……In 2013, Love Matters took the decision to expand to China, where it is commonly taboo for people to openly talk about sex and sexual problems. This has contributed to the increase in teenage pregnancy in the country. When Love Matters and their partners in China carried out a survey in Beijing, it found that 47% of the young people had never received formal sex education. Of the 47%, nearly two thirds of them wanted to have access to more information…….
The video has been circulating widely on social media since Wednesday, garnering mostly supportive comments from internet users.
Lovematters, a popular gay-themed account on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, thanked Tmall for supporting the LGBTQ community, and called the video “humourous and interesting” in a post shared more than 32,600 times.
Raymond Phang, co-founder of LGBTQ festival Shanghai Pride, told AFP the ad was a “brilliant idea”, touching on family inclusion during an important festival.
——China’s LGBTQ community praises ad depicting same-sex couple, Beijing (AFP)
……According to a report in 2019 on cases of sexual harassment and rape jointly published by Tsinghua University, the China Family Planning Association, and the “Love Matters” program, China has seen a constant increase in the number of sexual harassment cases for the past several years, with the number of sexual insults increasing 53% within just a year from 2014 to 2015…….
…… At the time, Sarras was an admin on the Love Matters Arabic Facebook page, which delivers relationships and sex education in Arabic on social media. “She said she had had a relationship and now she was getting engaged and wanted to make sure she was a virgin,” Sarras explains. Then she pauses, and grimaces. “I hate this word: maftuuha – she asked if she was that, she asked if she was ‘opened’.”……
——The sex myth that’s centuries old by Sophia Smith Galer, BBC Features correspondent
…… However, China has vibrant gay communities and activists in its major cities, and same sex couples are increasingly tolerated across society.
Lovematters, a popular gay-themed account on China’s Twitter-esque Weibo, shared and thanked Alibab’s e-commerce site Tmall for supporting the gay community. The account’s post received over 25,000 shares.
“The support of large companies for sexual minorities is one of the important factors for sexual minorities to gain visibility and be seen and recognized by the public. Thank you Tmall!” wrote Lovematters.
Alibaba did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for further comment on the ad.
One top-rated comment on Weibo described the position of the Alibaba’s ad as clever…….
——Alibaba praised by China’s gay community for ad recognizing same-sex couples By Josh HORWITZ
……The video caught fire this week when it was posted on the Chinese social media website Weibo by LoveMatters, an organization that provides education and advice about sex and relationships.
LoveMatters praised Tmall as a “prominent company” that supports the LGBTQ movement — something it said was “important for the community to be visible, to be seen by the public, and to be recognized.”
The video has millions of views and has been liked on Weibo tens of thousands of times. It has also garnered more than 4,500 comments, many of which are positive.
“Tmall is taking a smart stance by avoiding saying directly that it’s supportive [of gay couples] or not,” wrote one user, whose name translates to an ancient Chinese phrase meaning “free spirited.” “But it’s already a great step forward.”……
——Same-sex relationships are taboo in China. An Alibaba ad is challenging that
By Laura He and Steven Jiang, CNN Business
The Love Matters project aims to provide neutral and factual information on matters such as sexual health, relationships, the human body, prevention and treatment of STDs, birth control. Love Matters has platforms in multiple languages and operates in countries all over the world namely: Kenya, Mexico, India, Egypt, China, Nigeria, Congo.
“Love Matters
Open, honest and sex-positive AIM has teamed-up with HomemBala to make the case for the “Love Matters” initiative ……”
——Behance OWNERS：
In China, young online users paid special attention to our Love Matters China platform in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, raising page views from an average of 3,917 to a high of 5,395 in the two days beforehand. They were interested in learning about “male and female bodies” and “losing virginity”. Our young Indian users meanwhile, were drawn to an article talking about “reasons women want to have sex”, with 6,439 views, followed by a double check on “normal penis sizes” for 4,926 users.
“SEX ALL OVER THE PLACE
Meanwhile, the India model (now in both English and Hindi) had also been successfully adapted for Egypt, Mexico, Venezuela and China – all places where access to basic bounce info is not what it might be. By 2016, Love Matters as a whole had attracted over 40 million visits and gathered 2.5 million followers on social media. In 2013, we won the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) Award for Excellence and Innovation in Sexuality Education – for “innovative work in reaching a large number of young people in challenging settings.” Love Matters was also mentioned by the United Nations as part of their manifesto guidelines on reproductive health.……”—— BLOG: LOVE MATTERS (AKA: MY LIFE IN SEXWORK) by Steve Korver, an Amsterdam-based freelance journalist/copywriter/editor/translator.