Virgin obsession shows pathetic male insecurities
- Source: Global Times
- [22:16 September 02 2010]
- Comments
Illustration: Liu Rui
By Zhan Zhifeng
In his seven-minute short film, Age of Reparing Hymen (2006), Cui Jian, the father of Chinese rock'n'roll, continued his attempts to shake people out of their numbness toward the remaining antiquated ideas in modern Chinese society.
"Times have changed. Are hymens really so important? If so, instead of the damn hymen, what needs 'restoration' is men's attitude," cursed the rebellious narrator at the end of the film.
In 2006, Cui's production team investigated three major hospitals in Beijing, and found they conducted three to 10 hymen restoration surgeries every day, and each cost around 2,000 yuan (around $250 then).
A recent Washington Post report revealed that a physician at the Beijing Wuzhou Women's Hospital restored 20 hymens a month, and the price had soared to 5,000 yuan ($733.87).
Though no statistics are available on how often such surgery is performed throughout the country, evidence suggests that surgical restorations of hymens is getting more popular.
The Chinese obsession with virginity is fairly incredible. Three decades of opening-up seems to have shaped a society with fairly loose sexual codes.
Extramarital affairs, one-night stands and prostitution complicate sexual relations in China. In an age when virgins disappear in batches everyday, many Chinese men still dream marrying a girl with an untapped hymen.
Chinese men do not have a preference for a specific shape of hymen, as long as it's intact. It is a security seal and a boundary between ethics and desire.
I'm not saying men prioritize virginity among everything else. The mentality of preferring a virgin is understandable.
Take an improper but plain comparison. It's like going to enjoy a feast with a brand new pair of chopsticks. Some may argue, "You are with the girl, not her hymen." Then how do you feel eating a delicious meal with a second-hand pair of chopsticks?
Traditional Chinese culture definitely looms large in such mentality, while new social circumstances further strengthen the intention. Many Chinese men, especially those from younger generations, are baffled and self-contradictory these days.
On the one hand, each and every one of them acknowledges that it is a new era, and women are not obedient appendages of men anymore, therefore, requiring an unbroken hymen is probably as ludicrous as binding girls' feet in the old times.
