Reactions over campus sex education BBS polarized
By Echo Shan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-12-23 15:49

Li Feng, a sophomore at a Hebei university, used to feel sick over misguided fear of having contracted STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) despite not having any intimacy with his lover.

However, after consulting the campus BBS (bulletin board system) "Eden," a site themed on sex education, the man in his early twenties has dismissed any disease phobia.

An inside scene of the newly-opened sex education cafe in Shenzhen [thebeijingnews]

With the help of Eden, Li has learned that hugging and kissing with his girlfriend in no way, shape, or form lead to STDs. Now he frequents the "Let's talk about sex" BBS from time to time for sex-related information.

Eden, while initiated early in 2000, could go online four years later due to strong disapproval from certain factions under the banner of a "healthy campus environment."

Braving a storm of criticism on Eden, which was distorted by those "ultra-conservatives" as a minefield possibly blurring the line between sex education and porn, "Little Z" (online nickname for the moderator) executed forcefully his campus site administrative power to formally set forth the BBS.

Little Z (online nickname) would never forget Eden's opening day on July 1, 2004 as many fellow students gave a thumbs-up up at his courage, showed him their sincere attitude, and wished him great success.

He set the tone of a good-will sex education for Eden while at the same time clearly listing several don'ts, such as porn, nude and sexually arousing pics, sex-related products, and "lonely heart" (dating) ads.

To further improve the BBS, Little Z worked out a set of 3,000-word Eden rules, which summoned students to discuss sex with a scientific approach, to establish a healthy sex mentality, and to extinguish sex misunderstandings.

"Such a sex education fortress is long overdue," posted a student alias A Fan. "Sex-related problems are unavoidable; only by confronting them openly can we handle them better."

Not surprisingly, the BBS has also sparked strong criticism with a BBS reader disputing it in a loaded post: "Why on earth is there a sex BBS on campus? We university students should focus on studies rather than sex."

Loyal forumites of Eden have also contributed to the site, despite heated discussions; a female student named "Not Silly" is one of them. She has created a lot of threads concerning sex health information especially for girls.

"I don't care what others would think about me," said the girl. "I like to serve up any useful suggestions for my peers in order to show them, especially girls, how to protect themselves."

While the silent is always a majority here on Eden, according to Little Z, the mute viewers outnumber respondents quite a lot. An Eden post typically averages several hundreds of hits while usually no replies.

"We still have a long way ahead to spread a healthy take on sex among university students who may face sex-related problems soon," said the moderator, adding, "With a very considerable number of viewers we know we are on the right track."

Speaking of current difficulties running the BBS, Little Z has asked for more aid from specialists and more peers to join in and have a voice.