Zhu Jiaming, vice-director of the Guangdong Sexology
Association, said.
This will be the country's first sex forum to be held in a
middle school.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2007)