Li Yinhe talks about sex

Chapter 7 Sex Products in China
Foucault said that sex is a resource that no power can ignore.

Recently, more than one foreign reporter asked me "Why can I buy sex products in general stores in China?"Are the Chinese Westernized?Has China entered the modern society?Or is the morality of the Chinese people degenerate?I think the reason why they ask this is firstly because the way sex products are sold in China is different from most western countries.Among them, sex products are generally concentrated in certain areas and streets of the city.When I was studying in Pittsburgh, there was such a street in the commercial district of the city, where there were adult bookstores, adult movie theaters, etc., selling all kinds of sex products.It is said that its business was booming for a time, but it declined after the Republican Party came to power and the conservatives resurged in the 80s.This fact shows that sex has a certain political character in the West: when radicals prevail, it is one status; when conservatives prevail, it is another status.This is how the popular slogan of feminism (the personal is the political) comes from.

In China, the situation of sex is different from that in the West.I think this is mainly caused by differences in cultural accumulation.In the West, Christianity
Instilling people with the idea that sex is a sin, this has brought a strong political nature to sex in the West: the enlighteners advocated human nature on the grounds of sex; those who resist repression advocate liberation on the grounds of sex; By defending morality; reactionaries suppress freedom on the grounds of sex.In contrast to China, folk culture has always regarded sex as a natural thing, a harmony of yin and yang, which can prolong life, so the political nature of sex in China seems not as strong as in Western countries; so the widespread appearance of sex shops in China is also It did not cause too much controversy; therefore, sex products can be mixed with other commodities in China and sold in ordinary stores.Now some people sell condoms in the university store and advertise sex products on the bus. In my opinion, this is mainly due to commercial motives and has no political significance. Besides, our nation’s sexual culture and sexual concepts are the basis, so I didn’t encounter too much resistance (although the advertisement on the bus was driven out, it can still be done elsewhere, which is obviously different from the treatment of reactionary slogans.

Having said that, sex is not completely political in China.Foucault said: Sex is a resource that no power can ignore.What he means is that power will use sex to control people and turn sex into a resource that nourishes and maintains power.To put it more clearly, power can control people through sexual control, leaving people with less free space, allowing power to expand and occupy more space.Foucault's thought has always been known for its profundity and sharpness, and I also perceive a deafening free-spirited power from it.If we want to know what free thought is, look no further than Foucault.Looking at the status of sex in China from Foucault's point of view, I think the ideological liberation movement still has a lot to do: there are still many people who don't know that sex is their right (and power); there are still many people who don't know that they have the right Buying sex products (of course, there is also the right not to buy sex products); there are still many people who do not know that they have the right to watch sex product advertisements (of course, they also have the right not to watch sex advertisements); there are still many people who do not know how to cherish and fight for their own living space, without realizing that power is competing with itself for this space.

(End of this chapter)