Sexuality Education and Social Stratification: Understanding Young People’s Experience in Contemporary China

China has been underrepresented in the international discussion about sexuality education, and young people have been underrepresented in China’s discussion about sexuality education. This thesis pays particular attention to young people’s voices and everyday encounters to understand their sexuality education experiences and investigates how social class and gender influence their sexuality identity, practice, and relationships. It adopts a qualitative approach and draws on semi-structured interviews with 28 student participants and 7 schoolteacher participants at a vocational high school and an academic high school in Tianjin, China. With young people’s voices and first-hand data, young people’s experiences can be explored and understood from both the individual and the institutional perspectives considering China’s specific social, cultural, historical, and political context.

This research investigates young people’s experiences with sexuality education in China. By utilising sociological imagination, this research’s finding focuses on three main perspectives, namely institutional influences, individual perspectives, and real-life applications. Regarding the institutional factors, the research highlights how education system, gender norms, and social class in China shape sexuality education, influencing young people’s understanding and attitudes. From the perspective of the individual experiences, contrasting with institutional views, the study uncovers diverse individual experiences with sexuality education, shaped by class and gender. Moreover, in consideration of daily life applications, this research explores how young people navigate and interpret sexuality and relationships, underlining the role of societal interactions and cultural context.

The study fills gaps in current literature on sexuality education and its impacts in China, particularly concerning class and gender interplay. Methodologically, it applies qualitative research methods, providing comprehensive and in-depth insights. It advances theoretical frameworks for understanding the complex relationship between class, gender, and sexuality education in China, offering a multi-dimensional perspective.