Sexual education in China is quite interesting. Sex and anything related has long been a "taboo" topic, but things have been loosening up over the last decade. And now, Japanese adult video stars are now teaching sex-ed on public television. Progress!
Former Japanese adult video actress Akane Hotaru, perhaps best known for her work in Red Hot Jam Vol. 5: Opirates of Caribbean and Juicy Honey: Akane Hotaru, took to the airwaves of the Chinese city of Wuhan about HIV/AIDS prevention.
The 29 year-old Hotaru was originally invited to give a lecture on sexology at Central China Normal University in Wuhan by Professor Xiaohui Peng. However, as soon as word was leaked that the star would be at in attendance, university officials canceled it due to "safety concerns".
According to China News, Hotaru showed up regardless off campus in Wuhan on Mar. 1 and gave a talk on sex-ed and HIV/AIDS prevention.
After hearing that many Chinese learn sex-ed from Japanese adult videos, the former blue movie star replied, "Since adult videos are meant to satisfy fantasies and many parts of are faked to fulfill that purpose, they can't be considered as a manual for proper sexual education.
"It is necessary to learn how to put a condom on properly to protect oneself."
Once a very prominent adult video idol, Akane retired in 2008. After her retirement from the industry, she became a Red Ribbon Ambassador for Taiwan's AIDS Foundation.
Akane's involvement with HIV/AIDS prevention has been seen as good thing in China and Taiwan. According to the CIA World Factbook, as of 2009, 0.1 percent of the Chinese adult population currently has HIV/AIDS. While 0.1 percent is lower than many western countries, (the US is 0.6 percent) 0.1 percent of 1.4 billion Chinese is still a huge number.
China in many ways isn't as prudish as a country that blocks pornography might seem; in fact, it has relaxed on the pornography ban a few years ago allowing some sites to get past the Great Firewall of China. In a push to teach HIV prevention and promote safe sex, schools in Beijing have begun to teach sex-ed in elementary school. Website China Smack has a great spread on what one elementary school in Beijing does in regards to sexual education.
Chinese netizens have also flocked in droves to follow Japanese porn stars on Chinese micro-blogging websites such as Sina Weibo. Aoi Sola, affectionately dubbed by Chinese netizens as "Teacher Cang" (her Chinese name is Cang Jinkong) is one of the most followed people on Sina Weibo, garnering over 9 million followers..
China's fascination with Japanese adult video idols has even led to the sudden stardom of regular models/show girls in China. Last November during tech event DigiChina in Beijing, a booth companion named Xue Zhe (雪喆) drew the crowds attention for her resemblance to Aoi Sola.
女优红音萤宣传防艾 曾因出身被取消进课堂 ChinaNews.com
小苍井空 Baidu Wiki
(Top photo: Alexander F. Yuan | AP)