Author's personal copy Sexuality Culture D0I10.1007/s12119-011-9123-0 ORIGINAL PAPER Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings:A Qualitative Comparison of the Premarital Sexual Scripts of Chinese and Japanese Young Adults James Farrer·Gefei Suo·Haruka Tsuchiya" Zhongxin Sun Springer Science+Business Media,LLC 2011 Abstract Through a comparison of the premarital sexual scripts of Chinese and Japanese young adults,we propose a general framework for cross-culturally com- paring sexual scripts.Based on a breakdown of narrative structure into six narrative components-act,context,purpose,actors,agency and consequences-this narra- tive component method of comparison provides a way of accounting for the con- siderable differences in Japanese and Chinese premarital sexual norms.Both Chinese and Japanese students'normative cultural scenarios for entry into sexual intercourse situate sexual intercourse within a "love"relationship;but narrative component analysis reveals key differences in the construction of acts,agents and contexts.Both the Japanese and Chinese findings point to a process of re-embedding sexual behavior in sexual scripts associated with a narrower scope of relational purposes and specific social contexts.The differential embedding of sexual scripts in an idealized relational context is shown to be relevant for the cultural con- struction of sexual agency. Keywords Sexual scripts·Premarital sexuality·Virginity·China·Japan· Comparative research.Sexual agency Introduction:Comparing Japanese and Chinese Premarital Sexual Norms The sociological description of sex as culturally scripted behavior suggests that a comparative study of sexual scripts may help explain cross-cultural differences in premarital sexual behavior patterns (Gagnon and Simon 1973;Gagnon 2004). Comparative qualitative studies of sexual scripts are made difficult,however, because of the lack of a comparative framework.In this paper,we develop a general J.Farrer(☒·G.Suo·H.Tsuchiya,Z.Sun Sophia University,Tokyo,Japan e-mail:jim_farrer@yahoo.com Published online:22 November 2011 ②Springer
ORIGINAL PAPER Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings: A Qualitative Comparison of the Premarital Sexual Scripts of Chinese and Japanese Young Adults James Farrer • Gefei Suo • Haruka Tsuchiya • Zhongxin Sun Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract Through a comparison of the premarital sexual scripts of Chinese and Japanese young adults, we propose a general framework for cross-culturally comparing sexual scripts. Based on a breakdown of narrative structure into six narrative components—act, context, purpose, actors, agency and consequences—this narrative component method of comparison provides a way of accounting for the considerable differences in Japanese and Chinese premarital sexual norms. Both Chinese and Japanese students’ normative cultural scenarios for entry into sexual intercourse situate sexual intercourse within a ‘‘love’’ relationship; but narrative component analysis reveals key differences in the construction of acts, agents and contexts. Both the Japanese and Chinese findings point to a process of re-embedding sexual behavior in sexual scripts associated with a narrower scope of relational purposes and specific social contexts. The differential embedding of sexual scripts in an idealized relational context is shown to be relevant for the cultural construction of sexual agency. Keywords Sexual scripts Premarital sexuality Virginity China Japan Comparative research Sexual agency Introduction: Comparing Japanese and Chinese Premarital Sexual Norms The sociological description of sex as culturally scripted behavior suggests that a comparative study of sexual scripts may help explain cross-cultural differences in premarital sexual behavior patterns (Gagnon and Simon 1973; Gagnon 2004). Comparative qualitative studies of sexual scripts are made difficult, however, because of the lack of a comparative framework. In this paper, we develop a general J. Farrer (&) G. Suo H. Tsuchiya Z. Sun Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan e-mail: jim_farrer@yahoo.com 123 Sexuality & Culture DOI 10.1007/s12119-011-9123-0 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy J.Farrer et al. framework for comparing cultural scripts,and apply it to the narratives of premarital sexual relationships of Chinese and Japanese young adults.Japan and China make for an important comparative case study.China stands out for the late ages of first sex and relatively conservative attitudes toward premarital sex (Parish et al.2007) In comparison,Japan shows more permissive attitudes toward premarital sexuality. Neither society,however,has the monotheistic religious heritage which shapes Western or West Asian sexual scripts.This raises the question of how cultural constraints on premarital sexuality are scripted in China and Japan,and how we can account for the difference between the two. In a comparison of Chinese and US love ideologies,Rothbaum and Tsang (1998) suggest that Chinese meanings of love are more deeply embedded in larger cultural contexts,whereas US conceptions are less embedded;that is,more focused on individual sexual motives.Building on sociological accounts of culture,we suggest that meanings of sexual acts are not simply more or less embedded in culture at a general level.Rather,sexual scripts narratively embed the meanings of sexual acts in different social situations through narrative constructions of contexts,purposes, agents,and forms of agency peculiar to these contexts.In particular,we investigate how Chinese and Japanese premarital scripts differently structure sexual agency by embedding actors in specific types of relational contexts,forming a master narrative for premarital sexual behavior.We suggest that some forms of premarital sexual permissiveness involve increasing this narrative embedding rather than reducing it. Changing Premarital Sex Norms in China and Japan We must understand contemporary premarital sexual scripts in the context of rapid changes in sexual culture in China and Japan.Late imperial China seems to have had far stricter notions of female chastity than the roughly contemporaneous Tokugawa Japan.A Confucian cult of female chastity was promulgated to all levels of Chinese society.Marriages were arranged by parents,and generally involved no prior interactions between young people(Sommer 2000).In pre-modern Japan,in contrast,virginity was less emphasized.Rural commoners engaged in premarital "night visits"(yobai)and what were effectively trial marriages.Divorce and remarriage remained common until the late nineteenth century(Smith and Wiswell 1982;Fuess 2004).Despite such large initial differences,westernizing legal reforms and wartime social policies produced a remarkable convergence of Japanese and Chinese sexual cultures in the mid-twentieth century.Legal and social reforms emphasized monogamy,premarital abstinence,and women's reproductive duties to the nation (Dikotter 1995;Edwards 2000;Akagawa 1999;Tipton 2005;Sato 2003; McLelland 2010).In the immediate postwar period,both Communist China and Liberal Democratic Japan continued to promote premarital sexual abstinence for youth (Asayama 1975;Evans 1997;Castro-Vazquez 2007). Chinese and Japanese societies followed very different paths away from this state-sponsored culture of sexual austerity and toward the relatively permissive culture of premarital dating that we describe in this study.Under the Chinese Marriage Law of 1950,free choice of marriage partners became the norm by the 2Springer
