SARFT-ban of today: sex

Sex sells, all media know and since being attractive is the last thing the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) want their Chinese media to be the regulator has banned sex, reports Josie Liu.

Prompted by some sex talk radio programs on several radio stations in Sichuan, China’s broadcast regulator has banned television and radio stations from planning, producing and broadcasting programs relating to sex life, experience or medicines.

China's media have always found ways around the rather conservative character of the regulator. In the 1990s you could listen all night long to call-in programs on the radio where people could ask expert advice om their sex problems. This was of course meant to be purely educational.

Now, sex is everywhere and the boys at Xinhua even have their own soft-porn departments. But that is print and SARFT will not allow that for "their" media. Not that the ban will help though, but since it is their job to ban thing, they will even ban the rain, when then think they should do it.

Mattel has another Barbie problem

Danwei points at another problems toy giant Mattel is having with Barbie, although it is not the one with lead in its paint as far as I can see. Although China Barbie focuses more on an adult audience, Mattels seems to think that we might be confused.

Without the help of Mattel we would never have found this site, so, thank you. Mattel only wants a 100,000 USD in compensation, that is pretty low for this high-end promotion.

Sex in China - speaker availability

James Farrer

One of the cards in our sleaves of the upcoming China Speakers Bureau is our speaker James Farrer, a leading expert on sex in China. I just wrote in the profile for our upcoming website about him:

James Farrer is associate professor sociology at the Sofia University in Tokyo and a leading expert on sexuality in China and Japan. In a dynamic and knowledgeable way he addresses one of the fast-changing sides of China's dynamic society: its youth culture.
Mr. Farrer started his fieldwork as a sociologist and Fulbright scholar in the second half of the 1990s in Shanghai. His groundbreaking research made him to one of the most-quoted international sociologists in this field and led to the publications of his standard work on sex in China: Opening Up: Youth Sex Culture and Market Reform in Shanghai.

I just learned that James Farrer will be in China for most of August and September, creating an unique opportunity for speaking engagements. If you are interested is hearing him talk, please do drop me a line.

Sex glossary in Chinese

Danwei rightfully points at this glossary of sex-related words in Chinese, English and Swedish, since most of those words are lacking in the all-too-politically correct dictionaries.
"Blow the horn" (吹喇叭 ) is the Chinese word for a blowjob, for example, a new one for me. Seems time for some advanced language classes here.

Chinese men as horny as panda's

headache

Raymond Zhou has located the scientific proof (but unfortunately does not link to it): Chinese men as not as horny as the massive sex industry in China would suggest. He explains the panda-syndrome, a species that is know for its (lack of) sex problems.

Chinese men are invariably discouraged from premarital sex, but as they get older and richer they catch the panda vibe, so to speak. Too much pressure from office. Too much hassle. Too busy acting like a panda, potbelly and all.
Therefore, I propose to change our national mascot from panda to rabbit. Let kids learn to be adorable. "Real men" should be quick and strong. As Mae West put it, "A hard man is good to find."

So, what are these Chinese men then doing in those karaoke bars? According to my brother-in-law, who helps to run factories in Guangdong, very little. In his previous company, after lavish meals, the female managers of the plant would leave and then the karaoke girls would move in.
My brother-in-law said he would then leave too and wait in the lobby, drinking tea. (I never checked this but believe him on his word). So, I suggested, he had to drink loads of tea. He denied. "It never takes longer than five minutes, then they were all down again."

Chongqing beats sex and porn

Traffic to this weblog is going through the roof, I just noted. The Chongqing stories seem to do very well, even better than the sex-related stories and that is rather new.