"They are young and energetic fellows in their twenties. Physical demands are
quite common to them, we bring altogether 4,000 condoms and now they are gone
in just few seconds." Zhang makes the remarks when he and his colleagues are
busy with lecturing AIDS prevention know-how to migrant workers at a
construction site.
"Sex is somehow a luxury for many of them, and this is the last scene I want to
see," said Zhang.
When talking about migrant workers, a sweaty scenario of hard labor working
always jump into one's mind, however, too few attention have been drawn to
their sexual health and wellbeing. Most of migrant workers lack proper and safe
ways to vent their long-suppressed lusts.
They are, as a matter of fact, more affectionate than their urbanite
counterparts, because they have to leave their hometowns to seek a better life,
and that in turn makes them nostalgic and sensitive, Zhang said. To complicate
the case, they are accommodated in undesirably small workmate dorms where they
have almost no private space.
"By doing this," Zhang said, "their boss can cut short the budget and to avoid
unintended security problems, however, the consequences end up with that they
have no proper outlets to resort to, when they are sexually in dire need."
Last April, the Research Office of State Council officially publicized the
Study on Chinese Migrant Laborers. In the report, psychologist points out that,
longish suppression of sex needs will definitely lead to irrational sexual
impulse, it will affect one's psychological wellbeing, and in worst cases,
those with weak abstention willpower may risk on criminal leeway.
Being physically obsessed but having nowhere to 'quench the thirst' is believed
to be the most torturous ordeal for migrant workers. "You got no idea how it
feels" said Li Shun, a brickie working at a site near Beijing CBD district. We
have nothing recreational when nights draw on, except for playing cards and
mah-jongg, sometimes small wages are involved, to make the game a bit more
thrilling, that's all. A recent survey conducted by Oriental Outlook shows
that, only 5% migrant workers can enjoy sex thrice a week, while up to 19% have
already forgotten when was their last time.
About 21% of the surveyed choose 'street-girls' as their major way-out to meet
sexual demand, another 25% prefer porn videos or trash talks to get virtually
satisfied.
Migrant workers in general, said Director of China Sexology Institute, Hu
Kaicheng, dramatically lack basic knowledge of sexual health, they don't know
how to protect themselves and how to have safe sex. "AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases are unheard about to most of them," Hu said. "Let alone
how to use condom and contraceptive meds."
He cited a true anecdote headlined in a Guangzhou local newspaper, 2 migrant
worker were hospitalized because they have their 'things' stuck in mineral
water bottles, in wake of conducting bottle-based self-consolation. "It's quite
a woeful thing for me to read it, they just don't know how to do that. At this
stage, I believe, education is the matter of utmost urgency," Hu said, "the
point is to let them know what is safe sex, and how to have safe sex, instead
of lecturing them stop thinking about sex."
More or less, society as in general, has the obligation to render proper
solutions to meet migrant worker's long-neglected natural needs, such as
'spouse room' or constant SEDUCATION lectures which help to demystify the word
SEX. In return, a more sophisticated understanding of sexual health and safe
sex for migrant workers will play its reciprocal role to both migrant workers
and the cities we dwell in, as part of a healthy lifestyle to the former and an
indispensable stabilizer to the latter.
