China’s Sexual Revolution

China is the subject of much controversy and intrigue, receiving coverage in every part of the western media on an almost daily basis. Misunderstandings of Chinese politics and culture serve to sharpen judgements and further the east/west divide. Ironically, never before have the two opposing sides of the globe been more heavily interlinked or had a more profound effect on each other’s social identity.

While China continues to affect the world economically and industrially, westernization in China serves to question cultural identity, creating confusion regarding the roles of men, women and relationships. Far removed from the oversized, a-sexual uniforms of Chairman Mao’s China, traditional views on sexuality are being subverted.

Modern China is emerging from a cocoon of chastity, enforced through social control and incrimination, with a sexually open and experimental new generation. This is a generation similar to those found in most other corners of the globe, the generation who continually blur the distinctions between want and need. This is the generation of consumer-driven desire. China is undergoing the same process of social change experienced by the West in the 1960s and 70s; these are the days of China’s sexual revolution.

The sexual revolution in China is a premium topic of discussion. There are two main areas of concentration: the imbalance of the male to female ratio and a seeming disconnect from traditional values. Due to China’s population control policies, and the traditional reverence for male heirs, there are more men than women in China, especially in the countryside where a need for sons to work the land is still strong.

This is extensively referred to as a growing issue for men looking for love. One blogger writes, “lost in the mix, millions of single men cannot find a date, much less a mate.” This is having a knock on effect, particularly in cities like Shanghai. It is causing young males to spend beyond their means to attract a partner; competing with one another for grander houses and a better way of life to offer a potential mate.

Many reports show that women have become more consumer-driven, seeing marriage as a means to elevate social status and demanding more and more from a prospective partner. I recently interviewed several successful Shanghainese women about these claims, trying to better understand the impact on the youth of a country whose development has been so overwhelmingly accelerated. Is China’s current situation really any different from those experienced by the rest of the developed world? Is the sexual revolution truly the social crisis documented in the media?