framework for comparing cultural scripts, and apply it to the narratives of premarital sexual relationships of Chinese and Japanese young adults. Japan and China make for an important comparative case study. China stands out for the late ages of first sex and relatively conservative attitudes toward premarital sex (Parish et al. 2007). In comparison, Japan shows more permissive attitudes toward premarital sexuality. Neither society, however, has the monotheistic religious heritage which shapes Western or West Asian sexual scripts. This raises the question of how cultural constraints on premarital sexuality are scripted in China and Japan, and how we can account for the difference between the two. In a comparison of Chinese and US love ideologies, Rothbaum and Tsang (1998), suggest that Chinese meanings of love are more deeply embedded in larger cultural contexts, whereas US conceptions are less embedded; that is, more focused on individual sexual motives. Building on sociological accounts of culture, we suggest that meanings of sexual acts are not simply more or less embedded in culture at a general level. Rather, sexual scripts narratively embed the meanings of sexual acts in different social situations through narrative constructions of contexts, purposes, agents, and forms of agency peculiar to these contexts. In particular, we investigate how Chinese and Japanese premarital scripts differently structure sexual agency by embedding actors in specific types of relational contexts, forming a master narrative for premarital sexual behavior. We suggest that some forms of premarital sexual permissiveness involve increasing this narrative embedding rather than reducing it. Changing Premarital Sex Norms in China and Japan We must understand contemporary premarital sexual scripts in the context of rapid changes in sexual culture in China and Japan. Late imperial China seems to have had far stricter notions of female chastity than the roughly contemporaneous Tokugawa Japan. A Confucian cult of female chastity was promulgated to all levels of Chinese society. Marriages were arranged by parents, and generally involved no prior interactions between young people (Sommer 2000). In pre-modern Japan, in contrast, virginity was less emphasized. Rural commoners engaged in premarital ‘‘night visits’’ (yobai) and what were effectively trial marriages. Divorce and remarriage remained common until the late nineteenth century (Smith and Wiswell 1982; Fuess 2004). Despite such large initial differences, westernizing legal reforms and wartime social policies produced a remarkable convergence of Japanese and Chinese sexual cultures in the mid-twentieth century. Legal and social reforms emphasized monogamy, premarital abstinence, and women’s reproductive duties to the nation (Dikotter 1995; Edwards 2000; Akagawa 1999; Tipton 2005; Sato 2003; McLelland 2010). In the immediate postwar period, both Communist China and Liberal Democratic Japan continued to promote premarital sexual abstinence for youth (Asayama 1975; Evans 1997; Castro-Vazquez 2007). Chinese and Japanese societies followed very different paths away from this state-sponsored culture of sexual austerity and toward the relatively permissive culture of premarital dating that we describe in this study. Under the Chinese Marriage Law of 1950, free choice of marriage partners became the norm by the J. Farrer et al. 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings 1960s,though a "dating culture"that included premarital sex was not allowed to develop (Xu and Whyte 1990;Yan 2003).In the politically charged 1950s and 1960s the Chinese party-state defined sexuality within a narrow marital framework (Evans 1997).In a popular reaction against this politicization of private life,an "opening up"of public sexual culture began in the 1980s(Honig and Hershatter 1988),leading to greater acceptance of premarital sex and an increase in premarital sexual behavior among urban youth in the 1990s(Farrer 2002;Pan and Yang 2004; Li 1998;Parish et al.2007;People's University 2007).Still,even in the "reform and opening"period,Chinese secondary schools prohibited dating as a form of "premature love"(Evans 1997:Yang and Yao 2002).Although university students were allowed to marry in 2005,universities maintained rules prohibiting sexual intercourse among unmarried students,though these are unevenly enforced. Japan,in contrast,experienced a mass "democratization"of male-female relationships in the immediate post-war era,partly as a result of American influences (McLelland 2010).Though schools promoted sexual purity (junketsu)for youth through the 1960s,premarital sex began increasing in the 1950s,already reaching 27%for 21-year-old male students,and 10%for 21-year-old female students in 1958.American terms such as "petting"became part of everyday Japanese discourse (Asayama 1975)."Romantic love marriages"(renai kekkon) overtook the number of "marriages by introduction"(omiai kekkon)in the mid- 1960s,and by 2005 only 6.4%of marrying Japanese couples were reported to have met by omiai (NIPSSR 2005).Longitudinal surveys of sexual attitudes show increasing premarital sexual permissiveness from the 1950s onward (NHK 2004). By 2002,only 11%of unmarried respondents in a national survey held negative attitudes toward premarital sex(NIPSSR 2002).Japanese youth began dating earlier than before and putting a greater emphasis on sex in dating relationships(Wada 1999).Although sexual education in Japanese schools continued to emphasize romantic love and youthful innocence (Castro-Vazquez 2007),increasingly, premarital sex was normalized within an "intimacy paradigm"in which sex is understood as a legitimate expression of feelings of love and caring for a partner, increasingly detached from the goal of marriage (Akagawa 1999:382;Tanimoto 2008;Farrer et al.2008). Recent national surveys show recent rapid increases in sexual activity among both Chinese and Japanese university student populations(see Figs.1 and 2),but also a large continuing difference in behavioral patterns.Chinese students are less likely to have engaged in pre-coital physical intimacy and half as likely to have engaged in premarital sexual intercourse as Japanese students (see Table 1). Surveys conducted in individual Chinese universities show that substantial minor- ities of Chinese students disapprove of premarital sex under any circumstances (ranging from 11 to 47%),with women being substantially more disapproving than men (Dong et al.2005;Ma and Shaoming 2003;Miao 2005;Gao 2004;Sun and Jianhong 2006;Zheng 2005).In contrast,Japanese national surveys show that only 3-4%of Japanese university students believe that sex should wait until marriage or until after a formal engagement (JASE 2007;NIPSSR 2005). While useful as quantitative benchmarks,these previous studies are based on closed-end questionnaires.This study aims to fill in this gap by using a sexual ②Springer
