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Sex Ideologies in China: Examining Interprovince Differences.
1a Department of Sociology , University of Essex.
Journal of Sex Research
|February 18, 2016
Summary
China's sex revolution is not uniform; regional agricultural history, particularly the rice-wheat distinction, significantly shapes diverse sex ideologies across provinces, more than modernization or deindustrialization. This research explores these variations.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Cultural Studies
- Demography
Background:
- Increasing visibility of premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexuality in China suggests a national "sex revolution."
- China's significant sociocultural diversity challenges the notion of a uniform, nationwide shift in sexual attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate variations in sex ideologies across China's provinces.
- To determine the association between interprovince differences in sex ideologies and macrolevel social factors.
- To test theories of modernization, Westernization, deindustrialization, and the "rice theory" regarding these variations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the 2010 China General Social Survey.
- Utilized the 2011 Chinese Statistics Yearbook for macrolevel data.
- Employed multilevel models to test theoretical explanations for provincial differences in sex ideologies.
Main Results:
- Modernization theory was unsupported; socioeconomic development did not significantly correlate with sex ideologies.
- Deindustrialization and Westernization were linked to less traditional sex ideologies, with domain-specific variations.
- The "rice theory" was strongly supported, with the rice-wheat agricultural distinction explaining up to 30% of provincial variance in sex ideologies.
Conclusions:
- Long-standing geographic and historical factors (like agricultural practices) play a crucial role in shaping contemporary sex ideologies in China.
- Recent social changes also influence sexual attitudes, but their impact is moderated by deep-rooted regional differences.
- China's ideational landscape of sex is a complex interplay of historical geography and contemporary social transformations.
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