A people's sexual revolution in China

By David Barboza, Hearald Tribune Published: March 3, 2007

SHANGHAI: WHEN Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue hit the newsstands last week in China

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A decade ago, the private lives of people in China were still quite restricted. Whom you married, where you lived and what was considered permissible were tightly controlled or closely monitored by the government, employers and parental authorities.

But urbanization, greater mobility and the power of the World Wide Web have challenged all that.

Now, experts say, China is going through a period of enormous personal and sexual freedom. Young people — most of whom grew up without siblings under the country's one-child policy — are wearing more hip and provocative clothing. And they're growing addicted to entertainment online, where they can also search for love and indulge their lust.

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