1960s, though a ‘‘dating culture’’ that included premarital sex was not allowed to develop (Xu and Whyte 1990; Yan 2003). In the politically charged 1950s and 1960s the Chinese party-state defined sexuality within a narrow marital framework (Evans 1997). In a popular reaction against this politicization of private life, an ‘‘opening up’’ of public sexual culture began in the 1980s (Honig and Hershatter 1988), leading to greater acceptance of premarital sex and an increase in premarital sexual behavior among urban youth in the 1990s (Farrer 2002; Pan and Yang 2004; Li 1998; Parish et al. 2007; People’s University 2007). Still, even in the ‘‘reform and opening’’ period, Chinese secondary schools prohibited dating as a form of ‘‘premature love’’ (Evans 1997; Yang and Yao 2002). Although university students were allowed to marry in 2005, universities maintained rules prohibiting sexual intercourse among unmarried students, though these are unevenly enforced. Japan, in contrast, experienced a mass ‘‘democratization’’ of male–female relationships in the immediate post-war era, partly as a result of American influences (McLelland 2010). Though schools promoted sexual purity (junketsu) for youth through the 1960s, premarital sex began increasing in the 1950s, already reaching 27% for 21-year-old male students, and 10% for 21-year-old female students in 1958. American terms such as ‘‘petting’’ became part of everyday Japanese discourse (Asayama 1975). ‘‘Romantic love marriages’’ (renai kekkon) overtook the number of ‘‘marriages by introduction’’ (omiai kekkon) in the mid- 1960s, and by 2005 only 6.4% of marrying Japanese couples were reported to have met by omiai (NIPSSR 2005). Longitudinal surveys of sexual attitudes show increasing premarital sexual permissiveness from the 1950s onward (NHK 2004). By 2002, only 11% of unmarried respondents in a national survey held negative attitudes toward premarital sex (NIPSSR 2002). Japanese youth began dating earlier than before and putting a greater emphasis on sex in dating relationships (Wada 1999). Although sexual education in Japanese schools continued to emphasize romantic love and youthful innocence (Castro-Vazquez 2007), increasingly, premarital sex was normalized within an ‘‘intimacy paradigm’’ in which sex is understood as a legitimate expression of feelings of love and caring for a partner, increasingly detached from the goal of marriage (Akagawa 1999: 382; Tanimoto 2008; Farrer et al. 2008). Recent national surveys show recent rapid increases in sexual activity among both Chinese and Japanese university student populations (see Figs. 1 and 2), but also a large continuing difference in behavioral patterns. Chinese students are less likely to have engaged in pre-coital physical intimacy and half as likely to have engaged in premarital sexual intercourse as Japanese students (see Table 1). Surveys conducted in individual Chinese universities show that substantial minorities of Chinese students disapprove of premarital sex under any circumstances (ranging from 11 to 47%), with women being substantially more disapproving than men (Dong et al. 2005; Ma and Shaoming 2003; Miao 2005; Gao 2004; Sun and Jianhong 2006; Zheng 2005). In contrast, Japanese national surveys show that only 3–4% of Japanese university students believe that sex should wait until marriage or until after a formal engagement (JASE 2007; NIPSSR 2005). While useful as quantitative benchmarks, these previous studies are based on closed-end questionnaires. This study aims to fill in this gap by using a sexual Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy J.Farrer et al. 100 oMale Female 70 50 40 30 20 0 1974 1981 1987 1993 1999 2005 Fig.1 Japanese students sexual intercourse experience (JASE 2007) 100 Male ▣Female 8 6 30 10 0 1997 2001 2005 Fig.2 Chinese University students sexual intercourse experience (Chinese People's University 2007) scripting perspective to discuss the cultural constructions of premarital sexual conduct in these two societies. The Narrative Components Framework as a Comparative Method for Analyzing Shared Cultural Scripts The sexual scripting perspective is a theoretical account of how sexual conduct is narratively organized (Gagnon and Simon 1973;Gagnon 2004),or "scripted" around cultural scenarios at the social and interpersonal,and psychological,levels. Gagnon and Simon propose three loosely linked levels at which sexual conduct is organized.Our study focuses on the most social level,the cultural scenarios, defined as the socially prescribed narratives governing sexual actions.Although beyond the scope of this paper,cultural scenarios have a direct influence on 2Springer
scripting perspective to discuss the cultural constructions of premarital sexual conduct in these two societies. The Narrative Components Framework as a Comparative Method for Analyzing Shared Cultural Scripts The sexual scripting perspective is a theoretical account of how sexual conduct is narratively organized (Gagnon and Simon 1973; Gagnon 2004), or ‘‘scripted’’ around cultural scenarios at the social and interpersonal, and psychological, levels. Gagnon and Simon propose three loosely linked levels at which sexual conduct is organized. Our study focuses on the most social level, the cultural scenarios, defined as the socially prescribed narratives governing sexual actions. Although beyond the scope of this paper, cultural scenarios have a direct influence on 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1974 1981 1987 1993 1999 2005 Percent Male Female Fig. 1 Japanese students sexual intercourse experience (JASE 2007) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1997 2001 2005 Percent Male Female Fig. 2 Chinese University students sexual intercourse experience (Chinese People’s University 2007) J. Farrer et al. 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings Table 1 Basic data on Japanese and Chinese students sexual experience China Japan References Proportion of university students 64.1%(male) 79.0%(male) Pan and Yang (2004), reporting dating experience 61.4%(female) 81.5%(female) JASE(2007:13) Proportion of university students 44.5%(male) 72.3%(male) Pan and Yang (2004), reporting kissing experience 47.2%(female) 72.2%(female) JASE(2007:13) Urban high school students who 50%(male) 5.2%(male) Yang and Yao (2002). disapprove of premarital sex 68%(female) 6.2%(female) Tokyo Municipal Government (2008:67) Urban high school students 3%(male and 47.3%(male Yang and Yao (2002). reporting sexual intercourse female,all 3rd year) Tokyo Municipal experience years) 46.5%(female Government (2008:68) 3 rd year） University students reporting 36.6%(male) 61.3%(male) Chinese People's sexual intercourse experience 26.8%(female) 61.1%(female) University (2007). JASE(2007:13) Average age of first marriage- 28.8(male) 31.6(male) SASS (2011).MHLW Shanghai and Tokyo 26.5(female) 29.7(female) (2009) Age of first sex for urban young 21.9 (male and 17.7(male) People's Daily (2005). adults female) 18.1 (female) Kitamura et al.(2003) interpersonal scripts,the often privately negotiated patterns in sexual interactions, and intrapersonal scripts,the internalized narratives that individuals construct about their own sexual behaviors and fantasies.