Sex and the Contemporary Chinese Woman
2005
By CHEN XINXIN
ALTHOUGH the importance of a mutually fulfilling sex life has gained greater acknowledgement in China in recent years it is nonetheless a taboo topic. There have been few social surveys on this delicate subject, particularly as regards the degree of sexual satisfaction enjoyed by Chinese women. The 35-question survey on female attitudes to sex, formulated by the Chinese Sexology Society and the Chinese Medical Association, was, therefore, a major breakthrough. Sponsored by Sina.com and carried out in major Chinese cities from August to September 2004, the survey attracted 400,000 hits and drew 31,482 responses.
The point of the investigation was to analyze Chinese women’s sexual behavior and psychology. Intimate questions such as, “Is your sex life satisfying?”; “Have you ever had an extramarital affair?”; and “Do you feel inhibited about aspects of your sex life?” were both asked and answered. Chinese people are reticent when it comes to talking about sex. Only a few decades ago, the main point of sex and marriage was still to continue the family line, and as women did not expect to enjoy sex they did not talk about it. This attitude persists in rural areas, but the survey shows that young urban females are no longer content to maintain silence about their sexual desires. For them, sex and marriage are open topics. A full 90.6 percent of the women that participated in the investigation spoke freely on the topic of their sexual desires, 87 percent of them declared that they expect to enjoy sex. As more and more Chinese women demand equal rights, the quality of their sex life improves.
The importance of good sex for a successful marriage was acknowledged by 93.8 percent of the women that participated in this survey. Many stated that it takes precedence over marital wealth, and that they would not choose to stay in a loveless marriage purely for the sake of the children, as those of the preceding generation might have done.
The investigation also revealed that a surprising high rate --74.1 percent – of Chinese women enhance their sex lives by masturbation. Cao Zeyi, Deputy Director of the Chinese Medical Association, believes that statistics emanating from this net survey are more reliable than others, as being on-line, it dispensed with the need for face-to-face question and response, making participants more likely to answer frankly. He says, “People in China are unwilling to admit to auto-sexual gratification, but clinical statistics show that more than 50 percent of Chinese women practice it, a figure that coheres with investigation results.”
Greater Sexual Fulfillment
According to last year’s investigation, 87 percent of female respondents enjoy their sex life, 47.5 percent experience frequent orgasms, and 54.1 percent are confident about their sexual prowess. Overall, 82.5 percent of the women investigated regularly experience sexual climax, 49.2 percent of them through sex with their partners and 9.7 percent through masturbation, and 35.6 percent through a combination of both. Only 5.6 percent said they had never experienced orgasm. Sexual fulfillment is an important indication of a successful marriage, and the proportion of Chinese urban women that enjoy sex indicates an overall improvement in their lives in recent years. Four years ago, Professor Pan Suiming of Renmin University carried out a nationwide sample survey on the ratio of men and women that had experienced orgasm. According to its results 62.5 percent of men had, compared with 38.6 percent of the women asked. As Professor Pan stated, the absence or unlikelihood of sexual climax makes Chinese women disinclined to have sex, to the extent that some simply reject their husband’s advances. When coerced into having sex, either by guilt or threat of divorce, they naturally feel abused, angry and revengeful. Professor Pan’s survey encompassed both rural and urban areas, whereas last year’s investigation was limited to big cities. It indicated that urban women are more open about sex than their rural sisters.
Is Sex a Married Privilege?
Most of the women that participated in last year’s net investigation were of the ages 21 to 49, and 80 percent had received college education in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing. Among them, 55 percent were married. Of the 45 percent that were single, 75.5 percent had sexual partners, an indication that economic empowerment has freed women from the constraints of traditional marriage concepts. These days chastity is far less important than sexual compatibility, which is now the main priority as regards choices of marriage partner.
As to the question of extramarital sex, 8.3 percent of married women said that they had frequent affairs, and 32.4 percent that they had had at least one such experience. This rate was much higher than that emanating from the 7 to 13 percent of previous investigations. However, 59.2 percent answered that they had never had an extramarital affair. This liberated sexual attitude is a breakthrough for traditionally inhibited Chinese women, but the rapid increase in unmarried cohabitation and extramarital sex poses a threat to familial solidarity and therefore social stability.
Are Chinese Women Frigid?
A recent report on the Internet stating that 60 percent of Chinese professional women are indifferent to sex provoked tremendous social concern. Yet it must be borne in mind that urban women who responded to Professor Pan Suiming’s nationwide sample survey four years ago said that they had sex an average 5 or 6 times per month. This refutes the high percentage of sexual disinclination indicated by the more recent net-based report. Professor Pan Suiming’s survey also indicated that 28.7 percent of married and cohabiting partners might pass a month without having sex, and that 6.2 percent had not had sex for a year. These statistics, emanating as they do from a national survey, appear more indicative of the true situation, which takes into account that some men as well as women have a low sex drive.
As China becomes more open, Chinese people gain more knowledge about sex, and their sexual relationships, within marriage or otherwise, improve. More couples realize the importance of sexual harmony, anticipating with pleasure and enjoying the entire love making process, from the intimacy preceding intercourse to the point where both partners reach their climax.
Problems, however, do exist as regards the attitude of a large number of Chinese men to sex. The extent of their sexual knowledge is often confined to what pleases them, satisfying their partners being a matter of irrelevance. In some cases, men may become violent or think nothing of having extramarital affairs, regardless of the feelings of their marriage partners. Consequently, 4.6 percent of Chinese women have never experienced sexual desire, 5.7 percent do not communicate with their husbands on a sexual level, and 18.2 percent resent the absence of foreplay before sex. Among the women investigated, 11.1 percent seldom experience climax, 11.1 percent have never had an orgasm, 19.7 are dissatisfied with their sex life, 5.2 are repulsed by it, and 3.9 percent feel demeaned by sex. There is still a long way to go before the vast majority of Chinese women understand, never mind experience, the joy of sex.
On a more optimistic note, last year’s net investigation helped many Chinese women understand that they have just as much right to enjoy sex as men do. Things are hence changing for the better. Greater confidence born of economic independence and a falling away of inhibitions will help Chinese women to enjoy life in all its aspects to the full.
CHEN XINXIN is a researcher with Women’s Research Institute of All China Women’s Federation.
Survey results:
How many Women Talk about sex 40.7%
Express desire 37.2%
Experience sexual fulfillment 52.0%
Act out sexual fantasies 85.9%
Masturbate 66.5%
Try different sex positions 54.3%
Experience orgasm 47.6%
How Important is Sex to Women?
Crucial 54.2%
Important 39.6%
Irrelevant 6.2%
Degree of Sexual Satisfaction Among Urban Women
Fulfillment 19.9%
Basic satisfaction 55.2%
Dissatisfaction 19.7%
Repugnance 5.2%
