In one Chinese sex education textbook, girls who have sex before marriage are regarded as “degenerates.” Netizens want that book burned.
The slut-shaming textbook in question, “Senior Middle School Student Scientific Sex Education,” published by the 21st Century Publishing Group, says that premarital sex poses a threat to girls’ physical and mental health, arguing that a girl sacrificing her virginity for love won’t earn a boy’s love. Instead, the book argues, the boy, who now “owns” the girl, will just view her as a “degenerate.”
The textbook also mentions that girls who have sex before marriage will likely also be corrupted. If a girl gives in easily, she will no longer be herself and will likely turn more and more to the temptation of sex.
A senior middle school teacher in Guangdong province, Zhong Guangquan, voiced her opinion about the misguided textbook. She told Sixth Tone that she was furious when she found out that the textbook discriminated against girls who have sex before marriage. Stressing that sex education is poorly taught in China, she advised that sex education should infuse students with a positive attitude towards sex.
Regarding the offensive textbook, Huang Fan, the spokesman of the publisher, said that “degenerate” (下贱) was in quotation marks so it was not an insult to girls. He also emphasized that the editors’ intention was to warn girls of the perils of premarital sex, not to make any assumptions about premarital sex or insult women.
Following the backlash, the Education Department of Jiangxi Province made a decision on Saturday that the textbook would be revised.
Netizens on Weibo also criticized the sad state of China’s sex education, calling it “old-fashioned” and “sexist”:
“If girls who have sex before marriage are called ‘sluts,’ why not boys as well?” one netizen asked.
“This is just typical brainwashing education in China. There’s no room for students to think critically. I feel sorry for those who have to endure such education,” another wrote.
This isn’t the first time that the language and information contained in Chinese textbooks have been called into question. After finding out that homosexuality is still classified as a psychological disorder in many textbooks, a young lesbian university student has filed multiple lawsuits against the Ministry of Education.
Sadly, China is notorious for its awful sex education. Back in 2014, researchers in Shanghai revealed that most students obtained information about sex from the internet instead of sex education classes. Another surveyfound that just 19% of young students who admitted to having sex said they use condoms. Which is terrifying.
Around 13 million abortions take place in China every year, with half of those being performed on women under 25. Meanwhile, HIV cases are on the rise among urban youth, unlike condom use.
Read More HERE http://shanghaiist.com/2016/06/29/slut_shaming_chinese_textbook.php