Vietnam takes more open sexual attitude
HANOI - Nguyen Khanh Linh, a 22-year-old freelancer, lived together with her tour guide boyfriend in a rented poky house in Vietnam`s Hanoi capital for several months.
Everyday, the man goes to work early, while his partner spends most of her time on housework. The couple from northern Thai Binh province is trying to save money to buy a small flat.
"Living together is more convenient. I can take care of him better, while he can spend more time on work. Moreover, we will get married sooner or later," said Linh who has fine features and brown complexion of a traditional eastern woman.
"We used to be embarrassed when living together. We were afraid of being teased by neighbors and friends. But, now I think there is nothing wrong with it," she said.
The cohabitant of unmarried couples like Link`s has been no longer rare in the country where premarital sex used to be a taboo. They often rent cramped houses or deteriorated flats near universities and factories in Hanoi for life.
Vietnamese people, especially youths, who can easily find sex information on the Internet, are not too shy to talk about sex as before. A number of them learn about sex through pornography websites or DVDs.
At lunch-break, a woman was tapping at a computer`s keyboard in their office in Hanoi. "I want to know how to become an attractive wife and use contraception methods," said blushing accountant Nguyen Thi Hien. "I often get to know about sex on the Internet. Sometimes, I seek my friends` advises."
Now, the country is focusing more on improving sex education, especially at schools and via local media, she said. "My children have better understanding on the issue compared with us before."
"The change in sexual attitude of young people is partly due to impact of western cultures," head of the Sociology Department of the University for Social Sciences and Humanities, Vu Hao Quang, told Xinhua on Friday.
According to a recent survey by the Vietnamese Health Ministry, the General Statistics Office, the United Nations Children`s Fund and the World Health Organization, 41 percent of surveyed men and 22 percent of female respondents accepted premarital sex. The open viewpoint could be explained by liberal thinking about premarital sex and changing values of virginity, said local experts.
It also resulted in lower average age of Vietnamese youths when they have sex for the first time. According to the country`s Committee of Population, Family and Children, now they have first sex at the age of 14.2 on average, compared with 19 several years ago.
By Thai Thanh Van & Liu Xiangxiao - Xinhua - December 16, 2005.
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