 Young people are used to the title of master of the future. But how are they educated in terms of their physical and mental growth to meet such expectations? Is there still a forbidden zone concerning reproductive health?
There is a Chinese idiom which can be translated as “turning pale at the mention of a tiger.” But for brave Chinese people, one thing will cause even more jitters in China nowadays, especially when adolescents are involved. That is sex. The theme of Population Day this year is “all young people have a right to reproductive health, information and services.” Once taboo topics cloaked in mystery, sex and reproductive health are going public for the Chinese people as they develop a more open mind… in a discrete way.
Around the world, more than 1 billion young people between 15 and 24 are enjoying their precious youth. But for these young people the lack of proper understanding of reproductive health is an urgent problem. Under the banner of humanitarian care, especially for youngsters, China is undergoing a transformation that reaches deep into people’s minds. The challenge is how to change to meet the pressures of contemporary society and maintain the values and mores of traditional Chinese culture.
A typical morning with no special meaning for the old yet lively city of Beijing. People of all ages enjoy the start of the new day in their own ways. The unique melody of Beijing Opera is played by the elderly amateur who appreciates the cozy life of his retirement.
Across the sidewalk, dozens of teenagers sit in front of a line of red one-storey houses and pay attention to a kindly speaker. This is a special outdoor class. The topic today is adolescent reproductive health.
On campuses around China, students in their adolescence are taking on the characteristics of adults. Today young people behave in ways that in the past were only seen in those in their late twenties. Puppy love and even precocious sexual activity has become astonishingly popular.
Some students show their opinions: “In my opinion, the attraction for the opposite sex is quite normal at our age. This is nothing but common sense. If we have no feelings toward the opposite sex, we must have a little problem of our own.”
“I feel that it is fairly normal because we are at the proper age. Of course I’ve thought of such things before.”
“In fact, my children long for knowledge about sex. But relevant education offered at school is not enough at all. Not to mention the parents. I just asked a question as to whether parents can exchange views on problems in this regard with their children. The majority of the answers are “not at all.” There was a boy who told me that when he tries to raise the topic, his parent just glower at him. As a result, it is impossible for them to discuss sex,” said Dengjun, expert of Adolescent Health Protection.
Given the information attracting the curious youngsters, pressures from both public opinion and restrictions based on traditional Chinese culture seem to be a fetter preventing the creation of a scientific view about reproductive health and sex-related problems. Consequently, the majority of people in adolescence often miss the best chance to obtain relevant knowledge and develop self-discipline. Furthermore, the gap between two generations always poses an obstruction to exposure to proper information.
“At that time, a line separating boy and girl was drawn on our desk. No one was allowed to cross their own ‘river’,” said a student’s parent.
“When I was a student, if some boys chased you, even the teacher would have a bad impression about you. It’s really the reason why I refused any classmates parties with my teacher invited. Because some boys chased you or passed notes to you, and then the teacher would say that you were doing something wrong instead of criticizing the boys,” said a student’s parent.
In sharp contrast to many fields where a strong wind of openness and fashion has already taken the lead, traditional ideas are still, to some extent, the guiding principle for young Chinese people when it comes to sex and reproductive health. For instance, some colleges put it clearly that intimate and “improper” behavior is prohibited on campus. The punishment can even be an expulsion order.
“I think such kinds of regulations are not reasonable under some circumstances. Of course, I agree that the schools or colleges want to offer the students a positive education. But given the physiological facts, the impulses of adolescence as well as the beating of the human heart, I think that it turns out to be cruel for the chlidren sometimes,” said Dengyun.
In terms of young people’s physical and mental development, it’s not as simple as teaching them other skills. They have to be supported, encouraged, guided and properly taught.
“Nowadays, we are living in an information society. People have access to information through many different channels. During the past few years, young people seem to be shy about sex-related problems. Now we’re facing it and we’re entitled to the right to get all relevant information. It is a kind of knowledge that we must have. With social progress, our society has begun attaching importance to this problem,” said a college student.
Located in a quiet street near Tian’anmen Square, the Beijing No.2 Hospital initiated the first adolescent consulting clinic in the city in 2002. Though it’s not so spacious inside the clinic, it was carefully-designed to create a lively and sunny atmosphere just to meet children’s needs. Since starting operation last March, it has become a safe harbor where many boys and girls can calm their puzzled hearts. Their nerves and pressures, resulting largely from ignorance of their own physical and mental growth, can be relieved after a visit to the clinic, in person or through the telephone hotline.
“The reason why we set up the consultancy clinic solely for young people is mainly based on our psychological section a few years ago, which is still in operation now. But with social progress, we feel that it is the duty of our society as a whole as well as of all the medical workers to pay attention to the new generations of young people and care for their healthy growth. During our psychological consultations, a large number of problems were found to lie with young people. They suffered from many puzzles both mentally and physically and mostly related to their natural growth and development,” said Li Suqin, vice secretary.
There are three doctors working in turn to answer questions from the large number of boys and girls who even hesitate to talk about sex with their parents.
“Those who come to our consultancy through the hotline are mainly boys and girls and they account for the majority. The frequently-asked questions are related to physical growth. Most of their questions are about sex. After consultation, they always say that they long for some formal education and guidance. When we ask them where they get relevant information, they say that they resort to video cassettes, discs, books and information exchanged among classmates. Within their hearts, they consider it an improper way to attain sex-related knowledge. So they pin their hopes on education about sex-related problems through normal channels. And this reveals the eagerness of the children,” said Zhao Qinglin, Consultancy Doctor, Beijing No.2 Hospital
To meet the increasing demands of young people, a combination was assembled of the content of sex-related knowledge and the method of disseminating the knowledge. A website called Green Apple collects adolescents in a scientific net-based class.
“As far as young people are concerned, relevant knowledge must be imparted to them once they reach the proper age. If they are incapable of getting the knowledge through the right channels, given the various media including the Internet, for instance, they can find tens of thousands of websites by typing “sex” into google. They can look for such channels by themselves, as they must get the knowledge. So we suggest that only depending on one website, one magazine or one hotline can solve very few problems. Only if society, schools and colleges, and families as a whole make concerted efforts, can a more ideal situation be achieved through adjustment and transformation,” said Zhao Reduo, chief, Greenapple Website.
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