(Gagnon 2004;Escoffer 2004:xix). Developed out of symbolic interactionism,the sexual scripting perspective was pivotal in shifting the focus of studies of sexuality from the realm of biological to the social (Irvine 2003;Simon and Gagnon 2003). This paper focuses on identifying cultural scenarios,or the collective sexual scripts,towards which youth orient themselves.Cultural scenarios can be thought of as“master narratives”or“canonical narratives'”(Bruner 1991)towards which youth orient their own narrative accounts-even in the breach.In both Japan and China,we were able to distinguish dominant cultural scenarios from alternative or deviant scenarios that are also shared sexual scripts (though not as widely shared, and more often disputed).Cultural scenarios are often influenced by strong institutional contexts such as the educational system as well as popular media (Christian-Smith 1994;Carpenter 2001;Irvine 2003).Our data suggest that such dominant scenarios serve as collective references for individual narratives.In other words,young people refer to these cultural scenarios for sexual behavior even if they do not always follow the implied interpersonal scripts.On the other hand,we also examine alternative scenarios linked to specific relational and social contexts (Swidler 2001).Discussions of alternative scripts often refer back to dominant cultural scenarios as a point of contrast. The approach of identifying cultural scenarios for sexual behavior has many precedents in research on sexual scripts.Researchers have discussed how culturally ②Springer
interpersonal scripts, the often privately negotiated patterns in sexual interactions, and intrapersonal scripts, the internalized narratives that individuals construct about their own sexual behaviors and fantasies. (Gagnon 2004; Escoffer 2004: xix). Developed out of symbolic interactionism, the sexual scripting perspective was pivotal in shifting the focus of studies of sexuality from the realm of biological to the social (Irvine 2003; Simon and Gagnon 2003). This paper focuses on identifying cultural scenarios, or the collective sexual scripts, towards which youth orient themselves. Cultural scenarios can be thought of as ‘‘master narratives’’ or ‘‘canonical narratives’’ (Bruner 1991) towards which youth orient their own narrative accounts—even in the breach. In both Japan and China, we were able to distinguish dominant cultural scenarios from alternative or deviant scenarios that are also shared sexual scripts (though not as widely shared, and more often disputed). Cultural scenarios are often influenced by strong institutional contexts such as the educational system as well as popular media (Christian-Smith 1994; Carpenter 2001; Irvine 2003). Our data suggest that such dominant scenarios serve as collective references for individual narratives. In other words, young people refer to these cultural scenarios for sexual behavior even if they do not always follow the implied interpersonal scripts. On the other hand, we also examine alternative scenarios linked to specific relational and social contexts (Swidler 2001). Discussions of alternative scripts often refer back to dominant cultural scenarios as a point of contrast. The approach of identifying cultural scenarios for sexual behavior has many precedents in research on sexual scripts. Researchers have discussed how culturally Table 1 Basic data on Japanese and Chinese students sexual experience China Japan References Proportion of university students reporting dating experience 64.1% (male) 79.0% (male) Pan and Yang (2004), JASE (2007: 13) 61.4% (female) 81.5% (female) Proportion of university students reporting kissing experience 44.5% (male) 72.3% (male) Pan and Yang (2004), JASE (2007: 13) 47.2% (female) 72.2% (female) Urban high school students who disapprove of premarital sex 50% (male) 5.2% (male) Yang and Yao (2002), Tokyo Municipal Government (2008: 67) 68% (female) 6.2% (female) Urban high school students reporting sexual intercourse experience 3% (male and female, all years) 47.3% (male 3rd year) Yang and Yao (2002), Tokyo Municipal Government (2008: 68) 46.5% (female 3rd year) University students reporting sexual intercourse experience 36.6% (male) 61.3% (male) Chinese People’s University (2007), JASE (2007: 13) 26.8% (female) 61.1% (female) Average age of first marriage— Shanghai and Tokyo 28.8 (male) 31.6 (male) SASS (2011), MHLW (2009) 26.5 (female) 29.7 (female) Age of first sex for urban young adults 21.9 (male and female) 17.7 (male) People’s Daily (2005), Kitamura et al. (2003) 18.1 (female) Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy J.Farrer et al. defined sexual scripts frame first sex and virginity loss (Thompson 1990;Holland et al.1998;Tolman 2002;Carpenter 2001,2005),scenarios for first dates (Laner and Ventrone 2000),gendered patterns for initiating sex (Lenton and Bryan 2005). and condom use (Hynie et al.1998).The sexual scripting perspective has also been used to analyze cultural change,including how American women developed new scripts for premarital coitus in the sexual revolution of the late 1960s (Reed and Weinberg 1984),and the development of new sexual scripts among gay men (Whittier and Melendez 2004)or within HIV intervention programs (Dworkin and Sullivan 2005).Research on youth sexual behavior in other contexts shows that cultural scenarios for sexual initiation are important in defining sexual possibilities for young people(Carpenter 2005).Premarital sexual scenarios are highly gendered, and are often described as reducing young women's sexual agency (Tolman 2002; Thompson 1995),particularly through scripts in which young women judge their experiences from a male perspective (Holland et al.1998). For the purpose of comparing and analyzing Japanese and Chinese cultural scenarios for premarital sexual behavior,we employ a narrative components framework developed from Kenneth Burke's dramaturgical approach to the cultural construction of human actions (Escoffer 2004;Gagnon 2004).An important intellectual influence on sexual scripting theory,Burke divides the cultural analysis of an action into five components which are known as the "dramaturgical pentad": the act itself;the scene,or the context in which an act happens;the agents or actors; agency,or the means to action;and the purpose or goals of action (Burke 1945; Gusfield 1989:15).Based on our data,we add the component of"consequences," which can be distinguished from the immediate purposes of action as the unforeseeable,though sometimes feared,outcome of actions (in this case, pregnancy or STDs).Using the narrative components of act,context,purpose, actors,agency and consequences,we analyze and compare the dominant cultural scenarios in which premarital sex was described by our Japanese and Chinese informants.The narrative components perspective allows us to analyze cultural scenarios as emphasizing some motivational elements over others.It is thus a kind of sociological "rhetoric of motives"to use the term from Kenneth Burke. In order to explain how cultural scenarios may enable or constrain sexual choices,we develop Burke's conception of the "scope"of a narrative (Burke 1989: 160-168).A scope can be explained as the narrowness of the context that is considered when narrating or framing an act.For example,people may consider the meanings of the same sexual act in social contexts of varying scope,ranging from the narrow scope of the immediate situation in which an act occurs (e.g.,two drunken people on a sofa in a dorm party)to a larger scope of social relationships and commitments (e.g.,the larger context of friends,family,church,etc.),similar to the different degrees of social "embedding"described by Rothbaum and Tsang (1998).Related to the idea of scope,we also develop Burke's idea of"ratio,"more specifically,the "ratio"of scene to act,or the degree to which the meanings of an act are circumscribed by the context in which it occurs (Burke 1989:135-138).That is,sexual scripts differ in the degree to which the meanings of sexual acts are limited by contexts (a high scene-act ratio),or having meanings relatively independent of contexts (a low scene-act ratio).We suggest that these differences in 2Springer
