Chinese Youth Sexual Culture Essay

Introduction: Shaping the Perception of Gender and Sexuality

It goes without saying that in the modern world, the issue of sexual education and all sorts of gender conflicts, as well as the ways of solving these complexities, has become quite a topical one. In the Eastern countries, in Japan, to be more particular, the difficulties of teaching the youth the principles of sexual education stretch to the nth degree, since the tricky issue becomes even more complex when colliding with a peculiar culture and a specific vision of the world. Because of the stereotypes which the Chinese youth accept as they dive into all sorts of media, starting with TV shows to the online reality, Chinese youth faces a number of difficulties in real-life communication, which makes the issue well worth consideration.

Online Socializing and Sexuality Development: Online Traps

Internet and online communication rules the modern world, and China is no exception. However, an online talk cannot replace the live chat; in addition, it helps shaping a lot of prejudice about both genders. Finally, online games such as the popular marriage simulation which millions of Chinese people play makes for real relationships easily, which leads to the lack of interest towards live relationships: “Social commentators and educators express concern about the addictive nature of the web marriage game, which takes young people into an imagined realm where everyday legal frameworks, social constraints and traditional values do not apply” (McLaren, 2007, 410).

Supergirl Returns: Chinese Youth, Disillusioned… Or Are They?

In the world where cultures merge even faster than they develop and where phenomena of all sorts cross to produce something bizarre an, for that matters, marketable, the idea of gender blending is far from being new. However, weirdly enough, it works for the Chinese audience, the case in point being the Chinese youth, who are exposed to the issue of women androgyny and male femininity immensely owing to the Supergirl show: “Li’s young adult tomboyishness resonates with the phenomenon of the Chinese masculine woman, or the boy-head (nan ren IOU) in Hong Kong” (Yue & Haiquing, 2008, 121). Thus, a wrong idea of female tomboyishness and men’s ladylike behavior is being shaped.

The Solutions to the Tricky Subject: Behind the Wall of Prejudice

The obvious solution to the above-mentioned problems concerns the aspects of live communication. Learning about the specifics of gender and gender relationships mostly via TV and Internet, young Chinese are highly subjected to the impact of the modern tendencies, including such dangerous ones as the shift in the perception of a female and male identity. Thus, the most obvious solution in the given case will be to avoid online communication and resort to the experience of live talk. Once seeing the way relationships work in real life, Chinese teenagers and young adults are likely to accept their traditional gender roles easily.

Conclusion: Under the Veil of the Tabooed Issues

Therefore, it is clear that, for the modern Chinese youth, the only way to solve the numerous issues concerning gender issues is to get out of the online imprisonment and start socializing live. Once the young people realize that the real-life conversation is the experience which cannot be replaced by any online chat, they are likely to find the solutions to the typical problems which teens face when talking to the people of the opposite sex. Even though the way the boyfriend/girlfriend will react in real life will be completely different from the one Chinese youth sees on TV or online, young people will be able to get along once they are ready to interact.

Reference List

McLaren, A 2007, ‘Online intimacy in a Chinese setting’, Asian Studies Review, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 409-422.

Yue, A & Haiquing, Y 2008, “China’s super girl: mobile youth cultures and new sexualities”, in U M Rodrigues & B Small (eds) Youth, media and culture in the Asia Pacific region, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, UK, pp. 117-134.