The Dilemma and the Way Out of Girls' Sexual Education in the Yi region of Liangshan

Abstract

The Yi ethnic group in Liangshan has a special culture and marriage customs, and is sensitive to words and topics such as "sex". In this context, girls of the Liangshan Yi ethnic group lack access to scientific sexual knowledge, resulting in a lack of sexual education. Through fieldwork and interviews, this paper understands the current situation and problems of sex education for girls in the family, school and society in the Liangshan Yi region, including: women in the Liangshan Yi region equate "sex education" with talking about "sex", such as birth, pregnancy, menstruation, and other taboos that cannot be mentioned in the region; sex education in schools is only about sex physiology, emphasizing how to maintain boundaries with boys and avoid sexually transmitted diseases; influenced by traditional family culture, Yi women do not have a correct attitude toward sexual assault and choose to tolerate it. Based on this, this paper synthesizes the understanding of sex education curriculum in China and other countries, and combines the unique sex culture of the Liangshan Yi region, by designing a sex education activity curriculum as a way out of the current situation of sex education for girls in the Liangshan Yi region.