defined sexual scripts frame first sex and virginity loss (Thompson 1990; Holland et al. 1998; Tolman 2002; Carpenter 2001, 2005), scenarios for first dates (Laner and Ventrone 2000), gendered patterns for initiating sex (Lenton and Bryan 2005), and condom use (Hynie et al. 1998). The sexual scripting perspective has also been used to analyze cultural change, including how American women developed new scripts for premarital coitus in the sexual revolution of the late 1960s (Reed and Weinberg 1984), and the development of new sexual scripts among gay men (Whittier and Melendez 2004) or within HIV intervention programs (Dworkin and Sullivan 2005). Research on youth sexual behavior in other contexts shows that cultural scenarios for sexual initiation are important in defining sexual possibilities for young people (Carpenter 2005). Premarital sexual scenarios are highly gendered, and are often described as reducing young women’s sexual agency (Tolman 2002; Thompson 1995), particularly through scripts in which young women judge their experiences from a male perspective (Holland et al. 1998). For the purpose of comparing and analyzing Japanese and Chinese cultural scenarios for premarital sexual behavior, we employ a narrative components framework developed from Kenneth Burke’s dramaturgical approach to the cultural construction of human actions (Escoffer 2004; Gagnon 2004). An important intellectual influence on sexual scripting theory, Burke divides the cultural analysis of an action into five components which are known as the ‘‘dramaturgical pentad’’: the act itself; the scene, or the context in which an act happens; the agents or actors; agency, or the means to action; and the purpose or goals of action (Burke 1945; Gusfield 1989: 15). Based on our data, we add the component of ‘‘consequences,’’ which can be distinguished from the immediate purposes of action as the unforeseeable, though sometimes feared, outcome of actions (in this case, pregnancy or STDs). Using the narrative components of act, context, purpose, actors, agency and consequences, we analyze and compare the dominant cultural scenarios in which premarital sex was described by our Japanese and Chinese informants. The narrative components perspective allows us to analyze cultural scenarios as emphasizing some motivational elements over others. It is thus a kind of sociological ‘‘rhetoric of motives’’ to use the term from Kenneth Burke. In order to explain how cultural scenarios may enable or constrain sexual choices, we develop Burke’s conception of the ‘‘scope’’ of a narrative (Burke 1989: 160–168). A scope can be explained as the narrowness of the context that is considered when narrating or framing an act. For example, people may consider the meanings of the same sexual act in social contexts of varying scope, ranging from the narrow scope of the immediate situation in which an act occurs (e.g., two drunken people on a sofa in a dorm party) to a larger scope of social relationships and commitments (e.g., the larger context of friends, family, church, etc.), similar to the different degrees of social ‘‘embedding’’ described by Rothbaum and Tsang (1998). Related to the idea of scope, we also develop Burke’s idea of ‘‘ratio,’’ more specifically, the ‘‘ratio’’ of scene to act, or the degree to which the meanings of an act are circumscribed by the context in which it occurs (Burke 1989: 135–138). That is, sexual scripts differ in the degree to which the meanings of sexual acts are limited by contexts (a high scene–act ratio), or having meanings relatively independent of contexts (a low scene–act ratio). We suggest that these differences in J. Farrer et al. 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings “scope”(breadth of social embedding)and“ratios'”(context dependency)of sexual scripts have broad implications for understanding similarities and differences in the social construction of sexual acts within sexual scripts. Data The data for this study come from in-depth interviews conducted from 2002 to 2007 with Chinese and Japanese university students and recent graduates about their own recent relationships as well as general attitudes toward sexuality.This research follows a qualitative or "constructionist"approach to investigating social relation- ships (Marvasti 2004),using open-ended qualitative interviews to understand the ideas of social agents in their own terms,asking them to supply detailed descriptions of cultural codes and define social contexts (Marvasti 2004;Weiss 1995;Merton etal.1990). Informants were a convenience sample contacted by a diverse group of student interviewers,and were removed by two to four social ties from the primary investigators.Interviews lasted between 1 and 4 h (typically 1.5 h),and were recorded and fully transcribed by the interviewers.Interviewees were unpaid volunteers.Privacy was assured by eliminating identifying details from the transcripts before analysis.Individual interviews focused on eliciting a narrative account of the current or most recent relationship.The interviewers were also provided with a set of topics as prompts for follow-up questions,including initial sexual involvement and sex within the relationship. The Japanese sample is based on 135 open-ended qualitative interviews with 48 males and 87 females.Of the informants,78 were full-time students in 2-or 4-year colleges in the Tokyo area (median age 21 years),while 57 others were recent graduates (median age 24 years).All informants and their partners were Japanese nationals living in the Tokyo region at the time of the interview.Of our informants, 95%were having sex in the relationship,almost always after a formal "confession" of love and declaration of entering into "going steady"(tsukiau)relationship. For the Chinese sample,individual interviews were conducted with 111 students or recent graduates of Shanghai universities,interviewed individually or in small groups.Of the 68 individual interviews,33 interviewees were male(48.5%)and 35 were female (51.5%).Of the informants,42 (61.8%)were native Shanghainese, while 26 informants(38.2%)were born in other provinces but currently resident in Shanghai.Thirty-five informants (51.5%)were already working (median age 24 years),while 33 informants (48.5%)were still university students when interviewed (median age 21 years).Forty informants (58.8%)had already had sexual intercourse with their partners,while 28(41.2%)had not.In addition to individual interviews,43 Shanghai students participated in 10 group interviews in Shanghai(8 male and 35 female),ages ranging from 17 to 22,with a median age of 20.The focus group interviews were conducted using a hypothetical storyline of a relationship from first meeting to sexual intercourse and breakup. Analysis of the data for this paper followed the procedures for case-based grounded theory described by Robert Weiss (1995),involving the construction of ②Springer
