Long legs. High heels. Short skirts. One just has to look around in any major city in China to see the way businesses are using sex to sell their products. This method of advertising stands in contrast with the more traditional views held by many Chinese people on sex. In a country where sex education in schools and within families is almost nonexistent, how and why is sexual marketing in the public becoming more acceptable? And what is the long term impact of this?

Public vs. private life

The 2012 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, better known as ChinaJoy, just finished wrapping up here in Shanghai. The largest gaming convention in China (and all of Asia) is a prime example of how sexuality is playing a major role in modern China's marketing trends. ChinaJoy has long been under official scrutiny for pushing the limits of what's considered sexually appropriate in China. Despite its focus on gaming, the convention is best known for the hordes of scantily clad young ladies running around "teasing" the predominantly male consumer base. According to The Economist, it's become so well known for such sexy antics that in the past few years the government has threatened to shut down the entire event for being too risqué. More remarkable, twenty or even fifteen years ago something like ChinaJoy would be completely unheard of in the Middle Kingdom. So what changed?

Research into this issue provides some interesting data. According to famed sociologist Li Yinhe (李银河), the sexual norms between Chinese couples have changed dramatically since the eighties. A Xinhuanet article from 2005 reports that in 1989 only 15.5% percent of Chinese were engaging in premarital sex, while in 2004 the percentage jumped to around 70%. Although this is quite a remarkable change, talking about sex within the family unit is still virtually unheard of today. Nearly every single Chinese person I spoke to about this issue said that they could never imagine speaking to their parents about anything related to sex—even less sensitive issues such as birth control and puberty. While it seems that Chinese couples are continuing to expand the limits of their sexual behavior, there are still very few people who are actually willing to talk about sex, even within their family and close friend units. So, if everyone is afraid to talk about sex in private, why is it so out in the open for the entire public to consume? 

The Internet

For better or worse, the Internet has become one of the leading sources of sex education in China. While that can be partially attributed to the availability of pornography online (yes, even in China), there are also several other indicators that clearly illustrate the change in sexual norms in China.

Internet celebrity Gan Lulu (干露露) is only famous for her internet videos showing her looking for a boyfriend, as well as the provocative dresses she frequently dons at various conventions and events around China. Having no previous notable claim-to-fame, Gan Lulu has become an Internet sensation for the mere fact that she happened to take advantage of the availability of sex on the Internet and the changing social norms in China. Whether or not that is a significant achievement is up to debate, but it does highlight the powerful impact the internet has on current Chinese society.  

On the opposite (more conservative) side of the spectrum, there is another internet celebrity who has garnered fame through discussion of sex. Or no sex, as it happens. Tu Shiyou (涂世友), a.k.a. the "Goddess of Chastity" (贞操女神), publicly posted her rather stringent requirements for a husband online. Among other things, she required that her future husband and she would not engage in sexual activity before marriage, and then only three years after the actual marriage. She could simply be doing this in an attempt at her 15 minutes of fame, but what was more remarkable than the "Goddess of Chastity" were Chinese netizens' reaction to her posting. Apparently, the notion that a man and women shouldn't have sex before marriage is quickly becoming an outdated notion. This links back to Yinhe's research on the topic.

Perhaps initially, neither of these ladies were deliberately trying to use sex to sell something. Yet, both of them ended up using sex to garner some amount of fame and/or money from the attention brought on by the sexual nature of the published content (albeit in two wildly different ways). Without the Internet, or even in the early days of the Internet, people like Gan Lulu and the Goddess of Chastity would never be able to rise to prominence. Sex was the product and the Internet was the medium.  

Exposure to the Western sexual norms

According to the most recent census, as of 2010, there were 593,832 foreigners living in China. On top of that, population experts and government officials have stated that this has greatly increased since 2010. And it's not just foreign individuals, but also foreign companies bringing new business models to China. Consequently, a greater amount of Western influence can be seen in various Chinese cities and in the media.  

Let's take for example the quintessential American restaurant, Hooters. The entire foundation of Hooters' business model is built on the notion that sex sells. Granted, there are only four Hooters' in all of China (one in Beijing, one in Chengdu, and two in Shanghai), but that there is even Hooters in China is a significant sign that sex is becoming more openly discussed, and more significantly, used as an effective marketing technique in China. 

Another example of a Western company whose presence in China would be impossible 20 years ago is the Swedish "intimate lifestyle products" company Lelo. This company is particularly interesting because it targets the rapidly expanding high-end, luxury market in China, which is a relatively new phenomenon in and of itself. It's common to see small sex shops on the streets in most major cities, but to have an international sex toy company being able to bring the full force of its marketing campaign to China is indicative of how the public view of sex in China is changing. But, who are these developments really affecting?

The Nineties Generation (90后)

The nineties generation (and to a lesser extent, the 80后) in China is at the forefront of these changes in Chinese society. They are the ones who are most susceptible to the influence of the shift in marketing strategy. For lot of people who are in the 90后 generation, sex in advertising has become the norm. And now, due to this, the generation has to deal with the friction this causes with their more traditional parents. The 90's generation are the ones who have no prior reference point, so they are the most affected by the shift in cultural norms. It will be interesting to see how their experience will shape the future of this issue in China. 
 

Related links
Overcoming the Taboo – The Evolution of Sex in China
Sex Education in China – In the Dark or With the Lights on?
60% of College Students Unsatisfied with Sex-Ed

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Sex in China marketing strategies China Chinese views on sex sexual norms in China sex sells China