Kaleidoscope
Don't play with topic of one-night stands among college students
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-01 11:21
As many as 78.1 percent of 5,000 students surveyed in Beijing are accepting of one-night stands, according to an official investigation into their sexual perceptions and behaviors.
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of sex surveys targeting college students. People are bewildered by eye-catching news related to the sex life of college students.
On various major websites, sex surveys and news related to their sex life have attracted much more attention than other content. With so much media attention and interest from Web users, it is easy to understand why people play up the topic of college students and sex.
Generally speaking, I am not against these surveys of sex life of college students. They are useful to help understand college students, so as to improve the effectiveness of sex education targeting college students. However, some surveys are simply sensational, distorting the sexual perceptions and behavior of college students.
For example, even if as many as 78.1 percent college students are accepting of one-night stands, what will it tell us? Following Freudian theories, one-night stands are just an expression of human nature. And isn't it a normal thing for college students at their sexual prime to think of having one-night stands? However, just because they think of it doesn't mean they'll do it.
In terms of living together, pre-marital pregnancy and multiple sexual partners, the phenomena are much more common among young people who are not studying in universities. But these people don't attract as much attention as college students.
As a matter of fact, college students also hold rational perceptions on love and sex. One college student said: "To be in love in high school was a luxury, but to be in love in college is a necessity." Another student said, "Abortion will hurt my uterus only once, but it will hurt my heart, my life forever."
I suspect some researchers play up one-night stands among college students, simply because they want people to pay more attention to their sex education endeavors.
(Excerpts of a commentary that first appeared on people.com.cn)