‘‘scope’’ (breadth of social embedding) and ‘‘ratios’’ (context dependency) of sexual scripts have broad implications for understanding similarities and differences in the social construction of sexual acts within sexual scripts. Data The data for this study come from in-depth interviews conducted from 2002 to 2007 with Chinese and Japanese university students and recent graduates about their own recent relationships as well as general attitudes toward sexuality. This research follows a qualitative or ‘‘constructionist’’ approach to investigating social relationships (Marvasti 2004), using open-ended qualitative interviews to understand the ideas of social agents in their own terms, asking them to supply detailed descriptions of cultural codes and define social contexts (Marvasti 2004; Weiss 1995; Merton et al. 1990). Informants were a convenience sample contacted by a diverse group of student interviewers, and were removed by two to four social ties from the primary investigators. Interviews lasted between 1 and 4 h (typically 1.5 h), and were recorded and fully transcribed by the interviewers. Interviewees were unpaid volunteers. Privacy was assured by eliminating identifying details from the transcripts before analysis. Individual interviews focused on eliciting a narrative account of the current or most recent relationship. The interviewers were also provided with a set of topics as prompts for follow-up questions, including initial sexual involvement and sex within the relationship. The Japanese sample is based on 135 open-ended qualitative interviews with 48 males and 87 females. Of the informants, 78 were full-time students in 2- or 4-year colleges in the Tokyo area (median age 21 years), while 57 others were recent graduates (median age 24 years). All informants and their partners were Japanese nationals living in the Tokyo region at the time of the interview. Of our informants, 95% were having sex in the relationship, almost always after a formal ‘‘confession’’ of love and declaration of entering into ‘‘going steady’’ (tsukiau) relationship. For the Chinese sample, individual interviews were conducted with 111 students or recent graduates of Shanghai universities, interviewed individually or in small groups. Of the 68 individual interviews, 33 interviewees were male (48.5%) and 35 were female (51.5%). Of the informants, 42 (61.8%) were native Shanghainese, while 26 informants (38.2%) were born in other provinces but currently resident in Shanghai. Thirty-five informants (51.5%) were already working (median age 24 years), while 33 informants (48.5%) were still university students when interviewed (median age 21 years). Forty informants (58.8%) had already had sexual intercourse with their partners, while 28 (41.2%) had not. In addition to individual interviews, 43 Shanghai students participated in 10 group interviews in Shanghai (8 male and 35 female), ages ranging from 17 to 22, with a median age of 20. The focus group interviews were conducted using a hypothetical storyline of a relationship from first meeting to sexual intercourse and breakup. Analysis of the data for this paper followed the procedures for case-based grounded theory described by Robert Weiss (1995), involving the construction of Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy J.Farrer et al. ideal-typical scenarios,or generic narratives,referenced in individual accounts. Multiple coders worked separately on the data,and the final interpretative process involved repeated discussion among the members of the research teams in China and Japan.The primary investigator,who speaks and reads both Chinese and Japanese,managed both teams to ensure a comparable process of data gathering and analysis. For both Chinese and Japanese students,it was simple to identify a dominant cultural scenario for entering into sexual relationships.In both China and Japan,the dominant cultural scenario for premarital sexual intimacy is defined by the dating relationship (lianai or renai).Students are aware of and might even advocate alternative scenarios,as is discussed below,but were in general agreement as to what they perceived as a mainstream cultural scenario.This dominant cultural scenario,which we call "the relational scenario"could be described as a collective representation,or a norm,to which students orient their own personal stories.The goal of the analysis of findings below is to analyze this "relational"scenario for premarital sex,based on informant statements and reported behaviors.Alternative cultural scenarios for premarital sex are discussed afterward. A Comparison of the Japanese and Chinese Cultural Scenarios for Premarital Sex Based on Narrative Components The Act:A Gendered“Loss”Versus a“Graduation from Virginity” Chinese and Japanese informants shared an assumption that the act of sex involved vaginal penetration in heterosexual intercourse.Most Chinese informants associated the act of intercourse before marriage with a gendered idea of chastity.Women's “chastity”is tied to a concept of men's“responsibility.”Women are no longer "perfect"if the relationship ends in separation,and sex can result in permanent "damage."As a culturally momentous act,sex is a sacrifice a woman makes to a man,and the first sex is a valuable gift that should be preserved for a beloved partner.Referring to this representative scenario as rationale,women described delaying or denying sex to a boyfriend,and men described feeling hesitant to have sex with a girlfriend,especially when the woman was a virgin.The following three interview excerpts illustrate this cultural definition of first sex: Yang:A man should want to stay with her for life,he should want to marry her,because that girl gave her first time to him.If a girl gives her first time to him,and that boy doesn't want her in the end,then if she goes out with a second boy,what will that second boy think? Moderator:So you think a girl's first time is important? Yang:It's very important! Moderator:Who is it important for? Yang:For boys and for girls.Boys certainly don't want to "eat"somebody else's left-over dish,do they? (Focus group 2,Chinese students) 2Springer
ideal-typical scenarios, or generic narratives, referenced in individual accounts. Multiple coders worked separately on the data, and the final interpretative process involved repeated discussion among the members of the research teams in China and Japan. The primary investigator, who speaks and reads both Chinese and Japanese, managed both teams to ensure a comparable process of data gathering and analysis. For both Chinese and Japanese students, it was simple to identify a dominant cultural scenario for entering into sexual relationships. In both China and Japan, the dominant cultural scenario for premarital sexual intimacy is defined by the dating relationship (lianai or renai). Students are aware of and might even advocate alternative scenarios, as is discussed below, but were in general agreement as to what they perceived as a mainstream cultural scenario. This dominant cultural scenario, which we call ‘‘the relational scenario’’ could be described as a collective representation, or a norm, to which students orient their own personal stories. The goal of the analysis of findings below is to analyze this ‘‘relational’’ scenario for premarital sex, based on informant statements and reported behaviors. Alternative cultural scenarios for premarital sex are discussed afterward. A Comparison of the Japanese and Chinese Cultural Scenarios for Premarital Sex Based on Narrative Components The Act: A Gendered ‘‘Loss’’ Versus a ‘‘Graduation from Virginity’’ Chinese and Japanese informants shared an assumption that the act of sex involved vaginal penetration in heterosexual intercourse. Most Chinese informants associated the act of intercourse before marriage with a gendered idea of chastity. Women’s ‘‘chastity’’ is tied to a concept of men’s ‘‘responsibility.’’ Women are no longer ‘‘perfect’’ if the relationship ends in separation, and sex can result in permanent ‘‘damage.’’ As a culturally momentous act, sex is a sacrifice a woman makes to a man, and the first sex is a valuable gift that should be preserved for a beloved partner. Referring to this representative scenario as rationale, women described delaying or denying sex to a boyfriend, and men described feeling hesitant to have sex with a girlfriend, especially when the woman was a virgin. The following three interview excerpts illustrate this cultural definition of first sex: Yang: A man should want to stay with her for life, he should want to marry her, because that girl gave her first time to him. If a girl gives her first time to him, and that boy doesn’t want her in the end, then if she goes out with a second boy, what will that second boy think? Moderator: So you think a girl’s first time is important? Yang: It’s very important! Moderator: Who is it important for? Yang: For boys and for girls. Boys certainly don’t want to ‘‘eat’’ somebody else’s left-over dish, do they? (Focus group 2, Chinese students) J. Farrer et al. 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings I am afraid.She is also afraid.If we do that,then for her it will mean she is no longer“perfect.”Of course,Idon't have a“virginity complex”(chunu qingjie)myself,but I am afraid she may end up with someone else in the future,and if he has a "virginity complex",it will give her a lot of trouble (Male,22,Chinese,student). In contrast,the majority of Japanese informants did not express an expectation that first sex should be timed close to marriage,nor did they associate first sex with a special sense of moral responsibility to the partner.Both female and male informants viewed the loss of virginity as an expected stage in life (usually)before marriage.Some male and female informants referred to an idea of"throwing away" (suteru)virginity as a step towards adulthood.Particularly for male university students,virginity beyond the age of 20 was seen as shameful: For me before I lost it,it was just an obstacle.I wanted to lose it as soon as possible.In Japan,one says you throw away your virginity,so I wanted to throw it away quickly.Instead of cherishing it,I just wanted to do it somewhere,everyone was anxious to try it....Maybe unlike America,it's not regarded as important in Japan,well maybe to some,but to me virginity seems to be an obvious given,everybody once was one,one way or the other. (Male,20,Japanese,student) Although Japanese female informants did not describe sex as a sacrifice or expect men to hold responsibility for their chastity,most expressed concern about the quality of the first sex experience,or"initiation,"particularly the selection of their first sex partner.The follow quote shows this view: I mean,I think that you don't have to take sex too seriously,but that being said,you don't want to be a player,so it's not good to have sex with someone you don't care about,it doesn't have to be someone you are going to get married,but it has to be someone you want to get in a serious relationship, someone you want to stay for months,years together.So I think it is important to be discerning. (Female,21,Japanese,student) As this last quote shows,some Japanese young people felt that the "first time" held more importance than subsequent sexual act.Still,the casual tone in Japanese discussions about the act of first sex contrasted markedly with the extended social and personal consequences associated with first sex in Chinese discussions. Contexts:Promises Versus Exclusivity in the Dating Relationship In the stories of both Chinese and Japanese informants,the expected or "normal" context for first sex was almost always described as a committed or steady (queding/ tsukiateiru)romantic relationship (lianai guanxi/renai kankei).Still,the scope of these relationship commitments is an important aspect of the cultural differences in scenarios for premarital sex.In general,Chinese informants'discussions of relationship context focused on"promises"(chengnuo)incurred in the development ②Springer
I am afraid. She is also afraid. If we do that, then for her it will mean she is no longer ‘‘perfect.’’ Of course, I don’t have a ‘‘virginity complex’’ (chunu qingjie) myself, but I am afraid she may end up with someone else in the future, and if he has a ‘‘virginity complex’’, it will give her a lot of trouble. (Male, 22, Chinese, student). In contrast, the majority of Japanese informants did not express an expectation that first sex should be timed close to marriage, nor did they associate first sex with a special sense of moral responsibility to the partner. Both female and male informants viewed the loss of virginity as an expected stage in life (usually) before marriage. Some male and female informants referred to an idea of ‘‘throwing away’’ (suteru) virginity as a step towards adulthood. Particularly for male university students, virginity beyond the age of 20 was seen as shameful: For me before I lost it, it was just an obstacle. I wanted to lose it as soon as possible. In Japan, one says you throw away your virginity, so I wanted to throw it away quickly. Instead of cherishing it, I just wanted to do it somewhere, everyone was anxious to try it. … Maybe unlike America, it’s not regarded as important in Japan, well maybe to some, but to me virginity seems to be an obvious given, everybody once was one, one way or the other. (Male, 20, Japanese, student) Although Japanese female informants did not describe sex as a sacrifice or expect men to hold responsibility for their chastity, most expressed concern about the quality of the first sex experience, or ‘‘initiation,’’ particularly the selection of their first sex partner. The follow quote shows this view: I mean, I think that you don’t have to take sex too seriously, but that being said, you don’t want to be a player, so it’s not good to have sex with someone you don’t care about, it doesn’t have to be someone you are going to get married, but it has to be someone you want to get in a serious relationship, someone you want to stay for months, years together. So I think it is important to be discerning. (Female, 21, Japanese, student) As this last quote shows, some Japanese young people felt that the ‘‘first time’’ held more importance than subsequent sexual act. Still, the casual tone in Japanese discussions about the act of first sex contrasted markedly with the extended social and personal consequences associated with first sex in Chinese discussions. Contexts: Promises Versus Exclusivity in the Dating Relationship In the stories of both Chinese and Japanese informants, the expected or ‘‘normal’’ context for first sex was almost always described as a committed or steady (queding/ tsukiateiru) romantic relationship (lianai guanxi/renai kankei). Still, the scope of these relationship commitments is an important aspect of the cultural differences in scenarios for premarital sex. In general, Chinese informants’ discussions of relationship context focused on ‘‘promises’’ (chengnuo) incurred in the development Re-Embedding Sexual Meanings 123 Author's personal copy
