e-magazine
Quake Shocks Sichuan
Nation demonstrates progress in dealing with severe disaster
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Forum
Forum
UPDATED: March 19, 2012 NO. 12 MARCH 22, 2012
Should We Set up Different Standards for Boys And Girls in Schools?
Share

(LI SHIGONG)

In China today many boys behave girlishly and many girls behave like boys. To change this situation, a middle school in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, has set up 28 standards in order to cultivate "manly" boys and "ladylike" girls. This year the school selected 44 representatives of these standards and called on all other students to take these students as examples.

According to those standards, a "manly" boy should have good manners and be healthy both physically and psychologically. He needs to be courageous, strong-minded and upright. He also should respect girls and communicate with girls appropriately. A "ladylike" girl should have self-respect and behave like a lady. She should have good academic performance and maintain proper relationships with boys.

The move has triggered heated debate in and out of the school. Parents who support the school's new standards say that there has always been a tradition in China for males and females to act differently, while at the same time males should shoulder more responsibilities. But nowadays, much emphasis of schools is placed on teaching knowledge to students, while their personality cultivation has been ignored. The move has established a code of conduct for students to follow, which facilitates the cultivation of their personalities.

Parents who oppose the school's move contend that different students should have diverse personalities and a uniform code of conduct neglects individual differences and may restrict students' personality development. If we set up uniform standards to restrict all the students' behavior, they will have the same character when they grow up.

Supporters

Gao Yu (www.voc.com.cn): It is natural that men and women are different. However, more and more boys tend to act like little girls. They have long hair, speak like women and behave coyly. On the other hand, many girls regard short hair as fashionable and are bolder and more unconstrained than they are expected to be. Gender neutralization is actually a reflection of the loss of gender awareness. A male's feminine behavior might well imply the lack of confidence and reluctance to take on certain responsibilities. If more and more boys are unwilling to take social responsibilities, what will China be like in the near future?

Whether the standards for "manly" boys and "ladylike" girls of the school in Zhengzhou define precisely the characteristics of both genders, or whether such standards can be applied as a school rule may still need further consideration. But, the school's move is indeed an effort to awake young students' gender awareness, especially for those who simply pursue individualism.

Gender awareness is crucial to children's personality development. Strengthening gender awareness is not solely the responsibility of schools. Parents and the whole society need to pay attention to the education of gender awareness in young people. On one hand, society should establish distinctive gender roles for males and females; on the other hand, parents should intentionally raise their boys and girls in different ways.

Wang Chuantao (www.ifeng.com): Although it is a problem when women begin acting like men, it's a much bigger problem for society when men begin acting like women. If a certain proportion of males in a society become more like women, they will be unable to shoulder social and familial responsibilities. It's not good news for China, which is undergoing the process of civil society construction. I give my full support to this school's move.

There are two groups of statistics that indicate the seriousness of Chinese boys' feminization. First, Chinese boys' physical condition is worsening year by year. Compared with Japanese boys aged from 7 to 17, Chinese boys in the same age group are 2.54 cm shorter on average. Second, boys are more fragile psychologically than girls. Of the 19,196 patients received by Beijing Children's Hospital over the last seven years, boys accounted for 69 percent. Besides, the incidence of psychological diseases for boys in the 6-11 age group is twice that for girls. Chinese educationist Sun Yunxiao wrote a book named Saving Boys in 2010, hoping to restore Chinese boys' male hormone.

In my opinion, setting different codes of conduct for boys and girls will help to facilitate the division of labor among men and women and contribute to social progress.

1   2   Next  



 
Top Story
-Too Much Money?
-Special Coverage: Economic Shift Underway
-Quake Shocks Sichuan
-Special Coverage: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Sichuan
-A New Crop of Farmers
Most Popular
在线翻译
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved