Sex education books break down barriers
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Xinhua, October 25, 2011
New sex education textbooks were introduced to pupils in Shanghai on Monday after numerous debates on early-age sex education in China.
![Students mark red for private parts and green for areas that can be touched at a sex education lesson at a primary school in Shanghai yesterday.[Photo/Shanghai Daily]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/bmp/site1007/20111025/0019b93bd68d10105e3101.bmp "Students mark red for private parts and green for areas that can be touched at a sex education lesson at a primary school in Shanghai yesterday.[Photo/Shanghai Daily]") |
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Students mark red for private parts and green for areas that can be touched at a sex education lesson at a primary school in Shanghai yesterday.[Photo/Shanghai Daily] |
"We have forbidden zones on our bodies. The parts of a boy or girl that are covered by swimsuits are the private parts," teacher Hou Ping told some 30 third-graders at a primary school affiliated with the Shanghai University of Science and Technology.
Hou teaches a class called "Traffic Lights for Our Bodies," in which children are taught about their private parts, as well as how to protect themselves in accordance with rules described in the sex education book "Boys and Girls."
"Sex has always been taboo in Chinese parents' eyes. We find it hard to talk about sex with our children, but the students have not been as shy as I imagined. On the contrary, it was quite natural for the kids," a mother named Chen Ying said after the class which was open to parents, education officials and journalists on Monday.
The August introduction of sex education textbooks in Beijing triggered a furious debate among parents and educators, as the books described sex in a direct fashion. Another debate was triggered in September in central Henan Province, when a kindergarten used toys with reproductive organs to teach children about sex.
Students in Hou's class are taught to recognize reproductive organs and sensitive areas. They held up "red lights" or "green lights" when they see offensive or friendly gestures in pictures displayed by the teacher.
The children also played a game in which they covered the private parts of a cartoon depiction of a human body with pieces of paper. Two girls giggled while discussing whether the breasts should be covered by two pieces of paper to make it look like a bikini.
"Children see sex in a different way from adults. It is simple, pure and natural for them," Chen said.
"We designed the program to teach kids about gender. The program includes self-awareness, gender knowledge and ethics, as well as sexual harassment knowledge," said Ding Limin, headmaster of the primary school.
Early-age sex education has become increasingly necessary in China, as adolescence has started arriving earlier over the last decade, said Hu Ping, a sex educator in southwestern Chengdu city since 2001.
A lack of appropriate sex knowledge has caused teenage pregnancy rates to rise in some cities, Hu said.
According to statistics from the Chinese Medical Association released in 2009, Chinese girls typically begin to enter adolescence around 9.2 years old, much earlier than the age of 12.5 years old that was common 30 years ago.
"Kids have more convenient access to sex-related things today. There are sexy models in street advertisements, condoms placed next to candies in supermarkets, intimate pictures on TV and all over the Internet. Parents are confused about how to tell their children about sex," said Liu Li, editor of For Children magazine.
Schools should share the burden of sex education with parents, Hu said.
"Parents have different backgrounds, which can lead to an uneven education. It might actually be worse for some of them to teach their children about sex, while schools can provide good education for every child," Hu said.
Some of Hu's former students have entered universities. The cases Hu has followed show that children who have received early sex education have less anxiety about the subject than their peers, she said.
"We are not trying to encourage children to have sex, but to tell them that sex and love are good and beautiful things, and not dirty or taboo. Early education will help children to have more harmonious families in the future," said Xu Jing, one of the writers of "Boys and Girls."
The "Boys and Girls" book, published by the Shanghai Education Publishing House, is currently used only at Ding's school. It is expected to be introduced to 18 schools in Shanghai's Yangpu district, said Yu Juan, an official from the district's Department of Education.
The book is divided into three volumes for different age groups of six grades.
In the first volume for first- and second-graders, the question "where am I from?" is approached using cartoon pictures and a story detailing the entire process of conception.
"Daddy and mommy fall in love and marry. Ova in mom's ovaries and sperm in dad's testis meet each other and then here you come!" says the book, which describes sperm as "swimming champion."
Sections of the book for older children teach them to recognize sexual assault and encourage them to protect themselves.
"I found the class to be very interesting and funny," said eight-year-old student Dai Yanxin.
"I'm always curious about my body. Now I know I came from an ovum and a sperm. But I'm still wondering why mom has ova and dad has sperm. I thought about it a for a long time, but still have no answer. I'm going to ask my teacher or my mom," she said.
"Parents should not discourage children with their conservative beliefs. We should encourage children to acquire knowledge through the right channels. It is necessary to teach children how to avoid sexual assault," said a mother named Ye Xin.
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