Author's personal copy J.Farrer et al. of a love relationship.Some of them interpreted a commitment to a partner as "promises"to work hard,buy a house,or take the other traveling or as vows,such as“T''ll love you forever'”or“T'll make you happy for a lifetime..”Others interpreted the relationship promises more vaguely as a"decisions to be together" or "devotion to the common future."When discussing sex,most Chinese informants described a commitment to a common future as the precondition for sex,and,in return,sex could serve as a way of reinforcing this commitment.Before the relationship was stable (queding),which supposedly comes along with marriage thoughts,having sex was often considered to be flippant or rash.Many informants pointed out,however,that there is no assurance that two people in a love relationship are bound to get married simply because they have sex.A sexual relationship in university was not considered a formal engagement.The following two quotes illustrate the conceptions of a future-oriented commitment as the context for sex,with the second pointing out that this promise is not enforceable: Before people have sex they should have a promise,like they should promise they are going to marry.And after they have sex,they should keep to this promise. (Female,21,Chinese,student) Of course we realize that the future could bring changes.You never can tell about the future.There's nothing you can do about that.As long as you loved each other truly at the time,then you have acted responsibly.I believe that sex does represent a promise,a feeling like you are husband and wife,that you can share sweetness and bitterness,a promise that you can live together a lifetimes,but in reality,if things change,there's nothing you can do about it. (Female,25,Chinese,recent graduate) Japanese informants also described a committed (tsukiau)relationship as the most acceptable context for sex.Japanese young adults engage in a formalized and conventional dating practice,known as "tsukiau,"which can be roughly translated as "going steady"(Farrer et al.2008).Typically,a tsukiau relationship starts from an explicit verbal "declaration"of feelings (kokuhaku).The positive acceptance of this declaration is understood as a decision to commit to increased intimacy. Informants described a tsukiau relationship as based on mutual feelings and mutual trust leading naturally to sexually intimacy.Unlike among Chinese young adults, therefore,sexual intercourse in the relationship context is largely taken for granted. There were almost no Japanese informants who thought that dating couples should not be having sex,nor is entry into the sexual stage of a relationship related to marriage or consideration of marriage in the near future(though during the course of the relationship,marriage thoughts often arise).The explicitly definition of a relational context with narrow temporal scope is expressed in the following quotes: Of course I didn't kiss her before we became boyfriend and girlfriend.After the 'declaration'(kokuhaku),it took us about a month to have sex.Not having sex in a relationship is sort of unnatural,I think. (Male,22,Japanese,student) 2Springer
of a love relationship. Some of them interpreted a commitment to a partner as ‘‘promises’’ to work hard, buy a house, or take the other traveling or as vows, such as ‘‘I’ll love you forever’’ or ‘‘I’ll make you happy for a lifetime.’’ Others interpreted the relationship promises more vaguely as a ‘‘decisions to be together’’ or ‘‘devotion to the common future.’’ When discussing sex, most Chinese informants described a commitment to a common future as the precondition for sex, and, in return, sex could serve as a way of reinforcing this commitment. Before the relationship was stable (queding), which supposedly comes along with marriage thoughts, having sex was often considered to be flippant or rash. Many informants pointed out, however, that there is no assurance that two people in a love relationship are bound to get married simply because they have sex. A sexual relationship in university was not considered a formal engagement. The following two quotes illustrate the conceptions of a future-oriented commitment as the context for sex, with the second pointing out that this promise is not enforceable: Before people have sex they should have a promise, like they should promise they are going to marry. And after they have sex, they should keep to this promise. (Female, 21, Chinese, student) Of course we realize that the future could bring changes. You never can tell about the future. There’s nothing you can do about that. As long as you loved each other truly at the time, then you have acted responsibly. I believe that sex does represent a promise, a feeling like you are husband and wife, that you can share sweetness and bitterness, a promise that you can live together a lifetimes, but in reality, if things change, there’s nothing you can do about it. (Female, 25, Chinese, recent graduate) Japanese informants also described a committed (tsukiau) relationship as the most acceptable context for sex. Japanese young adults engage in a formalized and conventional dating practice, known as ‘‘tsukiau,’’ which can be roughly translated as ‘‘going steady’’ (Farrer et al. 2008). Typically, a tsukiau relationship starts from an explicit verbal ‘‘declaration’’ of feelings (kokuhaku). The positive acceptance of this declaration is understood as a decision to commit to increased intimacy. Informants described a tsukiau relationship as based on mutual feelings and mutual trust leading naturally to sexually intimacy. Unlike among Chinese young adults, therefore, sexual intercourse in the relationship context is largely taken for granted. There were almost no Japanese informants who thought that dating couples should not be having sex, nor is entry into the sexual stage of a relationship related to marriage or consideration of marriage in the near future (though during the course of the relationship, marriage thoughts often arise). The explicitly definition of a relational context with narrow temporal scope is expressed in the following quotes: Of course I didn’t kiss her before we became boyfriend and girlfriend. After the ‘declaration’ (kokuhaku), it took us about a month to have sex. Not having sex in a relationship is sort of unnatural, I think. (Male, 22, Japanese, student) J. Farrer et al. 123 Author's personal copy