May 25, 2010--Roaring Virile Fire
If you are inclined to think of China as boring, think again.
Yes, there is a great deal of culturally and governmentally enforced conformity, with the group or collective still emphasized over the individual, but only slightly beneath the surface a good deal of idiosyncracity is lurking. After all the Chinese are human and human nature leaps across borders and is on full display if you know where to look for it.
Case in point, Professor Ma Yaohai.
According to the New York Times (article linked below), on the surface he appears to be just a professor of computer science at Nanjing University who, after his second divorce, spent much of his time taking care of his elderly mother. Thus far, all sounds familiar. But during the past six years he was also a omnivorous swinger. Someone who at age 53 teamed up with a 23 year-old women and through her contacts entered the world of sexual swingers.
With Roaring Virile Fire as his handle (she i known as Passionate Fiery Phoenix, they trolled the Internet in search of swing clubs and other opportunities to get involved in group sex. He alone is said to have organized at least 18 orgies at which he was an enthusiastic participant.
Of course this kind of behavior is frowned upon by the still-strict Chinese authorities and so he was arrested, tried, convicted, and recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison. I assume to solitary confinement. His crime--"crowd licentuolusness."
Call him fortunate because until fairly recently he could have been executed for his behavior.
Again, in a socially repressive society none of this is entirely surprising, though the legal definition of his crime does have some charm. What is unusual is that Mr. Ma is turning his prosecution and conviction into a sort of cause célèbre. He is speaking out in support of sexual freedom. And thus far he is getting away with it.
He is quoted as saying:
Don't you just love metaphors?
Yes, there is a great deal of culturally and governmentally enforced conformity, with the group or collective still emphasized over the individual, but only slightly beneath the surface a good deal of idiosyncracity is lurking. After all the Chinese are human and human nature leaps across borders and is on full display if you know where to look for it.
Case in point, Professor Ma Yaohai.
According to the New York Times (article linked below), on the surface he appears to be just a professor of computer science at Nanjing University who, after his second divorce, spent much of his time taking care of his elderly mother. Thus far, all sounds familiar. But during the past six years he was also a omnivorous swinger. Someone who at age 53 teamed up with a 23 year-old women and through her contacts entered the world of sexual swingers.
With Roaring Virile Fire as his handle (she i known as Passionate Fiery Phoenix, they trolled the Internet in search of swing clubs and other opportunities to get involved in group sex. He alone is said to have organized at least 18 orgies at which he was an enthusiastic participant.
Of course this kind of behavior is frowned upon by the still-strict Chinese authorities and so he was arrested, tried, convicted, and recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison. I assume to solitary confinement. His crime--"crowd licentuolusness."
Call him fortunate because until fairly recently he could have been executed for his behavior.
Again, in a socially repressive society none of this is entirely surprising, though the legal definition of his crime does have some charm. What is unusual is that Mr. Ma is turning his prosecution and conviction into a sort of cause célèbre. He is speaking out in support of sexual freedom. And thus far he is getting away with it.
He is quoted as saying:
Marriage is like water. You have to drink it. Swinging is like wine. Some people feel it's delicious the first time they try it, so they keep drinking. Some people try it and think it tastes bad, so they never drink it again. It's completely voluntary. No one is forcing you.
Don't you just love metaphors?
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:42 AM
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