Will capitalism save virginity?

To believers of market, market will find a solution to everything. Will it save virginity - in China?

China was traditionally a conservative country in sexuality. We've had the likes of Xi Mengqing in old novels like The Golden Lotus and anecdotal stories about gayish princes, but mostly it's hush hush. As the capitalism first arrived when China began its "open and reform" program, sex was also a vocal point of personal freedom as debated subject, so much so that also all Chinese famous novalists at the time all included sex, sometimes pervert sex as part of their depition. Mo Yan, autor of Big Breast and Wide Hips, Su Tong, Jia Ping'ao were all among them.

Then there came Shanghai Baby, a euphoria novel of sex adventures, from which the calling "beauty writer" was born. BTW, the author was relatively tame and far from "beauty" before she made a name, from what I knew of her. And there was Mu Zimei, a blogger famous for publishing details of her many sexual encounters, led the sex revolution to the pinnacle. That's why stories like disco bunny comes as no surprise to the Chinese.

Now, a new wave of chastity is quietly making waves. Surprisingly, one of the force in this new found chastity is the raw and unapologetic Chinese style capitalism. As this Danwei translation of a South China Weekend story tells, while some young women are not try about using their sexuality to their economic advantage, others now see keeping virginity before marriage as an advantage in the competitive marriage market. In economics jargon, the market has reached an equilibrium!

The question then is why virginity is cherished and being seen as an advantage. That's the question I pose to my friend, who is also a Chinese.

"That's because Chinese males are deeply insecure about their sexuality. Having a virgin without prior sexual experience as a wife helps them not being exposed sexually."

She is equally unapologetic.

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