Today I came across a time.com article stressing the importance of contraceptive use during the holidays. As one can imagine, intoxicated individuals filled with holiday cheer and - obviously - glasses of red wine, festively-named cocktails, and whatever else these generous sippers fancy, may find themselves behaving in a more rash manner. In these cases, the aforementioned individuals may forget or become too lazy to utilize condoms. As a matter of fact, among the 18 to 34 year-olds who took part in the study, 27% had unprotected sex because of alcohol-induced "temporary memory loss."
I have been told that in China's three-star and above hotels, condoms must be placed in the hotel rooms. When I stayed at a Jiangsu four-star hotel, I did find a box of condoms near the toiletries. However, in tiny Chinese characters, I read (not verbatim): 打开盒子50块钱 or 50RMB for opening this box.
Although I see, on a relatively regular basis, couples in an intimate embrace and/or smooching (on a less regular basis), people still seem too embarrassed to approach a store's condom aisle. While walking through a hygiene product and herbal medicine store, I found a safe sex aisle straight across from the escalator. Although the store itself was filled with female customers, no one approached the safe sex aisle (excluding the saleswoman); there seemed to be an invisible boundary five feet out from the aisle entrance and even curious individuals only dared to glance in that direction for a few seconds. I wondered if I were to count the number of people who entered the aisle in a day, how many would I count?
I carry out my current research at a family planning clinic. The clinic provides FREE birth controls pills and condoms. However, I rarely see the female patients taking any. If they are interested in taking some, they may first shyly ask a doctor for permission. Since I wear a white coat, some women regard me as a staff member and hence ask me. When I hand them a few packets of condems, they thank me several times and say, "哎呀, 太多了" or Oh, my, this is too much!
Now, going back to the article and with regard to my observations, people in China need to be educated about condom use. Among many unmarried youth, there is the mentality that if you truly love and care for your significant other, then you will not use a condom in order express your commitment to the relationship. Oftentimes, it is the male refusing to use the condom and the woman "forces" herself to accept this refusal.
Simply put, condom use needs to be stressed not just during the holidays (but, of course, some need a stronger reminder on certain days).
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This is just a curious question - have you had any kind of encounters with sex workers in China and had a chance to make notes on their contraceptive practices? I'm guessing that abortion is disturbingly high among them but I wonder what kind of access/ education they have and if you've encountered any in your clinic.
ReplyDeleteYour research is very fascinating. I enjoy reading the interviews in particular.
I do not know if the abortion rate among FSWs is abnormally high. Then again, it depends on your definition of abnormal; China overall has an abnormally high rate of abortion, as compared to the U.S. The FSWs whom I have interacted with generally have little knowledge on contraceptive methods. Many grass-roots organizations are currently working to educate women on the importance of safe sex (i.e. using condoms). Thus far, I have had limited interaction with FSWs. In the hospital, I may have interviewed a few FSWs, but, of course, they would not have revealed their occupational backgrounds.
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