Nicole Zarafonetis - Sexuality in a Changing China

First published 2017
by Routledge
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2017 Nicole Zarafonetis

The right of Nicole Zarafonetis to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names: Zarafonetis, Nicole, author.

Title: Sexuality in a changing China : young women, sex and intimate
relations in the reform period / Nicole Zarafonetis.

Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. |

Series: Routledge research on gender in Asia series | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017001825| ISBN 9781138240148 (hardback) |

ISBN 9781315293936 (ebook)Subjects: LCSH: SexChina. | Sex

instructionChina. | Sex roleChina. | Dating (Social customs)China. |

MarriageChina. | WomenChinaSocial conditions.

Classification: LCC HQ18.C6 Z37 2017 | DDC 306.70951dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017001825

ISBN: 978-1-138-24014-8 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-29393-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

I became interested in China and Chinese culture through my experience as an English language teacher in Shanghai. Having lived in several other foreign and developing countries, I was fascinated by how Shanghai mixed elements of traditional Chinese culture alongside international and Western influences. I lived in Shanghai for nearly two years teaching at an English language school near a well-known university. Most of my students were young women and were enthusiastic to learn from a Western peer.

Part of the core curriculum I taught was a small class where up to four students would have direct contact with a native English speaker. In these sessions it was at times easy to stray from the planned lesson. Often students and I would chat freely and frequently our conversations would become more like cultural exchanges. I remember asking my female students questions about their daily lives and was struck by the matter-of-fact manner in which they described the gender discrimination they routinely encountered. For example, I asked about their opinions on the one-child policy and was surprised by the straightforward fashion in how they stated boys were preferred to girl children. It appeared as though they accepted this traditional thinking as a given reality, and disagreeing with and/or challenging this long-standing preference was not considered. In fact, some women even told me they endorsed this preference, stating how they hoped to have a son rather than a daughter in the future. Other students would describe to me the pressures they felt to succeed in order to provide for their parents in old age.

Conversations such as these were commonplace and my students would often explain to me the responsibilities and obligations they felt to their families. They did not challenge the one-child policy or mention personal desires or choice; rather, although unfair, the one-child policy was seen as a law to be followed and family obligations were non-negotiable. Issues such as these were described as taken-for-granted commitments to expect in the future. It was from these conversations that I started to think about gender relations in China.

I decided to probe deeper into this area through the pursuit of a PhD. I set out to investigate the challenges and opportunities young women were faced with in their daily lives. With Chinas economic and social landscape transforming so rapidly, I wanted to explore young womens opinions on the ideas of generational change, career ambitions, sexuality and their futures. Given the extent of change and from personal interest, I decided to focus my research on the topic of sex, sexuality and intimate relationships in the reform period.

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who helped and supported me throughout the duration of this study. I would first like to thank my participants, without whom this research would not have taken shape. Thank you for trusting in me to share your opinions and views over a variety of personal topics. I hope I have done your stories justice. Second, I would like to thank my supervisor while at the University of York, Professor Stevi Jackson, for her constant support and guidance. I would also like to thank Dr Elizabeth McDermott for her encouragement and reassurance in the beginning stages of my research. To my friends and former colleagues in Shanghai, especially Basarro Ding, Connie He and Brian Tam, thank you so much for your help in translating, interpreting and recruiting. Abigail Tazzyman, Bridget Lockyer, Sara Cait Rogan, Patryjca Sosnowska-Buxton, Hwa Jeong Yoo and my other colleagues at the Centre for Womens Studies I am forever grateful for your friendship, kindness and patience as I navigated through the various stages of my research and writing. To the team at Routledge, in particular Stephanie Rogers and Georgina Bishop, thank you for your assistance in shaping this manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank my family for being so supportive and reassuring during this time. Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me to take this path.