Hong Kong’s new sex education guidelines, which include advising teenagers to avoid premarital sex by engaging in activities like badminton, have sparked mixed reactions in the city. Some found the 70-page document from the Education Bureau amusing, coining terms like “friends with badminton” as a play on “friends with benefits.”
- Criticism: Critics including some sex educators argue that the guidelines are regressive and emphasize controlling sexual impulses rather than understanding them. The curriculum, which includes warnings about “sexy clothing” and suggests filling out forms to set intimacy boundaries, is seen as perpetuating gender stereotypes and harmful myths. “Teaching the idea that someone’s choice of clothing can ‘visually stimulate’ or provoke sexual assault perpetuates harmful rape myths,” said Doris Tsz-Wai Chong, executive director of the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women.
- Officials’ response: Despite the backlash, Hong Kong officials, including the education secretary and the city’s leader, defended the guidelines as a tool to help 12- to 14-year-olds manage the consequences of premarital sex. Developed by local academics and reviewed by educators, the curriculum is reportedly intended to be “read as a whole and within context.”
